Tire wear

[texas c]

I have an old '90 Ranger 481 with a Ranger Trail trailer. My trailer tire was wearing on the starboard side. I went to a trailer place and they told me that the spindle was out of line. This is a drop type spindle. I have had trouble with this trailer...ever since it was new...worn out tires, broke springs. This is a single axle trailer, so the boat may be too heavy for the trailer. Although, it did come from Ranger. I went to a trailer place and they suggested that I put on a heavier axle and with the weight increase I had to put on bigger tires....it is a straight axle...which meant I had to go to bigger tires. This increased my cost due to new tires, as well as a new axle. Now...after running this axle for awhile, the port side tire has started wearing on the inside of the tire...bad. The starboard side, wearing on the inside is not as bad. Took it to the trailer place and they said everything was lined up...said I wasn't running enough air...I am running 50 lbs...which is suppose to be the max. They said to run 55 lbs. They even said I might need to get some better tires...they were the ones that installed the tires. What do you think that I might try? Hind sight , I could have stayed with what I had and bought a new tire for the starboard side, every once in awhile. Thanks! Any suggestions would sure be appreciated.

[DABS]

The very first thing you should do is weigh your boat & trailer combo. Now that you are armed with definite information, check the GVWR or GAWR to see if that axle rating is aligned with your combo. Next, employ the help of an assistant and measure your trailer. Hook up the trailer to the ball and mark the center of the ball shank on the bottom. Now with your assistant holding the tape on the mark, measure accurately to the front spring hanger on each side of the trailer. They should be within 1/16" and not exceed 1/8". A trailer that is 3/16" difference needs immediate attention to rectify the problem. Next, measure from the front spring shackle bolt to the link strap on each side to see if they are parallel. If your axle is not installe square, it will "crab" going down the road and cause excessive wear. If everything looks to be true, measure the exact distance between the rims at 12 o'clock, 3, 6 and 9 if possible. this will tell you if the camber or tow is out.

[texas c]

Dabs, thank you for your reply!! I think I may have over kill on my axle. I am not sure I understand GVWR and GAWR...and my combo being aligned. I am sure I have too heavy an axle...will that mess up the combo alignment? Is over kill bad? My boat is at the lake so will have to measure it, etc. and post again with that information. Just wanted to know about "too much axle and bigger tires." Thanks for the quick response and the information. I appreciate it!

[DABS]

GAWR=Gross Axle Weight Rating, GVWR=Gross Vehicle Weight Rating. You should have a tag on your trailer, usually between the frame rails up front where the frame rails come together to meet the tongue. You may have this info on your registration or title. On a single axle trailer, they should be the same. Once you find out what your boat and trailer combo weighs, it should be under this rating. If it is over the rating, then a bigger and stronger axle is in order. Where is the tire wear, on the inside tread, outside on one and inside on the other? Tire wear from under inflated tires usually wear the outer edges of the tire on both sides. If your tire is over inflated, it will wear the center of the tread. Tires that wear on the outside of one and the inside of the other, indicate a crabbing situation and point to improper axle installation. When you switched to the bigger axle, did they also go to a stronger multileaf spring? I believe your original springs were 26" from eye to eye. If they were replace with 25 1/4" springs, this too can cause a problem as the link straps on the rear of the springs would be positioned wrong. The links should be at a 45 deg angle or close to it. The links should also be at equal angles on both sides of the trailer.

[texas c]

They did not switch springs but had to use a different "u" bolt on the axle because this axle is a big round axle...the other one was on the square type. Had to use longer "u" bolts also.
Dabs, thanks so much! Will have to get to the lake to check all of this out...I am leaving the boat at the lake so I won't have to drive with the possibility of tire trouble on the road. I think after the tire starts to wear into the tread and gets lower ...it wears alot faster. I have been told that this is softer rubber. Both of these tires are wearing on the inside but the port side tire is wearing "more or faster." I think the reason I was told to over inflate was so they would wear in the middle. The middle tread looks new. You don't realize you have a problem until it is too late. Otherwise, I would have tried to correct this before it started wearing the tires so bad. Wished I had stayed with my old axle type and just got a new axle with a new spindle. Don't think some of these trailer places know what they are doing...they sure don't sound as knowledgable as you. When I took it back, to ask about this problem...they just walked around, kicked the tire, spit on the ground and said everything was okay. Of course, they already had my $$$$.

[texas c]

One more question. Can you "overkill" with too big of an axle? I was going at one time...having had spring problems...(broke a few leafs)... to beef up or go to stronger springs and the spring people told me I would just jar my boat apart. I have had other places tell me that I had a flex in the original axle which caused some of my original problem. This trailer place told me that my spindle was bent. It was an off set welded on spindle. They said they could not repair it and suggested this heavier axle.

[DABS]

I would imagine that you have an axle that is much stronger than needed. Ranger does a pretty good job of designing their trailers with the appropriate rated axles. Do you know if the old axle had a tapered spindle or straight? Ranger uses a lot of 4200# axles on the 5 lug single axle trailers. Once you get a true weight on your boat and trailer, you will be able to assess whether or not a stronger axle was in order. I highly doubt that the repair shop took the time to weigh it and get a fair assessment. Sometimes it's all about sales. If you'd like, feel free to email me some pictures of your tire wear at warrantytn@ufpnet.com. I'd be happy to pass them on to the engineers for a fair assessment for you. Please identify yourself as the BBC member with the tire wear issue. I have about 5000 emails in my inbox and I'd hate to see it accidently get missed. If possible, include the actual weight of the boat and trailer so we can try and give you a fair assesment.

[Lyn O. Dyer]

5000 emails ??? Sounds like you need some help there..lol..

[DABS]

Yeah, I just deleted 7000....lol

[texas c]

DABS: PM sent...had to be short and sweet...they have limited amount of characters. So, No BS....since I always have a lot of ???????