Accerated tire wear on Toad?

[Psunate]

Does anyone else experience accerated wear on the tires on the Toad while flat towing. Is this normal?

I’m towing a Jeep Grand Cherokee behind a Dynaquest XL....Burned thru my first set of tires at 18k miles driving/3k miles towing.

Any input would be helpful.
Thanks, PSUNATE

[hook47]

Have probably 6K towing, no noticeable wear. Are you making sure tow bar is horizontal; JGC at normal, not easy exit suspension height? Supplemental braking not releasing and dragging brakes?
And, most important, not doing 1 G turns on a road course?

[Ender]

Was it the front tires or all?
I did a trip of about 2000 miles and trashed the front tires on my 2017 Jeep Rubicon. I think the main problem was the heavy bicycle rack (with 4 bikes) hanging off the back of the Jeep. It just made the front so light the tires just got cupped out.
I've since changed out the Jeeps suspension with heavier springs in the rear, so I'll see how that works.
So, maybe check your weight distribution in the toad.

[Orangecrush]

Originally Posted by Psunate

Does anyone else experience accerated wear on the tires on the Toad while flat towing. Is this normal?

I’m towing a Jeep Grand Cherokee behind a Dynaquest XL....Burned thru my first set of tires at 18k miles driving/3k miles towing.

Any input would be helpful.
Thanks, PSUNATE

While this is just personal opinion, I feel that though the wheels "turn", it's not the same as driving with the wheels turned. I think when you turn, the tires "push" through the turn and wear prematurely.

That's one of the reasons I always trailer my vehicles.

Mark

[DavidMort]

I tow either a Cherokee Trail Hawk or a Ram 2500. At over 25k miles of towing with about 15k on the jeep and 10k on the truck I have seen no obvious wear issues. My belief is that you have to have your hitch slightly higher than the front of your tow attachment on the toad. If not you are always putting extra force on your toads front suspension when you pull. If you are lower, you are tying to pull the front end of the toad down as you go forward.

[chroniekon]

Another thought, if your toad is awd, the car is 'pulling' itself down the highway and the alignment specs take that into account, especially the toe in because the pulling effect of the drive wheels tends to compress or expand the steering linkage depending whether they are in front of or behind the axle. When a car is being towed, the steering components are not loaded the same way. You don't say how your tires are wearing, but if a lot of inside or outside wear, you may want to have your alignment checked and tell the tech that this is a towed vehicle.

[Hi Rider]

I've towed my 2006 Jeep Wrangler for more than 16,000 miles and have not seen any evidence of unusual tire wear. Different story on my RV. I'm surprised at how much tire wear I'm seeing on the RV.

[stillontheroad]

There bare 3 potential causes. The first could be your hitch. It must be level with your attachement on the front of your Jeep. That means that you either have to have a step down or a step up at your rig. If the hitch bars are on an angle any sway is multiplied by the time it gets to your toad. The second could be the inflation on your tires. Keep them a little harder than for ordinary driving. And the third is the simple fact that while you never see it, your toad is always swaying behind your rig. As you travel down the highway you are constantly correcting the direction of your rig (normal) but by the time that correction gets out to the back of your rig and your toad there is a major shift in your toads direction. Drive behind and other vehicle with a toad and watch how much that toad moves back and forth over the road. Every movement is a tire scuff. And finally, it could be your Jeep. We towed a Suzuki Vitara
behind our motorhome for 20,000 miles(all across the US twice and to Alaska) plus free drove it a further 25.000 miles and never replaced a tire.

[jnlegran]

I wore out front tires of my Honda Fit in about 3,000 miles of towing. Had to get new front tires only. My blue ox is a limitless higher then where it connects on the Honda Fit. Initially thought there were just cheap tires but probably one of the reasons already noted.

[letsgorving]

Not normal. We've towed our lifted jeep about 8,000+mi, (and probably more) no tire issues. Had a 4in hitch riser and now an 8in with new bumper on the jeep. Pretty much level from MH. Part of our pre-trip check is making sure supplemental braking working, bars have snapped in place and jeep is rolling easily behind.

[TINSEAST]

I have the same problem towing my 2014 Rubicon 4dr JK. There are some articles out there that suggest you need to change the factory alignment if you are going to tow 4 down. RVforum.net "Towed vehicle tire wear?"

[DouglasReid]

Originally Posted by Orangecrush

While this is just personal opinion, I feel that though the wheels "turn", it's not the same as driving with the wheels turned. I think when you turn, the tires "push" through the turn and wear prematurely.

That's one of the reasons I always trailer my vehicles.

Mark

My folks towed a vehicle but it was either with the front wheels on a dolly or in an enclosed trailer.

Neither caused any accelerated tire wear.