Excessive Tire Wear- causes?

[John Scribner]

Hello- new to the forum.  Quick question- I have been running our Dutchman "Duck" 803 for 5 years.  In the last year I have developed severe tire wear on the inside edges of the tires, once resulting in an unexpected blowout.  The wear looks like someone belt-sanded the inside edge at intervals.  I have just replaced the bearings, and bought new class C 5.70X 8 tires.  When I look at the axle from behind, it looks like a gentle "U" at rest, resulting in positive camber on the wheels, and maybe excess wear on the inner edges of the tires (?).. In contrast, my utility trailer, unloaded at rest,  looks like an inverted "U" when the trailer is not loaded- as a load is added, the axle tends to flatten out, and the angle on the tires approaches a neutral camber.  My question is this- could my axle on my camper have gradually turned on the 4 U-bolts securing it to the leaf springs, resulting in the axle being "flipped" 180 degrees, causing excessive positive camber on the wheels and excessive wear on the inner edges of the tires??  My Dutchman dealer didn't think so, but didn't have an explanation for my problem, either.  He suggested buying a new axle, and discouraged me from loosening the axle and rotating it.  Anyone had experience with this area?  Thanks in advance,
John Scribner

[Tim5055]

If my memory serves me correctly, Dexter axles when looking from the front/rear look like an inverted V (i.e. point up).  As you load the axle this flattens out slightly getting closer to a neutral camber.

Is it possible that rather than loostening and slipping, it was installed incorrectly originally??  Just a thought.

[SpeakEasy]

My original tires developed the same type of wear you're describing after less than 10,000 miles. As I began asking questions I learned two things: First, tires on campers are extremely sensitive to proper inflation pressure. If you don't keep them topped off when towing, (mine require 50 psi), you'll see wear more quickly than you'd believe. Second, they will wear more quickly if you don't have your trailer perfectly level when towing. You may need to get a different height drawbar if your trailer is not level when hooked up to your hitch. Also, once a wear pattern begins to develop it's awfully hard to get it to stop wearing in that pattern.

I'll leave it to the engineers in our midst to explain WHY these things cause tire wear.

[flyfisherman]

I'm with your dealer ... I don't think so either.

Let me ask ... how are you doing in the weight department? (The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of the trailer) - Would not excess  load/weight cause the inside of the tires to wear? Seems I heard someplace along the line that the 8" tires especially would show up with these "symptoms" when overloaded.


Fly

[John Scribner]

To all-  excellent points.  I don't recall ever noticing how my PU "sat" before beginning to have problems, even though I am very aware of how my utility trailer "sits" on it's axle, as I frequently load it up with firewood until I just see the axle starting to flatten out a bit.  I just never paid that much attention to the PU, so I don't know if the axle was installed correctly or not.  It IS a fairly heavy camper, apparently made by Dutchmen with leftover spare parts at the end of the model year, and sold a bit cheaper than their regular line (at least that's what we were told by the dealer when we bought it new).  We used to load heavier than we do now, since our kids are grown and don't go with us anymore.  I'm pretty careful about the tire pressures, and load distribution- I will have to look more carefully at the height issue at the receiver.  We tow with a Grand Cherokee, and it has never looked out of level.  I have faithfully re-packed the wheel bearings every spring, but found one this year that was frozen to the axle (inner bearing). Most of these wear issues came about on long trips to the East Coast in the summer with high ambient temps, and the failures came quickly and unexpectedly.  Last year I was bumped from behind hard enough to bow my (cheap) rear bumper dead center, but it didn't appear to affect alignment of the frame at all.  I will check everything you've suggested carefully- it's no fun having a blow-out at highway speeds, let me tell you from personal experience!!  Any other suggestions gratefully accepted!
John Scribner

[abbear]

I did a post last year that talked about tires at some length.  As I recall wear as you describe ON THE OUTSIDE of the tire is due to lack of rotating the tires (yes, pop up tires need to be rotated at regular intervals).  If the wear extends all the way across the tire the tire is probably out of balance.  As has already been mentioned proper inflation is a must.

Have you tried contacting Dexter and asking them about the wear problems with your tires?  Just a thought..

Good luck!

[mike4947]

All small trailer axles have a slight inverted V to allow for weight carrying capacity of the axle over it's unloaded capacity.
A non inverted V means something drastic has happened to the axle.
If you take a square on a flat surface and place it up to the tire there shouldn't be a gap at the upper tire surface when the square is up against the lower tire surface and less than an 1/8" gap on the bottom if the square contacts the upper tire surface first. Theoretically both surfaces should contact the square when the trailer is loaded to it's gross axle weight rating with the tires inflated to the maximum pressure listed on the sidewalls of the tires.
You do have to take into account any tire bulge. I usually use the square where the tire meets the rim in the front or back of the outside surface.
 
Over loading is the main cause of the axle V being "rught side up. Just too much weight for the axle to maintain the factory shape. Even a small overload can cause the problems after the trailer hits bumps and road hazards over time.
While you may not think it there's a good chance the trailer is over it's GAWR. So again my favorite rant. GET THE TRAILER WEIGHED.

[John Scribner]

Thanks for the info, Mike.  I will get the trailer weighed.  The dealer was right- there's no way the axle can rotate.  There are brackets welded on it that confine it within the u-bolts.  The dealer has offered to put on a new axle for 200.00, and I may just do that.
John Scribner

[Kelly]

For $200. I'd take them up on it.

I had the same problem with a Dexter torsion axle on a Palomino I used to own.  I think the previous owners consistently overloaded it and the axle eventually collapsed.  We were 2 months past the warranty, but the dealer went to bat for us and got the replacement warranteed out.  I'm pretty sure it was a lot more than $200.

Good luck![/FONT]

[John Scribner]

Here's the f/u on my original question...  the original axle was grossly undersized compared to the new beefier axle I had installed at the dealer. (total 253.00) The old axle was bent and just plain worn out.  My trailer used to bounce down the highway, squeaking loudly.  It rides proud now, no bouncing and no squeaking, and has the right "inverted V" look to the axle.  Consequently, the trailer rides flat on the tire, instead of the inner edges of the tires.  I suspect the dealer's explanantion of the way the Dutchmen "Duck" series are assembled (that end-of -season overruns of parts are used to construct an inexpensive trailer) was correct-  I believe they used an axle that was just too light for the relatively heavy camper, and after about 10K miles, it just wasn't doing the job anymore.  Other than that, we have been extremely pleased with our Duck.   Thanks to everyone for your input, and have a great camping summer.  We head out for Pokagon State Park (IN) for a nice long Father's Day weekend.  I finally got around to installing an outside weatherproof electrical outlet on the camper, so no more messy extension cords running outside!
John Scribner