strange tire wear

[snopro31]

Have a 2014 shorelander quad bunk, single axle trailer.

Noticed the other day that the driver (vehicle) side tire is wearing from the outside to the middle. The other tire is wearing normal (can barely tell).

I run a ton of gravel roads which I know has nothing to do with the weird wear. Tire shop said possibly bad bearings. At first they though axle but then said it wasnt if its only one tire.

Went fishing tonight and after getting back to town noticed a small hop in that same tire when doing 40km/hr. Could this simply be a bad bearing? If it is I will be less then impressed on a trailer with low miles.

[Morton]

I wouldn't mess with it.
Have the bearings replaced and then have an alignment done on the trailer to be sure.

This would be alot cheaper than the wheel letting go in the middle of no where ...

Morton

[Shellback]

The spindles are welded onto the axle. Could have been misaligned in the welding process, or it could have been damaged on a road hazard. I'd swap wheels, bearings and hubs left to right. If the drivers side still shows the abnormal wear, I'd replace the axle if you are able to do it yourself. Probably cheaper than having a shop realign your's.

[snopro31]

It very well could be from a road hazard but I'd be royally p!ssed off if it was considering the last boat trailer I had (and still have for a smaller boat) has been through way worse and still has no issues.

I'll drop it off at a tire/axle place next week and see whats up. Its just weird this started after my trip north 2 weeks ago but it pulls normal and doesnt sway. No issue after a few 800 mile trips last fall too.

[Kevin23]

You might consider trying a trailer shop. Not sure if you have one near you, we have several by me. They know more about trailers than a tire shop will, they should be able to look at it.

[REW]

You do balance your trailer tires don't you?

Put on a new tire or tires. Install new bearings and seals. Take the trailer to a "Good" alignment shop and have the tires aligned.

Go fishing.

Yes, a good alignment shop can align tires on a boat trailer. Yes, it is a good idea to balance trailer tires in the same way as any other vehicle tires.

[snopro31]

Originally Posted by Kevin23

You might consider trying a trailer shop. Not sure if you have one near you, we have several by me. They know more about trailers than a tire shop will, they should be able to look at it.

Closest trailer place that does "actual" maintenance is 4 hours away.

Originally Posted by REW

You do balance your trailer tires don't you?

Put on a new tire or tires. Install new bearings and seals. Take the trailer to a "Good" alignment shop and have the tires aligned.

Go fishing.

Yes, a good alignment shop can align tires on a boat trailer. Yes, it is a good idea to balance trailer tires in the same way as any other vehicle tires.

Its odd considering I check my tires after every trip to make sure I didnt blow one, have a slow leak or weird wear (lots of uneven road surfaces and gravel). No wear or anything until the last 100 mile trip on the way back to home.
The lund dealer can have a look and see whats happening.

[yarcraft91]

Originally Posted by snopro31

Have a 2014 shorelander quad bunk, single axle trailer.

Noticed the other day that the driver (vehicle) side tire is wearing from the outside to the middle. The other tire is wearing normal (can barely tell).

I run a ton of gravel roads which I know has nothing to do with the weird wear. Tire shop said possibly bad bearings. At first they though axle but then said it wasnt if its only one tire.

Went fishing tonight and after getting back to town noticed a small hop in that same tire when doing 40km/hr. Could this simply be a bad bearing? If it is I will be less then impressed on a trailer with low miles.

It sounds as if your tire shop is guessing, which often leads to "fixing" the wrong thing first.

To check the bearings, jack up up one side of the trailer, spin the tire. It should spin smoothly and quietly (noise from dragging brake shoes is normal, crunching noises are not). Grasp the tire at the top and try to rock it in and out.. A tiny amount of movement is normal, rocking an inch or more is not.

It is possible you have a tire going bad, but your description sounds more like signs of a mis-aligned wheel.

What is the weight rating of the trailer and how does that compare to the actual weight of the boat?

[snopro31]

Originally Posted by yarcraft91

It sounds as if your tire shop is guessing, which often leads to "fixing" the wrong thing first.

To check the bearings, jack up up one side of the trailer, spin the tire. It should spin smoothly and quietly (noise from dragging brake shoes is normal, crunching noises are not). Grasp the tire at the top and try to rock it in and out.. A tiny amount of movement is normal, rocking an inch or more is not.

It is possible you have a tire going bad, but your description sounds more like signs of a mis-aligned wheel.

What is the weight rating of the trailer and how does that compare to the actual weight of the boat?

When going down the road it has a bit of wobble to it up to 50km/hr on the one side.

The trailer is a shorelander quad bunk with single axle. Same one the lund crossover gets but without the brakes.

I'm hoping its a dud tire. Dont think its the spindle or axle. Only was noticeable in the last 300 km of trailering.

Boat needs some other minor things done to it so the dealer can figure it out.

[yarcraft91]

Originally Posted by snopro31

The trailer is a shorelander quad bunk with single axle. Same one the lund crossover gets but without the brakes.

That doesn't answer the question about trailer weight capacity, but maybe that question doesn't need answering.

If you can actually see the tire wobble side-to-side while driving, I hope your dealers shop is very, very close to you. That's a symptom of a trailer hub that's about to fail and on a single axle rig...well, I'd jack up the trailer, pull off the dust cover on the hub and check the axle nut for a missing cotter pin that's letting the axle nut work its way loose.

Last night, I saw a boat/trailer rig ahead of me on the expressway, running emergency flashers and driving about 45 mph. When I got closer, I saw it was a dual-axle rig and the front axle/driver's side had lost its tire/wheel assembly. You can sorta get away with that on a dual axle trailer.