Trailer Wheels Alignment- Have you ever seen this?

jgump · 02-09-2016, 04:22 PM

Question for everyone. We recently purchased a Wildwood 27RKSS and brought it home about a week ago and backed it up into the driveway for a week or two to stock it and hang out. One thing I've noticed is the the front wheels of the tandem wheels are a little skewed from the rear wheels. Do you believe this could be due to backing it up into the one side of the driveway and as the trailer "turned" into its final spot aligning with the edge of the driveway the wheels just "torqued" a little as I swung it into place? It's only an inch or so and it hasn't moved since, so I'm hoping that when we hook it up again to take to storage they'll straighten out. Any thoughts would be most appreciated. Thanks all

John

TURBS · 02-09-2016, 04:25 PM

John, that's exactly what is happening.

2015 Columbus 320RS
2008 2500HD Duramax
2015 nights camped "34"

jgump · 02-09-2016, 04:33 PM

Thanks Turbs! Do you think there's anything for me to be concerned about leaving it sit this way for now?

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phillyg · 02-09-2016, 04:40 PM

Leaving it puts unnecessary stress on the tires, wheels and bearings. Pull it forward until it straightens out and back up straight to the parking position.

jgump · 02-09-2016, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phillyg

Leaving it puts unnecessary stress on the tires, wheels and bearings. Pull it forward until it straightens out and back up straight to the parking position.

Thanks Phillyg. Once this snow melts in a couple days I'll do exactly that.

Robbsails · 02-10-2016, 01:10 PM

I had a similar problem but I had a flat spot on one of my tires...come to find out one of the axels was a little cockeyed (3/4 in.) apparently a nut got loose and the Axel shifted a little. So after replacing the tire, I check it every so often!!! Good luck.

PenJoe · 02-10-2016, 02:04 PM

Two ways to address the issue. Hook up and pull straight forward, then straight back. Or, jack the wheels up on each side to allow the wheels to align. It is not wise to leave the tires/wheels contorted. Wheel torquing is a given when turning a tandem axle trailer. The tighter the turn, the more they torque.

gfarmcafe · 02-10-2016, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PenJoe

Two ways to address the issue. Hook up and pull straight forward, then straight back. Or, jack the wheels up on each side to allow the wheels to align. It is not wise to leave the tires/wheels contorted. Wheel torquing is a given when turning a tandem axle trailer. The tighter the turn, the more they torque.

I'm glad to read this thread because I've had this happen and was worried about the overloading the axles. I finally figured it out after noticing the trailer was in a torque condition when parked at a gas pump. They straightened up once I pulled forward. Thanks for input!!

moondog2000 · 02-11-2016, 01:26 AM

This is some good information. I have to cut the trailer hard to get in my driveway and there was a lot of popping noise going on so I also noticed my trailers tires were torqued a little and not in line when I checked under my trailer.I guess I'll jack it up and take the load off.

silverback 35ts · 02-11-2016, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgump

Question for everyone. We recently purchased a Wildwood 27RKSS and brought it home about a week ago and backed it up into the driveway for a week or two to stock it and hang out. One thing I've noticed is the the front wheels of the tandem wheels are a little skewed from the rear wheels. Do you believe this could be due to backing it up into the one side of the driveway and as the trailer "turned" into its final spot aligning with the edge of the driveway the wheels just "torqued" a little as I swung it into place? It's only an inch or so and it hasn't moved since, so I'm hoping that when we hook it up again to take to storage they'll straighten out. Any thoughts would be most appreciated. Thanks all

John

Yes you are correct but to really answer your question in full, again yes you are correct that the wheels will move a ton while you backup and other times while turning the couch, BUT you are also on the correct track in your thinking that yes the "axles" on your trailer SHOULD be aligned and that is what a "correcttrack system does, many newer coaches come with it, and the dealer in most cases will not do anything with a new coach unless you ask, so if it did not come with the system and you plan to do a good amount of travel you should do the upgrade to save the tires, the suspension and the coach

Hope some of this helps and Happy Camping

Lvn2tvl · 02-12-2016, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phillyg

Leaving it puts unnecessary stress on the tires, wheels and bearings. Pull it forward until it straightens out and back up straight to the parking position.

X2 - I usually just drop the rear stabilizer jacks and raise the front with the landing gear a little to take weight off the front axle. This will allow the axles to self straighten the wheels then I lower the trailer back down to level. I was using a roller jack to raise the rear frame to do this but the built in power landing gear is much quicker and I don't have to carry the jack when camping.

BTW: I installed the "correcttrack system" on my 5er and it is a great way to maintain wheel alignment. It also raised the 5er about 2" which was also a benefit for my setup.

itat · 02-12-2016, 01:15 PM

My Rockwood has Dexter Torflex axles. Do they experience the same torquing and can they go out of alignment?

Lvn2tvl · 02-12-2016, 04:16 PM

The torquing is a result of tight turns that cause one axle to turn and the other one to drag sideways due to the sharp turn being a different arch than the other axle. I have never owned a torsion spring 5er however I did have an enclosed 12' cargo trailer with torsion springs that did the same thing so I'm pretty sure your trailer would also experience this same issue.

The alignment question however is beyond what I know about torsion suspension systems.

brandon 2 · 02-15-2016, 07:29 PM

Good point: Yes aligning the axels is a good and must thing to do. A friend of mine here in Kelowna had the same issue with his 5th wheel and it cost him a pair of tires. as the axels were not aligned and thus not tracking properly. He took the unit to an alignment shop they were out quite a bit, once they finished aligning them it tracked like it should. One thing I have noticed over the years is the stress turning puts on the tires where they are attached to the rims. On one occasion the tire broke free from the rim and "instant flat." A lot of campgrounds have narrow roads and tight turning spaces to back in so this is a common problem with tandem trailers, like the 28 foot Bullet we had.
By the way make sure you get those wheels balanced. There are no weights on them when they leave the factory and its easy to throw a bearing.

Brandon2
2014 Sun Seeker
2500TS

PenJoe · 02-15-2016, 08:24 PM

Brandon 2, you have brought up one of the most important factors in tire wear-that is balance. Front and rear tires on the TV and trailer tires. Every time we get a tire rotation, we check the balance on each tire. Buy tires, get them balance. Balance the spares as well. Even when there is a reparable flat, the tire gets a patch meaning they have to break the tire off the rim. Re-balance the tire. It doesn't take long to get flat spots and unusual wear when you don't. Unbalanced tires are hard on all of the running gear including bearings.

jgump · 02-24-2016, 02:01 PM

OP here. Quick update on this wheel alignment thread. Finally hauled the TT to storage and as soon as I pulled it out of the driveway a few feet the wheels re-aligned themselves right away and no issues towing it. They were just torqued a bit from backing it in to the driveway as I tuned to line it up straight. Glad it all worked out.

John

2016 Wildwood 27RKSS
2012 Grand Cherokee Overland (Hemi)

gfarmcafe · 02-24-2016, 02:21 PM

One other point on tire wear is that the trailer should be level front to back when being towed. If there's more weight distributed to either the rear, or front axles, the tires will wear faster, as well as bearing, brakes and suspension. If the trailer has 3 axles, turning becomes harder resulting in more "scooting" of the axles, especially when tight turns are made.

mboatwright · 06-16-2016, 03:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moondog2000

This is some good information. I have to cut the trailer hard to get in my driveway and there was a lot of popping noise going on so I also noticed my trailers tires were torqued a little and not in line when I checked under my trailer.I guess I'll jack it up and take the load off.

We jack our trailer when it's not going to be used for a few months (Which is rare). It takes pressure off the tires, The axles are designed to move around so stress is relieved when cornering so the axles are perfectly fine. Mine pop like mad when we take turns that have a grade to them...

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