Tire Wear

[DelawareDead]

Good day campers,

I have some unusual wear on two of my tires that I noticed after our trip to Glacier from Delaware. It is on the rear tire on the kitchen slide side (driver's side). The outer edge is wore down substantially. I also noticed this on the rear door side but not as bad. I am guessing more weight on the kitchen side. Also, I am not level when towing and not sure how to fix that. From my rear bed rail to the camper bottom is 6" of clearance which I am confident is where I want to be but the camper is not level. There is about a 3" difference from the front of the camper to rear of the camper. (measured over about 30' of frame). Here is the info.

Camper: 2021 HC 331RL (we love it!!!)
TV: 2017 Ford F350 6.7L
Camper Tires: Rainer ST235/80 R16 max psi 95....I ran them at 90
TV Tires: Continental LT275/65 R20 mas psi 80 ran them at 75
CAT Scale #'s from our original loaded weight for our first trip
GCWR 22040
Trailer Axle 10720
TV Rear Axle 6040
Steer Axle 5280
Pin Weight 2660

I have pictures of all four tires but not sure how to add them. I will try to figure that out and post them.

I have lowered by hitch height to the lowest setting. It was previously in the middle height. (B&W Companion) This makes me a little nervous because I think I will be giving up an inch to inch and half of my clearance. But is think my problem is that I am not level. Thanks in advance for any suggestions based on your experience. Thanks!!!

[Camp CA]

Do you have a 4x4 and/or lifts? A 4x4 vs. 4x2 adds at least 6 inches of bed height, and as a result, unlikely the trailer will be ever be level. Just check to be sure you have 5.5 inch minimum clearance between the truck rail and bottom of the trailer cab (per my Curt hitch instructions).

Posting photos: click on the "Go Advanced" tab, then manage attachments, then and then choose a file, then upload.

[DelawareDead]

Yes, I have the 4x4 off road option and no I do not have a lift kit. Thanks for the heads up about the pictures.

First two pictures are the rear kitchen slide tire and the third picture is rear door side slide tire.

[dieselguy]

3" out of level is alot on a 30' trailer. I assume you're heavy on the rear axle due to being considerably nose high. I would think your back axle would be wearing opposite due to more weight pushing down on the natural upward bend in the axle tube causing your positive camber to possibly go negative. Your only definitive solution would be an alignment check for starters. Sorry I don't have your answer ...
I do have a 2017 Ford F350 and had to take the stock rear axle spacers out and go with 1" spacers that were custom made with the right taper to keep the drive shaft angle correct. Actually the truck sits level (not high in the rear anymore) and looks nicer as well.

[Camp CA]

That sounds like a good fix.

[dieselguy]

The lowering blocks were from a company called PMF Suspensions in Tuscon, AZ. They can make what you want in about any configuration. You do pay for their product however ... Ha!

[DelawareDead]

Originally Posted by dieselguy

3" out of level is alot on a 30' trailer. I assume you're heavy on the rear axle due to being considerably nose high. I would think your back axle would be wearing opposite due to more weight pushing down on the natural upward bend in the axle tube causing your positive camber to possibly go negative. Your only definitive solution would be an alignment check for starters. Sorry I don't have your answer ...
I do have a 2017 Ford F350 and had to take the stock rear axle spacers out and go with 1" spacers that were custom made with the right taper to keep the drive shaft angle correct. Actually the truck sits level (not high in the rear anymore) and looks nicer as well.

Thanks for the suggestion. Just to clarify, the camper is 37' 4" total length, When I measured the height from the ground up to the frame, it was over a 30' length of the camper. Hopefully that makes sense and probably doesn't make a difference.

[RMcNeal]

A simpler solution might be to add blocks to the trailer suspension to raise it an inch or two. But in all honesty, I wouldn't worry about that little of nose high. Only six inches of bed rail clearance would be more of a concern for me. I have 8 inches of clearance and I have been very close to hitting the bed rails on unlevel ground.
I also have the B&W companion hitch and found that the rig seems to tow much smoother with the hitch on the lowest setting, so I leave it there. Just have to be aware when backing into sloped sites and unlevel ground.

[phillyg]

Uneven tire wear on outside or inside edges generally results from over/under loading, or bent spindle(s), or alignment being out somehow.

[dieselguy]

Perhaps I view the issue of a nose high trailer differently. It's just as easy to lower your truck as it is to add blocks to your trailer. To each his own, but why make a tall camper taller and a top heavy camper more top heavy? Most all of today's pickups sit too tall to start with. A couple of jack stands, a floor jack, loosen eight nuts on the axle u-bolts, slip the stock spacers out, the new spacer in, tighten it all back up, done.

[RMcNeal]

Agreed. It's a fairly simple change either way. Typically, the high point on a nose high trailer is going to be the front AC. Adding blocks to the rear axles wouldn't change your high point any higher. Just pivot the rear a bit higher to get the rig more level.
Either way, it's not worth the effort in my opinion.

[dieselguy]

Just for conversation ... personally I'd address a 3" nose high setup by whatever it took on my own fiver but granted you do see lotsa late model pickup / fiver combinations pulling in that configuration on most any hiway. As a rebuttal which I'm know for ... we've added 3" blocks to a 35' Forest River product a while back and it did raise the front A/C almost an inch. I wasn't onboard with the owner's decision, but money talks and hot air walks. A lifted truck so you can see down at the gals with mini skirts on in the car next to you just doesn't have the bling it used to for me. I will point out it all depends on how far forward the A/C is and where the axles are located as to overall height increase. The front A/C on this unit was a fat 6' back from the pin box pin itself. That distance probably made the @1" happen which like you elude to isn't worth straining brain cells over but it does raise the center of gravity overall which I'd rather avoid.

[Lee-CI]

Originally Posted by dieselguy

I will point out it all depends on how far forward the A/C is and where the axles are located as to overall height increase. The front A/C on this unit was a fat 6' back from the pin box pin itself. That distance probably made the @1" happen which like you elude to isn't worth straining brain cells over but it does raise the center of gravity overall which I'd rather avoid.

Plus the higher center of gravity can definitely come into play in a stiff crosswind. Not everyone pulls over when conditions dictate they should really do so...

[Carl n Susan]

You didn't mention what tires these are and how many miles on them. They look like Sailuns but I am guessing. Anyway, the Sailuns and G6114s (which I have experience with), tend to wear the outside (and sometimes the inside) edge more than the rest of the tread. We have been told it is due to scrubbing the tire when making turns. Both manufacturers say there is extra rubber and depth there to allow for this.

Given you are nose high, the rear tires take a larger portion of the load and consequently tire scrub. A bent axle will cause excess wear on the inside edge of the tire. Outside wear is either gross under inflation (I suspect unlikely) or tire scrub wear.

I would keep an eye on them and see what happens.

[DelawareDead]

Originally Posted by Carl n Susan

You didn't mention what tires these are and how many miles on them. They look like Sailuns but I am guessing. Anyway, the Sailuns and G6114s (which I have experience with), tend to wear the outside (and sometimes the inside) edge more than the rest of the tread. We have been told it is due to scrubbing the tire when making turns. Both manufacturers say there is extra rubber and depth there to allow for this.

Given you are nose high, the rear tires take a larger portion of the load and consequently tire scrub. A bent axle will cause excess wear on the inside edge of the tire. Outside wear is either gross under inflation (I suspect unlikely) or tire scrub wear.

I would keep an eye on them and see what happens.

Rainer tires. They came with the fiver when we got in March 2021. Thanks for the feedback

[tom woodward]

I have the same problem with mine but I have it on all four tires, that is the inside and out side are wearing quicker. I notice this last trip that the right rear tire is the worse and it look like chunks are being worn out. I first thought it might be an axel alignment but my axel isn’t adjustable. I thought it was because the tires were under inflated ( I ran them at 70 psi because the trailer bounced everything out of the cabinets when I ran them at 90) and now I run them at 80 as a compromise. I do believe a lot has to do with backing it up as the tires take a lot of twisting and I back it into my parking spot. I’m just going to watch them and change them when the side get too worn despite the middle treat depth

[Camp CA]

Suggest to replace with ST Radial G ply tires for best wear.

[dieselguy]

Tom Woodward ... your axles surely are adjustable. Take your fiver to a truck / trailer alignment shop and they will check the alignment and bend the axles into spec unless something is tragically wrong. We have two businesses out here in Wichita that do trailers and RV's on any given day with lasting results. Don't waste your time going to an RV dealer or an auto alignment shop.

[BB_TX]

With both tires on the same axle having unusual wear I would suspect an axle problem. Could be bent. Could be out of alignment. Could be something about the suspension where that axle is attached.

[Foldbak]

I would be concerned with the "out of level" condition. You didn't say how much out of level it is. A portion of it can be weight related causing it to lean to one side but it warrants suspension inspection.


Also picture 3 looks like it could be slightly over inflated, wearing in the middle.