Uneven tire wear - Montana Owners Club

kmh3212 · 01-21-2007, 06:35 PM

Anybody have problems with uneven tire wear especially on the inside? I'm having this problem on three tires. One worse than the others.

The Oldguard · 01-21-2007, 06:50 PM

Kevin, here is an old discussion about tire wear I pulled up in the search forum.

http://www.montanaowners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18712&SearchTerms=,tread,wear

kmh3212 · 01-21-2007, 07:46 PM

Thanks! I read it completely. I keep tires at 80 psi. I suspect axle alignment. I have the ALKO axles. I understand from another forum that ALKO had some bad axles get out. I've had multiple problems from brakes as well. Brake springs breaking and such.

Ozz · 01-21-2007, 09:44 PM

My 30' Keystone Sprinter Had the axle problem, I had to have one changed, but they changed both of them out, also gave me a new tire. My dealer fixed me up with no problem.

smc · 01-21-2007, 11:19 PM

We had a problem with tire wear on the inside, got the axles aligned and have not had any problems since.

H. John Kohl · 01-22-2007, 12:41 AM

I would look at the axles and also the springs. I was told that if the springs are weak they can also cause tire wear.
Good luck and tow safe.
Cheers,

sreigle · 01-22-2007, 04:02 AM

Had the same tire wear on the Alko axles on our 2003 3295RK. It cost me $150 to have them aligned but that eliminated the tire wear problem.

kmh3212 · 01-22-2007, 04:32 AM

Thanks for the quick replies! What kind of place aligns travel trailer axles? I think axle alignment is my problem. I have an extended warranty on my unit.

Ozz · 01-22-2007, 06:25 AM

Actually, you could do it yourself, I would guess a good friend, a case of beer and an impact wrench and sockets.
I don't think it is rocket science.
If you have the warranty, check with the company you bought it from, to see who they will pay to do the job.

lightningjack11 · 01-22-2007, 07:24 AM

kmh,

Don't forget to check for hole elongation in the shackle links. A lot of members had this problem. Could provide enough loosness to cause a tire problem. They are number 3 on page 30 of the Alko manual.

Ormee and Ginette · 01-22-2007, 09:13 AM

My first indication of shakle wear was the inside tread of all the tires starting to wear out pre-maturely... The shakle kits that the dealer put on were not from Keystone but from another auto/truck supply outlet and these were heavey duty shakles... No more tread wear on any of the tires...

kmh3212 · 01-22-2007, 09:31 AM

Ormee and Ginette, I'll check the spring shackles for hole elongation.

Ozz, I have the air tools, jacks etc. I like to do it myself If it's not a huge job. Can I guess that loosen the spring hangers and make sure the axles are perfectly parallel? I've had poor luck with the trailer guys around here. I've had to fix problems that they were paid to fix when I was in a pinch. I do have a warranty if the job looks too big!

Les and Julie · 01-22-2007, 02:57 PM

We had a similar problem -- we have a 2004 - 3380RL and it was delivered with wrong axels -- 5000 lb. instad of 6000 lb. Had bad wear on three wheels on the inside and one wheel on the outside. Axels should be stamped or tagged with the ratings. We reported this to our dealer and they replaced them immediately.

Les

bobgay · 01-23-2007, 01:12 AM

Our right rear tire was bald on the inside after 15,000 miles. Tread was still good on the outside of that tire and all the other tires looked like new. Took it to the dealer (Sun Coast in Jacksonville). Their first reaction was "that's normal tire wear". After I pressed them on it, they looked closer and found the left rear spring shackle had broken, and the leaf spring was resting on the frame. This made the left side of the trailer sit a couple of inches low, and of course the rear axle was way out of line.
Well, they repaired the spring under warranty about 2 weeks ago, but the dealer says they are still waiting for Keystone to decide if they will replace the tire. This is quite a contrast to the service we got from Keystone customer service up at the Goshen rally.

Emmel · 01-23-2007, 03:14 AM

kmh3212, had the same problem with my Alko axels on our 2004 model 3280. I went to Keystone and was refered to Alko, who answered they knew there was a problem but, my unit was 3 months over the warranty. They offered to send free new axels but I would have to pay to install and but new tires. Then I called Keystone again and got a better answer, this time they said if we were unhappy with one of their suppliers, we were unhappy with Keystone. Keystone took care of the entire bill and I had them replaced here in Troy at my dealership instead of going to the service center. However, if I would have had to, I would have gone there. Keystone came thru and was great to us and others, don't be afraid to call them. Ask for Brandon!

kmh3212 · 01-23-2007, 05:10 AM

Thanks Emmel,
I had complained to my dealer early on and got nowhere. "Normal tire wear." Another site somebodey said, "ALKO had some bad axles get out of the factory." I'm going to check:
1. Shackle and shackle wear. But this started from when new.
2. Axle parallel alignment.
3. Get my help me hat on and call Keystone.

patodonn · 01-24-2007, 07:20 AM

Wear on the inside of all 4 tires usually indicates the need to have them bent upward in the middle. Interesting process to watch..

We had to have the axles "bent" to correct a mis-alignment. A good alignment shop can handle it or recommend a good local truck/trailer alignment shop. About $150. They can check all the alignment parameters and easily fix any of them.

Dexter makes a heavy duty shackle kit which fits the Al-Ko axles. Dexter shackles can be lubed. Big plus. We replaced ours two years ago. The Al-Ko shackle bolt holes had worn almost to the failure point, and are difficult to check due to the size of the bolt flanges. Might have them looked at as well during the alignment check.

kmh3212 · 01-25-2007, 01:48 PM

I went to my local dealer today they said to call Keystone/Montana. After the first call and got put on hold and left a message... they never called back so I called again and got Craig. He suggested I was overloaded. After I explained the physics of the weight distribution in my 3670 RL with 1/2 to 3/4 or an additional weight goes to the hitch pin he said to call ALKO. Too late this afternoon and I'll have to call ALKO back tomorrow. I have a real good extended warranty as well. I'll keep you informed.

kmh3212 · 01-26-2007, 10:57 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by kmh3212

I went to my local dealer today they said to call Keystone/Montana. After the first call and got put on hold and left a message... they never called back so I called again and got Craig. He suggested I was overloaded. After I explained the physics of the weight distribution in my 3670 RL with 1/2 to 3/4 or an additional weight goes to the hitch pin he said to call ALKO. Too late this afternoon and I'll have to call ALKO back tomorrow. I have a real good extended warranty as well. I'll keep you informed.

[:0 Update: I got a call from Steven at Keystone/Montana. I was assured by Steven to call AL-KO and see what they said. I called AL-KO and they asked me to get axle information to see if there is a warranty issue. I got under the camper and found that I had a 6000 lb axle on the front and a 5200 lb axle on the rear. The 5200 lb axle is where I have most of the problems. I already had replace the both rear tires. They were worn to the threads on the inside and looked practically new on the out side. The rear axle (5200 lb one) appeared to be completely straight rather than crowned in the middle to align the tires. The cost difference to Montana would be $20-30 from 5200 lb to 6000 lb. I would hope this is a mistake and not for Montana to save a buck! More to follow on Monday....

kmh3212 · 01-26-2007, 12:09 PM

Oh the shackles look fine. Now that I know what the problem is I will have to see what happens next. My local dealer told me he'd never seen that problem only to find out he had sent them to a local RV repair shop to fix "30 to 40 of these a couple of years ago sent to him by (name omitted)" local dealer. The dealer out of state where I had bought the unit from told me late this afternoon that they had fixed dozens of axle problems exactly like mine and how to get the claim processed.

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