Outside wear on tires

Single axle trailer, EZ Loader I believe that came with a 2001 ChampioN boat. 2 years ago, I had replaced the single leaf spring with a 4 leaf that the trailer manufacturer sent me for the leaf recall. Anyhow, don't hold me to it, but, I believe this is when the tire wear started happening. My tires last about a year and I've had 3 tires' have their tread come apart on me all on the outside. Took the last one which was fairly new, maybe 100 miles on them, tread separated, with major cupping on the outside, as he described it and where he suspected the problem arises. Premature wear.

So, the outside portion on both sides of the trailer tires wear much faster than the rest of the tire. Took it to a trailer service shop which I think is fairly reputable which my friend in the auto industry says they use as their shop for trailer work. Anyhow, the service guy says we'll take a look and tells me they measured the axle and the spindles and couldn't find any indication of it being bent. This is what we all thought was the culprit. He then suggest the possiblity of unbalanced wheels and recommends I take the tires to a tire place. I'm not sure what to think as when I think balanced tires, I would see some wobble. Towing they look fine. Anyone here experience this? Would love to hear you thoughts...

I can take pictures Tuesday or Wednesday as the shop still has the trailer if they'll help. (don't have the one with separted tread anymore though)

Sounds like alignment problems. Have they checked it on a machine, or did they just take some measurements?

When you changed out the Springs that you were sent did you take both sides off before you replaced them. If you did maybe the Axle was allowed to turn . Most axles will have an Arch to the top and if this was allowed to turn maybe that is the problem. http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/ohwell.gif http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/USA1.gif

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by oakhillhoss &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">When you changed out the Springs that you were sent did you take both sides off before you replaced them. If you did maybe the Axle was allowed to turn . Most axles will have an Arch to the top and if this was allowed to turn maybe that is the problem. http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/ohwell.gif http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/USA1.gif </TD></TR></TABLE>

Good point.

I had the same trailer shop swap the springs since the bolts holding the springs were spot welded on http://xs-s.com/zf/images/smile/emthdown.gif That's another story. I doubt they'll remember how they did it.

I'll ask about the alignment and how they checked the axle today and get back to you. Perhaps asking these questions will make them check other ways too?

Spoke to the shop and they said a tech had gone and measured (tape measure) to check the axle and spindles. The tech is supposed to be very experienced with this. I then asked about the springs being replaced and the possibility of the axle moving and they said its not possible with the way they do the replacement.

They don't have an alignment setup. Again, they suggested I take the trailer to a place where they can put it on an alignment machine and check the tire balance. Hmmm, I guess that's where I'll be headed next.

If you have any other suggestions, please let me know.

THE 4-LEAF SPRINGS ARE 1500 LBS X 4 ON YOUR TRAILER EQUAL 6000 LBS, SO WITH THIS IN MIND, YOUR BOAT AND TRAILER SHOULD WEIGH CLOSE TO 6000, ANYTHING UNDER THAT WILL CAUSE A POSITIVE CAMBER AND YOUR TIRES WILL WEAR OUT ON THE INSIDE....

Would you suggest switching back to a single leaf? or double? When they did the recall, they sent me 4-leaf springs, did they screw up? Or should I look to have the camber adjusted, if that's even possible.

sorry, I'm really a novice at this trailer stuff http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/embarassed.gif

Just wondering, who is the tire manuf. and what's the air pressure? Had sim. problem with my EZ Loader. Axle was not bent or out of alignment. Was running Goodyear Marathons @ 35 to 40 PSI and found out here that I should be running 50 PSI. So far so good after several 100 miles, no apparent outside tire wear.

all the tires have had 45-50 psi, at least when I check every 5-6 trips. Denman and Towmasters all showed the outside tire wear. 1 tire (Denman) had tread separation after 1 trip (100 miles).

weigh your boat & trailer then call me.......800-854-1905 ext.107..