Unusal Tire Wear

[BoatNoobie]

So I bought this boat/trailer last summer. When looking it over, I noticed this right away on the spare tire.



The outside of the tire, has this weird weaving wear pattern. I looked over the tires that's on the trailer itself, and it has a very slight hint of the similar pattern, but there was more of a "normal" negative camber wear on the tire.

The opposite tire looked normal, but it had a different brand tire on that 1.

I asked the owner, and he stated he noticed the wear too and checked the bearings. Looked fine, but the castle nut was a little loose. So he repacked it and has been driving it no problems.

I drove it around all summer and fall with no issues. Hubs never got hot or even warm. But my trips are 5-15 miles 1 way, depending on where I go. I just ordered some new tires.

Hopefully take the boat out for hte first time for the year, next week. I dont plan on taking any long trips with it until summer. ~200 miles 1 way.

So what's the deal with the weird pattern? Bent axle/spindle? Damaged bearings? Bent wheel? Or was it just a "loose bearing" and it's all good now?

I didn't really notice the tire wear getting worse when I was using it last year.

[BoatNoobie]

It is a single axle with the bend at the middle.

The boat is listed at ~1000lbs, assuming the new ones, weigh as much as the old ones. The motor is listed is about 250. I have only 2 batteries in there, so that's about ~120lbs.

Gas tank is usually only half full with ~10-12 gallons, so that's about 60-80lbs.

[Hardhead1]

Wear is on the out side only means there's Camber or Toe Wear, could be caused by misaligned, loose parts or incorrect ride height.

[transamz9]

It looks like the tire was run low in air for a while and has broken a belt. The tire in the picture has a broken belt.

[BoatNoobie]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by transamz9 &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">It looks like the tire was run low in air for a while and has broken a belt. The tire in the picture has a broken belt. </td></tr></table>

I didn't know that was possibe to have a broken belt. Never seen or heard of that before. It is a Carlisle tire.

I found a local alignment shop that said they will take a look at it.

[ClaySlayer]

I don't see any weights either so it wasn't balanced...

[BoatNoobie]

So I took my trailer down to a local alignment shop. Was recommended to go down there by others with trailers.

Anyways, they said my axle is fine. But I do have a little bit more than normal negative camber on the left side. Toe is in spec.

They said the tire wear is from cupping. Combo of cheap tires, possibly low pressure, not being balanced. Which causes the trailer to hop to cause the wear.

So good news. Now just waiting for my Maxxis to show up. Been 1 week now. :(

[aj306]

If you let the air out of the spare you will see the tread will not be straight anymore indicating a belt has shifted inside the tire. Tire people will tell you this is caused by sitting in one place for to long.

[jentrick]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by BoatNoobie &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">So I took my trailer down to a local alignment shop. Was recommended to go down there by others with trailers.

Anyways, they said my axle is fine. But I do have a little bit more than normal negative camber on the left side. Toe is in spec.

They said the tire wear is from cupping. Combo of cheap tires, possibly low pressure, not being balanced. Which causes the trailer to hop to cause the wear.

So good news. Now just waiting for my Maxxis to show up. Been 1 week now. :(</td></tr></table>
Cheap tires no..&lt;ore like a owner that never pays attention or inspects the trailer..No wheel weights is the reason for the problem..

[tcesni]

I have tires that wear just like this guy's on one side of my axle that is supposedly straight and I always have my tires balanced. I just plan on replacing my tires every two years because this wear pattern will cause the tire to eventually fail - I know from experience. Doesn't matter what brand of tires I use either.

[BoatNoobie]

Oh yes, I forgot to mention. The shop said the current wheel on the left side is slightly bent. They noticed a wobble on it. Not bad, but enough to notice.

So when I got home, I ordered 3 new rims to replace these and the spare. Pretty cheap. Only $100 shipped for 3 galvanized 13" wheels. Nothing fancy, but should get the job done.

[tcesni]

Thanks for posting the info regarding the wheel. Maybe that is what is wrong with mine as I still use the factory wheels. I will check it out.