Uneven Tire wear / Axle problem possible

[campdog]

I own a 2008 forest river surveyor sv301 TT purchased new from dealer in 2009. I recently noticed very uneven tire wear on one tire only of the four. Inside balding tread on front tire. I estimate we have pulled trailer about 15,000 miles. the other tires (goodyear) still have plenty of tread depth. I took TT to dealer today and the service department thinks I have an axle problem?? Not happy. I do not believe I have had any travel/ road issues that would cause damage to axle. The tire seems to set at an angle rather than being vertically plum to the unit. All of the lugs are tight and are always tight when I take it on the road. Also keep tire pressure to proper amount as indicated on tire. I am a very thoughtful and good maintenance kind of guy. Any thoughts from anyone out there. I assume I will be out of warranty. I am waiting for results from dealer.

[buffalohunter]

That is not to surprising to hear. In California the freeways are so bad that I can see this being an issue a lot more. I wouldn't count on warranty covering it either but you might try your trailer insurance company. Did you get an estimated cost of repair from the dealer yet? If it is the axle that could be replaced with a new one and all of the other parts can be put attached. I wouldn't think that it would be all that expensive and not that many hours of labor.

Good luck with it! I'll watch the thread to see how it turns out for you.

[billywilly]

Greetings, I'm having the same issue with the left front tire on my 2004 WCF29RLBS fifth wheel camper. Brand new tires 5/2012 (when purchased), about 10,000 miles now and just had to put on the spare due to tread wear on one tire. look to see what you find out.

[elwood1944]

Axles may need an alignment. The last trip out we wore out one tire and damaged the other three after hitting a pot hole in Michigan. This all happened in less than 150 miles

[rotohead]

Have a 2010 Surveyor (original owner since June 2010) and just paid $920 for axle alignment and wheel bearing repack. Right rear tire was worn out on the outside shoulder of tread. Mechanic stated that most trailers (new or used) have axle alignment issues. I noticed this wear issue the first few months of use but thought I would swap tires to different axle and see what would happen over the next summer. Mistake. I should have immediately taken it back to my dealer. I waited and now the dealer is out of business (Carson RV) and I'm stuck with the bill. I even have a extended warranty that won't cover the bill.

[murry52]

Originally Posted by rotohead

Have a 2010 Surveyor (original owner since June 2010) and just paid $920 for axle alignment and wheel bearing repack. Right rear tire was worn out on the outside shoulder of tread. Mechanic stated that most trailers (new or used) have axle alignment issues. I noticed this wear issue the first few months of use but thought I would swap tires to different axle and see what would happen over the next summer. Mistake. I should have immediately taken it back to my dealer. I waited and now the dealer is out of business (Carson RV) and I'm stuck with the bill. I even have a extended warranty that won't cover the bill.

Take your trailer to a Truck and Trailer Shop ( This is mainly for Highway trucks) they will be able to assist you as this is their business. Professional help is always appreciated

[manjammy]

Same issue here. Just got back from 4600 mile vacation to the North East, NH, NY, OH. Noticed the left rear tire bald on the inside. The right front tire is wearing more the the others. Bought TT in May'12. Returned it to the dealer and was told the axles had no "camber". and that the axles were defective. Dealer will try to warranty the problem. To Be Continued.

[DF5.4]

Same problem here. 2011 Tracer and I noticed that the inside edge of the left rear tire was wearing. I took it into the dealer Friday and they said the axel needs replaced. We have the extended warranty and they are saying it should be covered. They are calling it in for authorization tomorrow morning.

[Curt Hinson]

Have you checked your shackles. I noticed my right front tire was at an angle. I placed a fairly straight 2" x 4" against both tires on each side. The right side was 3/4" different. Turned out that the shackle had worn through but had not totally released. The other shackles were worn badly. It cost me $160.00 to have that one replaced and I watched them. They replaced the dry shackle with a wet shackle and left grease all around the zert fitting. I went home and ordered parts to replace all four. When I pulled theirs down, there was absolutely no grease inside. IIRC, when you install wet shackles, the hole to allow grease inside must be in the 3:00 or 9:00 position, never on the top or bottom.

FWIW, I did not have very many miles on the unit. Whether this is your problem or not, it is well worth your time to place shackle checks on your check list. If one does wear through, the axle spring will release and get driven up into your camper possibly causing considerable damage, if not to your camper at least to your self esteem.



Curt

[Joseph_H]

My 2008 30 foot Wildwood bunkhouse recently started dogtracking (travelling with the backend sideways down the road). The rear axle has lost the arch in it so the wheels were towed out on the bottom and the front of the wheels were more aligned towards the ditch than the front of the trailer. I took it to a professional shop that works specifically on trailers and axles. Their comment was that the axles on these trailers are too small (weight load capacity) for the trailers. His exact comment was, "throw a bag of groceries in your trailer and you are over your weight limit". They were able to put the arch back in the axle but said they could not guarantee that it would work. We have not went camping yet, and have the camper sitting in the yard and I noticed the axle has started to sag again, just from the weight of the trailer sitting in the yard. It has been about 3 weeks since I had the work done. The worst of it is, I cannot even get in contact with Forest River to get the axle specs, and the dealer I bought it from said he had no idea what specs the axle was.

[BigBaron]

Joseph - It's probably a Dexter or a Lippert. My bet is Dexter. There should be a sticker in the middle of the axle.
2008 would have axles that are darn near the exact amount the trailer GVWR minus the tongue weight.
You can get replacement axles that are better for a LOT less from trailer companies. If you do it, get the forward adjusting brakes from either Lippert or Dexter so you know your brakes are all new and that you'll never have to worry about adjusting them again!
Your drums should be fine.

[manjammy]

Well, after several attempts to get the axle replaced, I was successful in getting Lippert to replace our 6,000lbs axle replaced with 7,000lbs axle. The manufacturer installs under weight axles knowing they are not strong enough, thinking the warranty will run out before the issue arises. Luckily, we went on a long trip before the warranty ran out. Usually the problem shows up after about 3,000/4,000 miles. Our TT, 2013 Salem 27RLSS, is rated at 6,300LBS empty, with 6,000LBS axles.
Word to the wise, crawl under and check axles B4 buying. Lesson learned. We were able to get 4 tires and 2 axles replaced under warranty. Good luck.

[billywilly]

Sorry about your troubles. This whole discussion about loading can be perplexing, but there are some guys in this forum, and the Internet in general who explain it succinctly. Don't take more than you need.
Curb strikes at low speeds, pot holes in travel, overloading, all sorts of things can throw your axles out of alignment. At about $100/ axle to have them cured, it's cheap insurance. This trip, after 8,000 miles I suspected a problem and took it to a big truck shop in San Antonio. Front axle needed alignment ($110), rear was checked ($35) and found to be okay. If a tire shreds, you will have damage in the wheel well in addition to the tire. New or used, a trip to a frame alignment shop first thing can prevent lots of problems.
Hope you get squared away.

[4x4dually]

Use a couple rubber tarp straps and attach something very straight, such as a 4 ft level or square tubing or anything straight to the outside of both sides. Make it span across both tires on that side. It needs to be long enough to touch both sides of each tire. Then you can see the front and back of each tire are all touching the same. If not you need a shackle adjustment front to back for that side of the axle. Do the same on the other side. Check them. With something on both sides, you can measure across on the front and the back side to side. The measurements should match or your tires are fighting each other. The measure from both sides of each rim back to a common point on the frame. See which side if any is off.

You can figure out a lot with a straight edge and a tape measure in less than an hours time.

[ncford]

New here, but am having the same problem on my 27' salem. Anyone know of a good alignment shop near Raleigh, NC?