Trailer experts?

[94touring]

My front right tire on my dual axle trailer rubs the tire bald for some unknown reason.  Any ideas why this may be?  Tires inflated properly, nothing wobbly going on, toe checks good.  I can't figure it out.

[MiniDave]

Still doing this, and always the same location?

Have you checked in with the guy that made the trailer? Or the axle mfr?

You would think that has to be an alignment issue.....but I know you checked it more than once....

Does it go from the middle out or the edges in or?

[94touring]

I haven't the foggiest idea who I bought it from. Some guy an hour and a half from here in the middle of nowhere. 

Here is the tire wear vs the tire behind it.

[MPlayle]

Are the spring swivel joints (the bracket system between the wheels) well lubricated?

Another person in the Mini community I know has an issue with his tandem axle trailer where going down sharp inclines to flats (such as exiting driveways) will sometimes cause that bracket to "hang" or bind and the rear wheel will be stuck in the air - leaving all the weight on that side riding on just the front wheel until it jars loose and the rear wheel drops back down.

[MiniDave]

The fact that it wears from the center out makes me think it's not an alignment issue.....seems if its toe causing it it would wear down one side first.

[BruceK]

I'm not a trailer expert, but I did used to sell tires. Wear in the center of the tire is usually caused by over-inflation.   If you were running correct pressures perhaps the tire was over-inflated in its previous life with the trailer owner which made the rubber thinner in the center of the tread.

[94touring]

Hard to see but the outside wore down more than the inside.

[BruceK]

Then it's the opposite of what I said earlier - underinflation wears both outsides of the tread.   As I said before it could've been done like that earlier under previous ownership and just manifesting now as it wears more.

[MiniDave]

Outside wearing faster than the inside is indicative of a toe -in situation. Or excessive camber.....

I called a friend that owns a high end trailer mfr company - he says it's alignment. He's seen axles where they didn't get the stub welded on accurately, or axles that are slightly bent - do this very thing.

[94touring]

Just watched a video on aligning a trailer. They basically just bend the axles as required using chains and jack.

[Jimini II]

My Son had the same issue with a single axle boat trailer axle.
We came to the conclusion the stub was either bent/miss aligned or never installed square or the axle tube was rusting from the inside causing the one wheel to have negative camber.
I could not find anyone around my area willing to weld on a new stub and give me some sort of guarantee it would be square so we ended up just replacing the whole 3500 lb axle complete with new hubs and bearings u bolts etc it was around $300.

[94touring]

Did some investigating.  Got it jacked up and checked the hubs.  All 4 were loose, the wheel that wears the tire was the worst.  Tightened them up to where they spin freely yet won't have wobble.  Next was toe plates to see exactly where I'm at. I thought I checked these last year when this problem arose but maybe not. Rears were 1/16" toe out, fronts were 1/4" toe in.  I assume that much toe in is bad for a trailer.  Doesn't look like there's anyway to adjust toe aside from bending some metal. 

[MiniDave]

1/4" is enough to wear out a tire quickly.....sounds like some chains and a jack are up next?

Sometimes a 3 pounder and a solid chunk of oak to hit against will do it too. You don't want to bend it too far.....

I have an oxy/acetylene torch if you need it.

[94touring]

1/4" is enough to wear out a tire quickly.....sounds like some chains and a jack are up next?

I got the chain hoist under there but I wasn't strong enough to make a dent in it.

[MiniDave]

maybe a 20 ton bottle jack and some lengths of steel?

Or call an truck alignment shop and ask how they would do it?

Is the stub axle bolted to the hub or welded on?

[94touring]

I believe welded but I'll verify tomorrow. I suppose there's nothing preventing me from cutting enough to get it to bend where I need it, then weld it back up.  Although, since I believe it has a slight curve for camber, I wonder if I can rotate the whole thing to adjust toe.  May back it into the shop tomorrow so I'm at least off the dirt.

[MiniDave]

Yeah.....where it comes to suspension parts I'm not a big fan of welding but then your welder is more powerful than mine.....just depends on how it's made, where you cut and what material it's made from - cast iron, cast steel etc  and so on. For some of that you have to pre-heat it before you weld it and some has to cool slowly too.

You might just look into what  a new axle costs - they're surprisingly not expensive......might be smarter and safer just to get a new bare axle shaft and swap out your parts.

[cstudep]

Nearly all trailer axles have some camber built into them (high side to the top), some more than others, so that when it is loaded the axle straightens out a bit and the tires sit flat. If it's been overloaded multiple times, which is pretty easy to do, chances are an axle is bent.

With that kind of tire wear I'd guess a bent axle or otherwise lose/worn suspension parts depending on what kind of setup you have, torsion or sprung. Tightening up the hubs may help, but I would think a hub lose enough to cause that kind of wear would have been pretty noticeable while going down the road.

As everyone else has said, axles are surprisingly affordable, especially if all the other stuff is in decent shape. Brakes, etc. can all be moved over to the new axle so long as you get the same spec setup as your replacing. If you have to buy brake components, u-bolts, brackets, etc.. it starts to add up fairly quickly. It also could have been that way from day 1, there are a lot of poor quality trailer manufacturers out there. I figured that out when shopping for my hydraulic dump trailer.

[MiniDave]

Clancy says just buy a new axle, do NOT weld on that one.

[94touring]

Nearly all trailer axles have some camber built into them (high side to the top), some more than others, so that when it is loaded the axle straightens out a bit and the tires sit flat. If it's been overloaded multiple times, which is pretty easy to do, chances are an axle is bent.

With that kind of tire wear I'd guess a bent axle or otherwise lose/worn suspension parts depending on what kind of setup you have, torsion or sprung. Tightening up the hubs may help, but I would think a hub lose enough to cause that kind of wear would have been pretty noticeable while going down the road.

As everyone else has said, axles are surprisingly affordable, especially if all the other stuff is in decent shape. Brakes, etc. can all be moved over to the new axle so long as you get the same spec setup as your replacing. If you have to buy brake components, u-bolts, brackets, etc.. it starts to add up fairly quickly. It also could have been that way from day 1, there are a lot of poor quality trailer manufacturers out there. I figured that out when shopping for my hydraulic dump trailer.

I'm going to get it in my shop and take some more measurements tomorrow. Hub center to center between front and back hubs and front hubs to center point of the hitch.  Maybe even run a string along wheel faces and see how they compare.  I have my tools for checking camber and can see if they are the same or if something got bent.  Only haul minis with it so wouldn't think I overloaded a dual axle trailer rated for 7k pounds but who knows.  Those hubs seemed pretty loose to me, but it didn't drive poorly either. 

[94touring]

Are the spring swivel joints (the bracket system between the wheels) well lubricated?

Another person in the Mini community I know has an issue with his tandem axle trailer where going down sharp inclines to flats (such as exiting driveways) will sometimes cause that bracket to "hang" or bind and the rear wheel will be stuck in the air - leaving all the weight on that side riding on just the front wheel until it jars loose and the rear wheel drops back down.

No issues with any of that.

[jeff10049]

Being in the business we see this kind of wear all the time almost always a flipped spring hanger putting all the weight on one as mentioned.
If that's not the case usually a miss aligned axle and yes you can cut the spring perch off and rotate it some for toe. But if it is way out you'll need to bend it as the crown needs to stay mostly at the top.
Most heavy truck alignment shops should be able to bend it no problem.
Or bottle jack and chain.

The other commen mis aligment is one axle not being square to the other or square to the trailer but that tends to scrub both tires off.
If just one wheel is way off cut and weld or replace.
They are very weldable/bendable/repairable as long as you are confident with doing it.
Also axles are very cheap but sometimes by the time you figure out what you need settle on something close pull the old one weld perches on the new and install you could of just fixed it.

Double check your hangers.

[jeff10049]

Outside wearing faster than the inside is indicative of a toe -in situation. Or excessive camber.....

I called a friend that owns a high end trailer mfr company - he says it's alignment. He's seen axles where they didn't get the stub welded on accurately, or axles that are slightly bent - do this very thing.

So mission or inTech? Or is there a thrid high end company always interested in the high end stuff.

[cstudep]

I'm going to get it in my shop and take some more measurements tomorrow. Hub center to center between front and back hubs and front hubs to center point of the hitch.  Maybe even run a string along wheel faces and see how they compare.  I have my tools for checking camber and can see if they are the same or if something got bent.  Only haul minis with it so wouldn't think I overloaded a dual axle trailer rated for 7k pounds but who knows.  Those hubs seemed pretty loose to me, but it didn't drive poorly either.

Did you buy it new? If that is the case then there is no possible way you overloaded it with the mini's LOL. I thought I saw where you mentioned you bought it off someone, so I read that as it being new to you but not necessarily new. Some people can be really hard on trailers, especially a flat bed.

[94touring]

It was new.  I haven't used it that much.  Haul the occasional mini to Dave.  I've had it a little over 2 years and it wasn't until the last couple trips the one tire started to wear.  I reduced air pressure and rotated in a good tire and same thing.