that screwy inner tire tread wear 195bh

[s10texan]

Hello all,

So I've been reading through the forums and I have the same problem with my 2015 Salem Cruise Lite 195BH that a lot others have.

We've only been on a couple of trips, for a total of about 2500 miles. Both tires have severe tread wear on the inner edge. They are not the Vail Sport most have, they are Ridgway Sport STs.

I see several possible attempts at resolution... so which one worked for those of you with this tire wear problem?

A. Replaced original tires with radial tires at own cost.

B. Got Forest River to replace tire with radial tires

C. Axle repair or adjustment at own cost.

D. Axle repair or adjustment at Forest River's cost.

E. Anything else?

Thanks!

s10texan

[Kdz300]

A and C, but mine was out of warranty.. I should have went after it sooner because I noticed weird wear patterns on the rear axle but I never did.. Live and learn.

[kylecolby]

A. Put goodyear marathons on my 26 foot salem fifth wheel and havent had a problem since.


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[TN_Cruise_Lite]

I had the same problem when I also noticed sidewall cracks on my Vail Sports. Replaced them with HANKOOK RA08 195R14's and have no issues at all. They were suggested to me by a member here and I couldn't be happier.

[Crockett]

might want to read my post in the wildwood section on the 195bh axle geometry. the axle was bent from the force of the frame impacting. soon to be modded...this is a rental so...no warranty

[Cleon]

our 2013 195BH also has less than 2500 miles on it. we were in the goshen area 3 weeks ago for 6 nights. upon arrival at Eby's near Bristol I noticed 1 tire had a bulge in the sidewall. purchased a new wheel at a surplus store for a "new" spare. while at the F.R Salem plant for a tour I asked about warranty which there is none since we are well over 12 months old. both tires have excessive wear on the inside and out as if they are under inflated which they have not been.

[biker2]

After a 4000 mile trip there is excessive wear on the outside of one front tire and on the inside of the rear tire on the passenger side of our 2013 Grey Wolf 28BH. After taking some measurements, it appears that the axles may not be parallel. I am presently negotiating with Lippert Components as they install the axles. I will be taking the trailer to a wheel and axle firm to fix the problem and hopefully will get some satisfaction from Lippert re: warranty.

[Crockett]

anyone got pics of the clearance between the frame and axle on their 195bh or any single axle trailers? I got a couple wildwood 195bh in our rental fleet and they look like the pics I have in that wildwood thread mentioned. really they should be under slung axles with a 4 " drop axle...all the single axle peeps need to get a look

[phippap]

Same problem with my Vail Sport tires on my 272QB

I took my trailer back to the dealer. This was one of many issues.

The dealer sent the entire trailer back to Forest River to do the warranty work.

I told them that the tires had to be replaced and the axles checked for alignement and damage.

Here is what FR did. The first thing was they checked the camber on the frame, and found out the frame was not cambered enough. They sent it over to Lippert to have the frame "re cambered". Then, once it was returned to FR, they replaced the entire suspension system from the springs to the axles, although they said they could not detect a specific issue with the axles. Finally they replaced the bias ply tires with Radial tires. All of these things were done as Warranty work, and there was never so much as a question on their part that it would be taken care of. And trust me, I was ready to fight if needed. I don't have the trailer back yet, so I cannot judge how well the repairs were made. But I was very happy with their proactive approach (and surprised based on some other people's experiences) in resolving the issues.

I recommend you go back to your dealer, tell them that you have examples (mine) of where the frame is a contributing factor, and that the camber needs to be checked, the axles and their alignment need to be inspected and possibly replaced, and the tires need to be upgraded to radial tires.

Hope that helps

[pdqparalegal1]

I know axles have "camber" built in to offset load, but how do you camber a frame??

[phippap]

The frame has a camber from front to back. Think of a flat bed trailer and how they have an obvious bow from front to back. Same thing applies to the trailer frame. They said my frame was out by an inch.

[s10texan]

Thanks for all the replies guys. Sounds like I have a real conundrum here. A couple of folks say good radial tires fixed the problem, but if the axle is out of alignment, I want that fixed but I could without my brand new trailer for a long time. The dealer already expects to have it for four weeks to fix the roof. And that's without sending it anywhere. Wow.

s10texan

[frozen]

I've owned 3 trailers from Forest River. Axles on the first two were misaligned upon delivery causing repeated wheel bearing failures. Left-side spindles on one of them were 2 5/8" further apart than the right-side. 3 tires on my current trailer were worn out at 6000 miles due to bent spindles. F.R. has provided some help with realignments and axle replacements both in and out of warranty. They have also provided plenty of frustration.