Tire wear ?

[Texeye]

One of my boat trailer tires is dished out in little segments all the way around the outside edge of the tire till there is no tread left in all those spots.I am buying new tires but want to know what causes this.Any help would be appreciated.Thanks!

[FJH1]

I've seen this in the past as well. It happens on car tires as well. My feeling is that rotating the tires will balance it out. Just my opinion, I'm not a tire expert.

Best Regards,

FJH

[jigtugger]

My guess would be that the tire is out of balance. Trailer tires are notorious for being way out of balance. Otherwise an alignment issue with the axle, you could measure to confirm the axle is square to the frame.

Good Luck

[Gearhead]

Sounds like you've got a couple problems. Typically, on a car, that type of wear would suggest a camber issue, tire balance and worn shocks. The outer edge wear because the tire/wheel assembly is canted with a bias towards the outer edge. An out of balance tire gets the tire moving eccentrically instead of concentric to the natural focus of the the axle/hub/wheel/tire combination. And on a car, the worn shocks do not control the constant deflection of the tire due to road aberrations or out of balance tires. My experience with trailer tires would tell me to see if the axle can be aligned. A new tire would be suggested and of course, it should be dynamically balanced. Bubble balancing (static) does not account for off-axis unbalance. Good luck with your tires!

[J.P.]

It is very important to get the total weight of your rig and check what the axle is rated for. A lot of trailers come with an axle that is too small. Bias tires vs radial tires wear worse and very uneven if the axle is overloaded. I've had the same problem and was putting on a set of tires every year. Finally I weighed the rig-2500lbs on a 2000lb axle. I put a 3500lb axle in and radial tires and so far so good. I'm on the 2nd year on these tires and they are wearing perfect.

[Texeye]

Thanks,guys! I had to build new struts under my trailer and I bet I have the axle a little out of line. I also plan to check the weight.I don't think dealers take into consideration all the extras some people put on their boat and how much they pile into their boat when headed out on a fishing trip.

[dkooser]

I've experienced the same thing. Two years ago I started rotating the tires to opposite sides and in the winter I have the tires remounted such that the inside is outside. I guess I'm too cheap to have the axle checked.

[J.P.]

I tried rotating mine like that before I swithed axles. The right tire developed a huge bulge after 2 trips following the rotation. I don't know if the rotation made it worse or if the tire would have done the same thing if I would have left it where it was. It seems like the trailer companies use the lighter axles and then they put a bigger tire on to get the higher weight rating.