Excessive wear on one tire

[FlyStar]

Pics edge wear. And cracking in grooves (zoom in)

[toolman.dustin]

My two cents,

I think I would put the Westlake on and troubleshoot at home. However, I'm pretty obsessive so I'd also start checking the following items.
You could quickly check alignment with a long string and compare the distance from the front of the ball to the front of each tire. Compare left tires to right tires.

A badly out of balance or out of round tire will cause checking. If it was real bad the bounce could translate to the axle and cause some checking on other tires.

A broken leaf in a leaf spring could cause this. Look for cracks.

Lastly, what are your axle load ratings and what does your trailer weigh loaded? If your trailer weight is close to the axle load ratings the entire trailer might be bouncing up and down due to axle flexing and this would cause checking on the inside edges of the tires. (Not your particular problem)

Lastly, look are the axles viewed from the front or back. The center of the axle should be about 3/4" higher than the ends of the axles. In other words, bowed up in the center. It's possible, not likely, that one of the axles was installed up side down.

Afterthought, I don't know what would happen if one of the shackles was flipped but I think it would show up on tire ware.

Best of luck, be safe,
Dustin

[

[north channel novels]

Had that happen during the first two seasons with our 230RL. Was worried about bent axle or bad alignment, but our dealer's service manager said "bearing play." He was right. Replaced the bearings and have run another 20,000 km (12,000+ miles) with no excessive wear on the new tire on that wheel.

[COGrandDes]

Pics edge wear. And cracking in grooves (zoom in)

I would definitely get them off the camper....more because of the cracking in between the grooves than anything. I don't trust any tires when they start cracking. I replace my camper tires after three seasons no matter how many miles they have on them. After you've had a blowout and seen the damage that's incurred...it's not worth it to save a few bucks keeping tires longer than needed once wear is noticed.

[FlyStar]

Thanks again for all this insight and help. I will be replacing the tires next week. And while up, will check for excessive bearing play. I have a set of bearings and will replace if play is detected.

My 5200 lb Dexter axles look good as do the springs. Never been on a scale but suspect my gross weight is right at max which is 11,400. I also think I have plenty of tongue weight as she tows steady even in high winds. I know I should run up on the scales sometime.

Stay tuned for a report on the bearings.

[FlyStar]

Campground Fun. Close up of edgewear. Bearings are good. Plan to drive 700 miles on the new tires in mid Jan To Tucson. And visit an alignment shop there.

[Hoopy Frood]

JMO, but I wouldn't ruin a brand new tire that way. I'd put one of the old tires in that position and then change it for a new one when you get the problem fixed. Makes no sense to partially damage a new tire if you don't have to. Unless you've got money to burn anyway.

[COGrandDes]

Campground Fun. Close up of edgewear. Bearings are good. Plan to drive 700 miles on the new tires in mid Jan To Tucson. And visit an alignment shop there.

700 miles with that alignment problem will certainly ruin or directly impact the new tires...... FYI.....

[Gronk1]

Flystar probably mounted the new tires on the only rims he has with him, being a couple thousand miles from home. He could however run the spare in that position.

[Hoopy Frood]

Flystar probably mounted the new tires on the only rims he has with him, being a couple thousand miles from home. He could however run the spare in that position.

But it would makes sense to not mount one of the new tires for the 700 mile trip and then change out the tire when the problem is resolved. That would be the logical option, rather than ruin a brand new tire.