Unusual tire wear?

[bigdawgfinley]

So my Sailun tires show an unusual tire wear in that the front axle tires show inside wear while the rear axle shows outside wear. If it’s due to scuffing then it would be from backing up which doesn’t make sense. I checked axle alignment and it’s perfect. Overpressure or under pressure would show similar wear on both axles. And I think overloading wouldn’t show outside wear only. Can anyone make sense of this?

[jsb5717]

Can you attach pics? What is the age of the tires? Approx how many miles on them? What PSI do you run in them?

[RMcNeal]

Overloading on the front axle "could" show inside wear. Also, are you certain that the alignment is perfect? Have you checked the toe on each wheel? Even if they are aligned to each other, there could still be toe in or out when loaded and hooked to the TV.
I'm no expert, just thinking out loud.

[rames14]

Also check the camber on your axles. We have always had tire wear until we upgraded to IS suspension. There is supposed to be normal wear 1” from the sides. Good luck and keep us posted on what you find.

[bigdawgfinley]

I suppose I could have normal wear on back with overload on front

[Montana Man]

It's alignment. A truck alignment shop fixes these every day.

[bigdawgfinley]

Thanks for the alignment advice. Now I just need to find a shop in my area

[phillyg]

A definite alignment issue on one or both axles, IMHO.

[jsb5717]

Couldn't that also be an under-inflation issue?

[phillyg]

I think not. Underinflated tires on aligned axles should wear equally. The fact that his front axle tires are wearing different than the rear indicates mis-alignment.

[RKassl]

During the first week of ownership of our new Montana it goes to an alignment shop, did this on both of trailers. The owner said he has never seen a 5th wheel of any brand that was even close on alignment. Not a cheap procedure but well worth it in the long haul.

[prndl]

If you just search for outer edge tire wear, tire rivering wear, etc you will come up with under inflation. This is unanimous across all the tire manufacturers websites. Also, if you look at the OP pictures you will see that the worn area of the tire is a smaller circumference than the center part. At the contact patch the outside is trying to turn faster than the center and will scuff.

[phillyg]

Bigdawg, please let us know the results from your trip to the alignment shop.

[PSFORD99]

We have seen that kind of wear reported on the G614's , my first set of G rated tires were G614's . They were wearing like those , not that extreme , but they were cupping like that. It seemed like some thought that was somewhat normal, but its been awhile since anyone has reported these G rated doing that .

I have run two sets of Sailuns since ,and they didn't do what the G614's did .

[bigdawgfinley]

So I’ve replaced the worn tires but before I put the trailer back I did some string measurements and found that the tire face on the front axle was about 3/8” out side to side. Axle centers were identical front to back. However I also measured from the axle itself in two locations and found them to be within 1/16”. Measurements from shackle mounts to axle mounts were identical on both sides. The only difference I could find is the vertical distance between axle and frame which was 1/8” shorter on the kitchen side probably due to the weight differential of the fridge. So at this point I’m not intending to do anything except monitor the tire wear on the new set. One point I should add, I ran the tire pressure at less than 110 psi for a time until I notice greater edge wear and then decided I needed 110. Since the tires got off to a bad start with under pressure I’m guessing they just went downhill from there.

[Montana Man]

So you put on new tires knowing how uneven the old tires wore and not considering an alignment?

[Butch & Kathy]

I got mine aligned at a truck shop in Orlando a few months ago. It costs about $600 if you need toe and cambor on both axles.

[Daryles]

How does it sit when hitched?
Is it level front to back?
For you more experienced guys out there, what if any, wear patterns would this show?