unusual tire wear

[mjc3276]

Morning all. So my tires on the trailer are wearing in an unusual way. they both have flat spots and are wearing on the inner section. The tires are. 5.3x12 from Harbor Freight. They have 2000 miles on them, The original tires(4.5x4x 12 are not dry too rotted, just a bit smaller. The bearings have 2000 miles on them (did them the same day I put on new tires). The boat in question weight 450 lbs- 16 ft aluminum Starcraft with Mariner 9.9 tuned to 15. The trailers sits pretty flat on the truck, maybe >5* upward tilt to hitch.

 

[mjc3276]

Morning all. So my tires on the trailer are wearing in an unusual way. they both have flat spots and are wearing on the inner section. The tires are. 5.3x12 from Harbor Freight. They have 2000 miles on them, The original tires(4.5x4x 12 are not dry too rotted, just a bit smaller. The bearings have 2000 miles on them (did them the same day I put on new tires). The boat in question weight 450 lbs- 16 ft aluminum Starcraft with Mariner 9.9 tuned to 15. The trailers sits pretty flat on the truck, maybe >5* upward tilt to hitch.

 

[midcarolina]

If your old tires did not wear in the same fashion...... then I would say it's the el cheapo chinese tires, IMO there are a lot of helpful tools and stuff at HF that really help in a pinch, If you only use the item occasionally.........almost NON of the items are made for regular use.

 

[MH Hawker]

flat spots are often caused by unbalanced tires, and center tread wear is light load wear. Inside and outside is out of alignment. Both inside or both outside is out of camber.

 

[mjc3276]

How do I align it?

 

[kjsAZ]

there are many causes for this and I just want to give some hints on how to find them....
Crappy tires (no test possible). They may be so unbalanced that the trailer gets shaken a lot. Despite common believe balancing trailer tires makes a difference. Unfortunately it doesn't work well with bias ply tires as they deform when stored on one spot for some time.
Your axle might be bent to make the tires not parallel. Put a straight piece of metal onto the axle and see whether there's an air gap
Your spindles can also be not aligned right any more

 

[Thalasso]

How do I align it?

 

[rbh]

If there is a lot of wear in the center of the tread your over inflated, if there is checking or a wear spots on the outside tread under inflated or if just one side check alignment or bearing wobble. When you get flat spots it could be your breaks are set up to high and they are engaged to long (skidding tire).

 

[bruceb58]

Good drawing!

 

[Thalasso]

Thank You. More pic coming for alighnment

 

[Thalasso]

Multi-Axle Trailer Alignment Check

Close up. Approximately ½" of gap.​

When this trailer goes down the road, it is sort of skidding that one tire, causing heat to build up, and friction to wear the rubber. Friction will wear the tread down, and the heat will eventually cause the tire to DE-laminate and fail by blowout or tread separation.
Use the straightedge and a tape measure to find out if your axles are in alignment to the trailer. Here are some illustrations to teach you how to use the straightedge and tape measure to figure out why your tires may be failing due to mis-alignment of the axles

 

[mjc3276]

Its a long while later, but this is a heck of a drawing. thank you. Is there a drawing for a single axel trailer?

 

[Thalasso]

Flat spots are caused by unbalanced tires or broken belts. There skipping down the road
Wearing on the inner treads is a sign of weak springs or a bent axle. There leaning in

Measure from the straightedge to the frame in front of the wheel and record the measurement. Next measure from the straightedge to the frame in back of the wheel and compare the two measurements. Both dimensions should be the same. Do the same on both sides of the trailer to complete your trailer axle alignment check.

 

[CARiD]

Don't get tires to wear the thread. I stick to Continental tires for both my truck and trailer because they last almost twice longer