tires excessive wear

[rr retired]

Have about 2500 miles on my new salem27rkss. tires have already worn an average of 91 to 100 thousands. also they are wearing very uneven, more to the inside. any thoughts on how to approach this with the dealer.

[cadman99]

Need lots more info - brand and size of tires - weight of trailer loaded - are they properly inflated - how fast are you driving - what kind of suspension - spring or torsion - etc, etc......................

[5er_tom]

I had bad tire wear on the rear axle. The outside edge of both left and right tires were almost slick, while the center and inside edges of the tires still had a lot of tread. I took the trailer to an alignment shop who confirmed the axle was out of line. They said there was no way I could have caused the problem, unless I hit a curb or something at 60mph, going backward!

After a discussion with the dealer, I called FR and told my story to the warranty service man. End result is that I have a new axle installed at no cost to me.

Sure am happy with Forest River customer service!

[5er_tom]

The factory warranty is for a year, plus I added the second year. There is no mileage limit to the warranty. I had almost 22,000 miles on the trailer when the axle was replaced.

[ryand]

Had the same issue on the rear axle....as others stated it was an alignment issue and I replaced the axle.

[rr retired]

ok they are 205-75-15 i keep them inflated to 50 pounds. there are about 6300 lbs on the axles and 900 lbs on the tounge.
left front is about 50% worn and mostly to the inside, the rest are in the 30 % or better worn range, this is with a micrometer. these are lippert axles with leaf springs.

[cadman99]

Several possibilities - tire was bad to start - wheel bearings are bad on that wheel or retaining nut is not tight - the axle is bent causing a bit of off camber on that wheel or the axle position front-to-back is a bit off but this would require the opposite tire to wear unevenly.

Jack up that wheel and spin it - listen for any unusual noise - grab it top and bottom and see if there is any play. Measure from the center of the axle to the center of the hitch - do the same on the other side and compare. If all that is okay any front end shop can attach a camber checking device to the wheel and tell you very quickly if the camber is off indicating a bent axle. (Yes an axle can be straightened).

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by rr retired

ok they are 205-75-15 i keep them inflated to 50 pounds. there are about 6300 lbs on the axles and 900 lbs on the tounge.
left front is about 50% worn and mostly to the inside, the rest are in the 30 % or better worn range, this is with a micrometer. these are lippert axles with leaf springs.

Micrometer or vernier?

[rr retired]

camper is at dealer, promised to replace axle. we will see. was vernier not micrometer. my bad

[rr retired]

found out today that lippert does not honor their warranty's. not sure what the next move is, my dealer says they will pursue it for me, they agree the problem is and was from the beginning in the axles. oh well if it has lippert products on it leave it in the parking lot!!

[Great Laker]

Did Lippert require your dealer to provide them with certain measurements?

[rr retired]

yes they did.

[Great Laker]

I was curious as mine has been at the dealer for the same issue. I finally got all 4 tires replaced this week. They were the Vail Sport ST's which were the worse tires I have ever had on a trailer. All 4 of my tires tread were wore out in the inside and outside after just 5 months of light use. On top of the tread being wore out the side walls completely rotted while sitting at the dealer over the winter. I am figuring that is why the tires were replaced. They did my measurements for the axles last week so I am still waiting on Lippert's finding.

[rr retired]

lippert has refused to make my axles good, dealer is now going through forest river, has assured me someone will fix the problem. time will tell

[GOTTOYS]

Why not just bring it to a heavy duty truck, trailer suspension shop. A quality alignment there will cost around $150.00. It WILL fix your problem and yes this can be done there. An RV dealer will not have the equipment to do this. If Forrest River or the dealer will pay for great! If not your problem will at least be solved and for $150.00 you can get on with using your trailer..

[Great Laker]

I would do that if it wasn`t still under warranty. The dealer has numerous other problems to fix while FR, Lionshead Specialty Tire and Lippert continue the rounds of finger pointing. Lionshead stepped up to the plate and replaced the tires due to the sidewall issues. Lets see if Lippert has an explanation for the excessive tread wear.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by Great Laker

I would do that if it wasn`t still under warranty. The dealer has numerous other problems to fix while FR, Lionshead Specialty Tire and Lippert continue the rounds of finger pointing. Lionshead stepped up to the plate and replaced the tires due to the sidewall issues. Lets see if Lippert has an explanation for the excessive tread wear.

And in the mean time you have a camper you are no doubt making payments on that is just sitting. Not good if you can start using it with a possible $150 fix. Just saying.

[Great Laker]

I might consider that after my slide can go out without ripping the flooring, my awning wont leak,my outdoor kitchen door will open, the steps will pull out, and my bedroom windows can open and close.

[OldCoot]

Might note that I said, "Not good if you can start using it with a possible $150 fix."

[Great Laker]

Got ya OldCoot. I just get frustrated. This is my 4th new unit and it is always the same ole problem with poor QC, poor workmanship, and cheap components. The funny thing is...after the 1st year I rarely have problems.