When to replace tires

[pdqparalegal1]

Originally Posted by Golfnbike13

My 195bh is 2 years old and has the stock Vail Sport tires. Tread in middle looks good but is wearing on edges, more so on the inside. Nothing to the point of belts showing or anything, but the inner tread is a little lower then rest.
Curious at what point you consider replacing tires?


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Sounds like a classic example of under inflation combined with axle alignment problem. Would not hurt to check both. I always run trailer tires at max inflation unless doing so causes extreme center tire wear.

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by TonyD

I replace mine when I can see the letters ST on the sidewall.

X2!!!

[Asrabbit]

I have a 195BH and my axle was bent the day I biked it up. I was assured it would be no issue to get the axle replaced. That was almost 6 months ago and I am suppose to pick up the trailer tomorrow. I will see how that works out.

Anyway, the wear on the inside does not surprise me. My tire was leaning in at the top which is what makes the inside of the tire wear. I am sure that better tires may not show as much wear as the cheap ones do, but regardless a tire should not go down the road with the top of the tire leaning in. So, I suggest you check your axle to see if you might have one that is an issue. I have over 1,000 miles on my tires and I can't tell that there is any wear, but I am sure over some more miles it would start showing up. If it was not something that I had to put so much mental and emotional effort into I would push that the dealer replace my tires too. But, I think my dealer makes it so you never want to bring your trailer in for warranty work. I will post about that once I have my trailer back in my hands.

[Iwannacamp]

Hmmmm. I replace my TV tires when I can see the air in them.

[bobcrowder]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

Consider yourself lucky if you make this summer without a blowout.

X2

[Golfnbike13]

Is there anyway to do an at home test on the axle alignment/shape without having to drag to a dealer? I could get tires replaced at a local big box tire store but don't know how much experience they have with trailer axles. Getting it back to a camper dealer for that service is a real pain for me.


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[Asrabbit]

I would level the trailer side to side. The use a straight edge on the wheel rim and a level to see if the wheel is leaning in at the top. The wheel can be plumb or slightly cambered out at the top but it should not have negative camber meaning leaning in at the top. This is not a perfect test but it will tell you something.

Normally an axle is crowned so that if there was no weight on it you would have positive camber. The weight pushes downward to reduce that camber. However you should never have negative camber.

Camber is measured in degrees. For example a 1984 Ford pickup with the old I beam frontend required 14 degrees positive camber. That is with no weight and the old straight 6. That changes depending on the weight so different engines required different camber.

[Asrabbit]

One other thing, both wheels should have the same camber. If one wheel has negative camber and the other one has positive the the tires will push against each other. That will cause cupping of the tread.

[Flybob]

If you do this, I would remove the tires and wheels and take them to the BB store. Most Big Box Stores are not equipped to handle RVs properly.

Originally Posted by Golfnbike13

Is there anyway to do an at home test on the axle alignment/shape without having to drag to a dealer? I could get tires replaced at a local big box tire store but don't know how much experience they have with trailer axles. Getting it back to a camper dealer for that service is a real pain for me.


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[Big Red and 30WR]

When they no longer hold air.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by Asrabbit

One other thing, both wheels should have the same camber. If one wheel has negative camber and the other one has positive the the tires will push against each other. That will cause cupping of the tread.

Sorry to disagree, but camber has nothing to do with tire cupping. Cupping is strictly a balance or combination of worn out shocks and unbalance.

[ov845]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

Sorry to disagree, but camber has nothing to do with tire cupping. Cupping is strictly a balance or combination of worn out shocks and unbalance.

X2


Happy Camping!

2012 Ram 1500 Crew Cab 5'7" Bed
4 X 4 Engine 5.7L Hemi Gear 3.92
Airlift 1000
2015 2809W Windjammer (Diamond Package)
Husky Centerline WDH

[mnoland30]

Upgrade your tires to a higher load range and higher speed rating as soon as you can. I found Taskmaster Load Range D ST 215/75 R14's rated for 81 mph at etrailer.com They keep it a secret for some reason. The only place they mention it is in the video about the tires. When a trailer tire blows, it is big. I've replaced two fenders on my boat trailer because of blowouts. You might have to replace a lot more on your travel trailer.

[DBigbee]

The stock tires on my TT all blew out at almost exactly 5000 miles, within days of each other. Of course, I was on the Alaska highway at the time, so the conditions were not the best for tire preservation. But I thought it was a strange coincidence that they went almost simultaneously.