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Old 10-29-2016, 04:34 AM   #1
REDBEV MONTANA
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Tow Vehicle Steer Tires??

My steer tires wearing on the outside edge both sides. Very noticeable, inside edges still like new. Took to my dealer when had 7-8000 miles on it to get alignment checked, soon as tech saw 5th wheel in bed sold me not to waste my money! Said typical wear when pulling 5th wheel?? I reluctantly accepted figuring must be something to it if they did not want my money. Have since taken to 2 different reliable tire /alignment shops and got basically the same answer. Curious if this is typical with everyone and we just buy a lot of steer tires? I have had them rotated with drive tires once and am getting ready to take in and have turned around on wheels to prolong wear as much as I can. I'm only about 200 lbs difference on steer axle between hooked and unhooked. They are OEM General tires which I think are pretty good tires but don't know and it is a dully. Any incites will be appreciated.
 
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Old 10-29-2016, 04:40 AM   #2
Drifty1
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I had Les Schwab do mine. It was out of alignment and we have had no problem since.
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Old 10-29-2016, 04:42 AM   #3
8.1al
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I've towed fifth wheels with 3 different trucks and have never experienced that kind of wear.
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Old 10-29-2016, 04:53 AM   #4
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Definitely sounds like an alignment issue.
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Old 10-29-2016, 05:28 AM   #5
Art-n-Marge
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I agree with the others. Trucks are designed to pull trailers and whether a fifth wheel or bumper tow, front end wear is an alignment problem, not a usage problem. You need to go to better tire dealers who know what they are doing. Les Schwab is a good one, and I have had success with Pep Boys, Discount Tire Centers, America's Tire (Discount Tire), Tire Pros and many other reputable tire places. I avoid any tire shop that would tell me that kind of doo-doo.

I wonder if even if you were overweight with your tow load that this would be the case. I can imagine this causing an apparent alignment problem since the weight might cause the front end to rise, so much so that the tires are now riding on the outsides like you are seeing. Then if one has tires that are overflated, even more so. This would be a weight compliance issue that the trailer is aggravating. Is this what they might be alluding too? They would just be explaining it wrong - another reason to avoid them.

Where is LonnieB who could set this straight. I miss his expertise.
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Old 10-29-2016, 05:51 AM   #6
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I'm working on my second set of tires on our truck. Never rotated them and never had a front wear issue. When Escapees weigh you and your rig the do give you a number for how much weight the trailer is taking off the front end of the truck. That might be something to look into.
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Old 10-29-2016, 06:33 AM   #7
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I replaced my front tires this spring due to edge wear. My alignment was good. Think about how much work these do when you back into a site. Notice that black on the pavement after a back end? Not all sites have nice layouts that lessen the amount of steering input it takes to get into them. My rear duallies still look good, but I will change them out sometime since they are now over four years old. John
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Old 10-29-2016, 06:56 AM   #8
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I would also agree that it is probably an alignment issue. One other quick note is to make sure the the tires are rated for both directions of rotation. I know my Michelin snow tires are single direction of rotation. Probably not an issue with your dually tires.

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Old 10-29-2016, 10:22 AM   #9
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We have pulled trailers since 1971, never had a tire problem like was described.
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Old 10-29-2016, 01:44 PM   #10
Countryfolks
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Ours wore on the outside, had 3 bad ball joints.
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Old 10-29-2016, 06:48 PM   #11
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Concur with ball joint issue.
Something no one thinks about when getting an alignment is your vehicle is unloaded. Meaning no driver, no passenger, generally no cargo, etc.
To get the proper camber, castor and toe in / toe out, the vehicle needs to be loaded the you normally use it. This means the weight of the driver in the driver's seat. The weight of the passenger in the passenger seat. The weight of the cargo in the bed. Now this is going to sound crazy, but if you only use your truck to tow your RV, then you need weight in the bed that matches your pin weight. If you can't do that, then try getting at least a couple thousand pounds of cinder block, fire wood, old batteries, golf cart, something in the bed. Also something to substitute for driver and passenger weight. I said this would sound crazy but think about it. I know this doesn't seem practical but not doing so means your alignment does not match your real world vehicle usage.
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Old 10-30-2016, 01:32 AM   #12
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Two Montanas and also two different TVs over a 9 year period and NEVER a problem with steer tires. I would find another tire dealer.
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Old 10-30-2016, 01:44 AM   #13
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Four Montanas and three different TVs over a 15 year period and never had a problem with steer tires. In fact only one had a front end alignment done.
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Old 10-30-2016, 02:55 AM   #14
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My problem came early on in my 5er "career". I had odd wear on the then new truck after hailing our Big Sky for a few months. My tire guy said it was the pin weight lifting the front end. Even though my DRW is a one ton, I put air bags on it. Lifted the rear end slightly, and in 8 years I have never had that problem again.
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Old 10-31-2016, 02:06 AM   #15
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Take the truck and trailer in for the alignment. Alignment should be checked both loaded and unloaded. If they are substantially different, a good alignment shop will find a happy medium that won't cause the irregular wear you are experiencing. The vast majority of alignment shops today use computerized alignment equipment that has factory specs in it and that's what most tech's go by. They see a "green" or "red" situation and nothing else. Few tech's today know how to use their brain to do an alignment based on the vehicle use.
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Old 10-31-2016, 02:28 AM   #16
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Some trucks "rear up" more than others when loaded. When your truck squats a bit in the rear, it increases the camber (tilt out at top of tire) on your front tires. Softer rear suspension also promotes more bounce which produces more instances of increased camber. When I used to align trucks back in the day ... if we knew a truck would be hooked to a trailer most of the time ... we'd put zero to a bit of negative camber on the truck no matter the call out in the manual.
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Old 10-31-2016, 03:58 PM   #17
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I have a 2014 f350 and had the same problem. Took it in and the shop said I had a bad left ball joint. It was replaced under warranty, unfortunately had to replace my 2 front tires.
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Old 11-01-2016, 11:07 AM   #18
REDBEV MONTANA
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Thanks everyone for all your input. I should have stuck with my first original gut feeling. I took to get alignment checked today, turns out is was out of alignment as I suspected. My bad, cost me some miles off my tires! BTW it was my Ford dealer and a Les Schwab dealer that led me wrong in the beginning. Also in my case I add 200 lbs to the steer axle when hooked up not remove weight from it. Also have added air bags to be able to level up when hooked up.
Again thanks to all for your input.
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Old 11-23-2016, 07:53 PM   #19
kenneth e holman
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Air bags will certainly do the trick. It doesn't seem possible that you can add weight to the front of the truck with a lot of hitch weight but your hitch is actually a few inches forward of the rear axle. My truck has 3480 pounds hitch weight plus the weight of the air-bag hitch plus the picture frame base for the hitch. This puts me at about 4,000 pounds of hitch weight. I weigh the same on the front axle loaded or empty per the cat scales.Don't forget to lower your air-bags to about 10 pounds when running empty. These trucks already ride like a buck-board.Glad you got it corrected as these tires aren't cheap.
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Old 11-23-2016, 10:26 PM   #20
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by kenneth e holman

I weigh the same on the front axle loaded or empty per the cat scales.
Hi

What make and model truck do you have. Our 2009 Quad cab Silverado 3500 DRW Duramax adds weight to the front axle as we load our 5th wheel when I reach the TV GW rating by loading the fifth wheel my front axle is very near the max axel weigh rating. My 5th wheel is mounted in the location specified by GM which is forward of the center line of the rear axle if my memory serves me correctly is about 1 inch.

In accordance with GM’s recommendation the tires are rotated every oil change and I get even wear all around the only disadvantage to this is having to purchase all new tires at the same time and this next tire change will cost extra because my spare is now 7 years old and will have to change it as well. I am averaging 60,000 miles on a set of tires.

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