Trailer tires worn on inside

snow guy

snow guy

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Joined
Mar 10, 2004
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146
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Fairbanks, AK
I haven't seen any discussion for trailers which is odd since most all have one. Anyway I've got a two place with a 2500lb torsion axel and noticed that the tires are worn on the inside, they have about 5-6k on them, 10 ply, 20.5x8x10. Lifting it up, the tires and bearings seemed tight. It was suggested that the spindles might be bent but they seem fine too. An inspection of the bearings didn't reveal anything out of the ordinary but I am putting new ones in anyway. Could it be possible that the bearings were not tight enough causing the hub to sag slightly? Or could this be a characteristic of the torsion axel as it does flex when absorbing a bump.
 

I dont know why, but every snowmobile trailer I have had or have wears the tires on the inside. The same holds true for anybody else I know that owns one. I guess it must be a characteristic of snowmobile trailers.
 
NOT! do I need to take a picture, what air pressure are you running?
if the tires are wearing the inside edges the AXLE is on of two things
has negative camber = top of tires leaning in ( axle bent )
when looking a axle beam under trailer with just trailer weight beam should be bowed up in the center ( bent up like you put a jack under the center of the tube )
put a lever on outside of tire is it straight up? should have positive camber (top out)
or
toed out front of tires pointing outward
measure tires at axle height in front and compare to back measurement
let me know I am curious what you find
 
Too much weight causes that as well!

From my experience weight was the biggest factor to tire wear. Especially with torchion style axles.

I have the same thing with my 3-place single axle. If load that thing up with 3 sleds I can see it sag. Most of the pressure is on the inside edge of the tire.

Change them and go again! :Moon:
 
I've had numerous trailers, built by me, and improved every time. I've never had tire wear problems. My trailers are built true and straight. No need for wheel alignments, (which you can't do on a trailer). Keep your air pressure up, use good tires which can hold the weight, and you won't have any problems.
 
if you a refering to me I did not say align it, but you do need to measure toe & camber to see if the axle is bent. If you did build your own trailer you know what I am talking about as far as the bow in the axle if it is not there he WILL continue to have poor tire wear, maybe not enough to justify axle replacement??
just so you know I also have built, sold and repaired trailer 1980-?
also if you catch the tire wear early just flip the tires on the rims to extend life!!!!

ps. you can reset axle camber etc and axle toe by reshaping (bending)
the axle just like we used to do on the older trucks
 
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Could the tires be hitting the bottom of the floor - have a look. Torsion springs do lose some memory over time.
 
SNAKEBIT and familyman explained it much more clearly than I did; that is what I was trying to say. The frame rails on one of my older trailers would actually twist when loaded with weight and cause the independant torsion axles camber to change.
..SNAKEBIT.. said:
if you a refering to me I did not say align it, but you do need to measure toe & camber to see if the axle is bent. If you did build your own trailer you know what I am talking about as far as the bow in the axle if it is not there he WILL continue to have poor tire wear, maybe not enough to justify axle replacement??
just so you know I also have built, sold and repaired trailer 1980-?
also if you catch the tire wear early just flip the tires on the rims to extend life!!!!

ps. you can reset axle camber etc and axle toe by reshaping (bending)
the axle just like we used to do on the older trucks
Click to expand...
 
Take the trailer ( loaded with sleds and gear) to your local alignment shop and have them align the trailer axle. Will probably have to put it on the rack and bend the axle. That is the only way to align it.
Have had it done a couple times and works out good. Over time the axle will bend out of alignment due to weight and rough roads.
Take the tires to the local tire shop and have them dismount the tires and turn them around on the rim so the worn portion is to the out side........maybe get another season out of them before you have to buy new. ;)!
 
I put it all back together with new bearings and one new tire, the other one I had turned around so the wear is now on the outside. I put a level on the tires and one side is perpendicular and the other side is slightly in at the top, which would explain the inside wear. The torsion axel itself does have the familiar bow in it and seems to be functioning. One of the shops I went to said that the e-z lube axels are weak as they have the center drilled out for the grease passage. Looking at the bare spindle it looks good but as I said with the tire on it I can see it leaning in slightly at the top. Someone mentioned bending it back in and would like more info on how to attempt that as I don't really want to put a new axel in it then again I don't want to buy tires at 70 bucks a pop either. By the way I had the tire shop balance the tires, something I was told that they have never done on these little tires, but lord and behold, one tire took 3 oz and the other 1.5, pretty significant to me, it has to help as fast as they spin. Also I measured the axel front to back to the edge of the trailer and both sides are almost exact so it looks like it must be pulling straight. I might be going on a trip this weekend so I will see how it goes.
 
how old is the axle?

i have seen the tor-flex axle's when they get older do this. rubber that holds the axle 1/2 in gets weak over time and does what yours is doing.
 
I balance all my trailer tires and try to get customers to do the same
if you know someone like a body shop they can tie the axle down to the floor
and push up in the center or close to the center to put the arch back in the axle
seems most times it never really last to long after it is bent straight though
you need to watch and put a little positive camber in both wheels
oh yea I think the EZ-lube bending deal is bull I have seen them ALL bend
 
The trailer is a 00 Featherlite. The axel still has a pretty good bow to it but I don't know how it looks now compares to when it was new. I was thinking the bend was more on the end where the spindles are but there too it's not obviously bent.
 
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