Uneven tire wear on single axle trailer / tandem trailer

['78 Crusader]

I've read several posts on this forum concerning uneven trailer tire wear. After spending several hours? trouble shooting my own boats' tandem trailer for that same issue, I found out what the problem really was and will explain below.

What I found was that my trailer components i.e. springs and load equalizers, were worn out which allowed the axles to shift fore or aft as an assembly....throwing the tires out of alignment with the trailer and direction of travel. When I disassembled my trailer springs and suspension, I found that not only the nylon bushings worn, I found that the eye holes in the springs and load equalizers were bored out as well hence allowing a lot of slack between the bolts holding the springs and equalizers together and those components themselves.

We've chatted in the past that the issue was as a result of cheap Chinese tires and that may be part of the issue however I am convinced now that uneven tire wear is a result of a worn trailer suspension.

Please provide input as to your personal experience for the above mentioned problem.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Solution for uneven tire wear on your single axle trailer / tandem trailer

Re: Solution for uneven tire wear on your single axle trailer / tandem trailer

How did you happen to look for that and how did you find it? Did you measure the distance between the two axles on each side?

Mine wear fine but now I am going to check just for the heck of it.

 

['78 Crusader]

Re: Solution for uneven tire wear on your single axle trailer / tandem trailer

Re: Solution for uneven tire wear on your single axle trailer / tandem trailer

How did you happen to look for that and how did you find it? Did you measure the distance between the two axles on each side?

Mine wear fine but now I am going to check just for the heck of it.

I actually jacked up the trailer and shook all the components while the weight was off the axles. I shook the springs and the equalizers and found there was quite a bit of play in the components. With weight on the trailer, it's difficult to determine loose components however once lifted by the frame, the trailer reveals it's tiredness.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: Solution for uneven tire wear on your single axle trailer / tandem trailer

Re: Solution for uneven tire wear on your single axle trailer / tandem trailer

It's right that trailer parts can wear. That's when you replace'em. There's nothing worse than being stranded because of worn/blown out tires and ruined spindles/bearings.

My first question is whether the weight of the trailer and the boat exceed the capacity of the axle. (How many times have you seen an overloaded trailer's wheels bend outward from excessive weight?)

If you check the right places on the internet, you can purchase total packages with new axles, shackles, and leaf springs for the price of individual components. Northern Tool also sells axle kits online and in their stores.

Last time I was stranded, the yard I broke down in had a shop with a compressor. I returned the next day and had an all new axle kit (and tires) installed in 10 minutes. It's no big deal even for an amateur mechanic like myself.

 

[ufm82]

Re: Solution for uneven tire wear on your single axle trailer / tandem trailer

Re: Solution for uneven tire wear on your single axle trailer / tandem trailer

Yea, and??? LOL While what you posted in obvious to most, there are some who do not take wear and tear into account when diagnosing tire issues. It's no different than your vehicle. Undercarriage components are what keep your tires aligned and properly placed. When those components wear they cause wear elsewhere and tires show it faster than other things. Plus they are very visible and people tend to look at the easy things. Good post on this issue.

 

['78 Crusader]

Re: Solution for uneven tire wear on your single axle trailer / tandem trailer

Re: Solution for uneven tire wear on your single axle trailer / tandem trailer

Yea, and??? LOL While what you posted in obvious to most, there are some who do not take wear and tear into account when diagnosing tire issues. It's no different than your vehicle. Undercarriage components are what keep your tires aligned and properly placed. When those components wear they cause wear elsewhere and tires show it faster than other things. Plus they are very visible and people tend to look at the easy things. Good post on this issue.

This is exactly why I posted up my findings with my tandem trailer....because it's something I have not seen written in the forums.....anywhere I've searched.

I purchased my boat and trailer in Septemeber 2010.....and they are of 1978 vintage. I had no idea when the trailer components were last replcaed however my suspicions are that they are original to the trailer and this assumptions is based on the oblong wearing of the holes in the spring eyes and also the equalizers. Also.....since my trailer is yellow....the undersides of the springs were still yellow as well....I mention this because the average joe who paints a trailer will not paint the undersides of the springs....which leads me to believe they are indeed original to the 1978 trailer.

 

['78 Crusader]

Re: Solution for uneven tire wear on your single axle trailer / tandem trailer

Re: Solution for uneven tire wear on your single axle trailer / tandem trailer

Here's an example of a worn out spring (bottom) compared to a new replacement spring. Note that the metal eye on the old spring is oblong too so just replacing the nylon bushings is just a bandaide unless the whole springs was replaced.

 

['78 Crusader]

Re: Solution for uneven tire wear on your single axle trailer / tandem trailer

Re: Solution for uneven tire wear on your single axle trailer / tandem trailer

The biggest challenge has been finding the correct sized load equalizer for my trailer. What I need is a 5 1/2 inch center hole to center hole straight equalizer and all I've been able to find was the 8" hole to hole straight equalizer at my local trailer shops.....each shop tells me that the 5 1/2 equalizers are no longer made.

When I searched iBoats parts section for trailers...I came up with the same results as they only see the 8" equalizers too.

So I went to www.etrailer.com and ordered a set of them. When I spoke with the customer service rep on the phone and she assured me they had them in stock......and about 4 hours later I received a call from the www.etrailer.com warehouse guy and he stated they didn't have any in stock but they do have them in their main warehouse....so we'll see. Here's a picture of my 5 1/2" load equalizer.

 

[BoatNoobie]

Re: Solution for uneven tire wear on your single axle trailer / tandem trailer

Re: Solution for uneven tire wear on your single axle trailer / tandem trailer

what kind of tire wear did you have? Do you have any pics?

 

['78 Crusader]

Re: Solution for uneven tire wear on your single axle trailer / tandem trailer

Re: Solution for uneven tire wear on your single axle trailer / tandem trailer

Severe wearing on the inside of the tires. When I pick up the trailer on Friday, I'll snap a picture of how the tires were wearing.

As for the equalizers, well it turns out the etrailer didn't have the part I needed afterall so I went to www.pacifictrailer.com out of Ontario California and they have the 5 1/2 inch equalizers I needed. They'll be on my doorstep Thursday afternoon and I'll get to work on Saturday.

 

['78 Crusader]

Re: Solution for uneven tire wear on your single axle trailer / tandem trailer

Re: Solution for uneven tire wear on your single axle trailer / tandem trailer

I spent the morning on Saturday 10/8/11 replacing the springs and load equalizers for the boats tandem trailer. Below is a picture on the load equalizers that were removed from the trailer and they appear to be the original 1978 parts. If you'll notice, the hole are severely worn and bored out. The worn trailer components shown in this thread will cause misalignment of the wheels and also premature tire wear.