Tandem axle trailer and inside tire wear

[LikeToFish]

I posted the following on the Ranger board but thought maybe I might get a few more responses here. The one thing I should add to what I posted below is that I fill my tires to 50psi before each trip.

I own a 2007 619 Fisherman that sits on a dual axle trailer. I've owned the boat since new. The front axle was replaced, along with the tires, under warranty in the spring of 2009. The symptom at that time was severe inside tire wear. The tires are on a 5 year replacement plan, so 2 of the tires are 5 years old and 2 are 3 years old. While spending some time clean up the boat for my October trips I noticed that the inside tire treads on all 4 tires were worn pretty unevenly compared with the other sections of the tires. I've run Marathons since new and never had any problems with them and plan on replacing all of them next spring with the new Endurance tire from Goodyear. The boat has a 45 gallon gas tank and when full I'm sure it's adding around 300lbs to the boat and thus more weight for the trailer to handle. So as I scratch my head and wonder if i now need two new axles is it possible the trailer needs nothing more than alignment. I was under the impression that trailer tires cannot be aligned. I want to think that others have experience this same tire issue and wonder what was the cause was in your case and what did you do to correct the problem.

Thanks

[CatFan]

CIs the wear uniform around the tires, just worse on the inside?

Inside wear comes from bad camber or toe. Can be from bent spindles or axles, loose bearings or an overloaded trailer.

I'd suspect you aren't overloaded since most tandems can handle 7000lbs.

Jacking it up and checking for play will quickly tell you about the bearings.

Measuring toe and camber is a little harder. Get the trailer sitting level on a flat surface. You can check camber with a level.

Toe is a bit harder. Check out http://www.bbcboards.net/showthread....=1#post6154204

[LikeToFish]

CIs the wear uniform around the tires, just worse on the inside?

Inside wear comes from bad camber or toe. Can be from bent spindles or axles, loose bearings or an overloaded trailer.

I'd suspect you aren't overloaded since most tandems can handle 7000lbs.

Jacking it up and checking for play will quickly tell you about the bearings.

Measuring toe and camber is a little harder. Get the trailer sitting level on a flat surface. You can check camber with a level.

Toe is a bit harder. Check out http://www.bbcboards.net/showthread....=1#post6154204

To answer your question. I'm not sure. Since the uneven wear is only on the inside of the tire it's difficult for me to tell if the uneven wear is uniform on all four tires. I know tandem axle trailers cause some tire wear due to scrubbing but I'm pretty sure that's not the cause here. I do cringe a bit when I see the tires scrubbing while backing up the trailer. The hubs were checked in the spring but I've probably put 3500 miles on since then so they are worth checking again. Measuring the toe and camber might be a bit more difficult for me with limited garage space to work on each side of the trailer. Thanks for your reply.

[LittlePech]

Have the alignment done.
If your axels are bent that is usually something that a good shop can correct.

[billnorman1]

I've seen torsion axles go through some serious camber changes when they hit bumps. Can't help but think that causes a lot of wear. Does anyone think backing a 4 wheel trailer up causes appreciable tire wear? Just asking, not casting aspersions. I guess if you threw some sand on your driveway they would just slide. I know I slid on my motorcycle when I hit a curve that a sand truck had turned over on earlier in the day.

[Tromanoski]

I would not run a boat trailer with 5 year old tires. Especially the Goodyear Marathons which were probably Chinese made. Ranger quit installing the Marathons in 2010 because of all of the problems associated with their tires failing. Goodyear on their website only gives a 4 year prorated warranty. 3 years is what Carlilse warrants their tires. I would get them off and have your trailer checked at a shop that can do everything that CatFan suggests.

[fishnfireman]

I would not run a boat trailer with 5 year old tires. Especially the Goodyear Marathons which were probably Chinese made. Ranger quit installing the Marathons in 2010 because of all of the problems associated with their tires failing. Goodyear on their website only gives a 4 year prorated warranty. 3 years is what Carlilse warrants their tires. I would get them off and have your trailer checked at a shop that can do everything that CatFan suggests.

[LikeToFish]

I've seen torsion axles go through some serious camber changes when they hit bumps. Can't help but think that causes a lot of wear. Does anyone think backing a 4 wheel trailer up causes appreciable tire wear? Just asking, not casting aspersions. I guess if you threw some sand on your driveway they would just slide. I know I slid on my motorcycle when I hit a curve that a sand truck had turned over on earlier in the day.

Well after 10 years I wouldn't be surprised if the torsion axles need a good look at as well. Thanks for your suggestion.

[LikeToFish]

I would not run a boat trailer with 5 year old tires. Especially the Goodyear Marathons which were probably Chinese made. Ranger quit installing the Marathons in 2010 because of all of the problems associated with their tires failing. Goodyear on their website only gives a 4 year prorated warranty. 3 years is what Carlilse warrants their tires. I would get them off and have your trailer checked at a shop that can do everything that CatFan suggests.

Well I guess I've been pretty lucky then. The 5 year rotation has worked out for me. However, this is the last time I'll use them as I'll move to the Goodyear Endurance with all 4 tires at the end of this season or in the spring before the season starts for me in March. Thanks for your reply.