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-   -   Camber wear - 18" low profile trailer tires (http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=795316)

OneMoreSet 08-31-2012 9:33 AM

Camber wear - 18" low profile trailer tires
 
I have a tandem boatmate trailer that came with factory 18" wheels and low profile tires.
I bought the boat/trailer used and the front port side tire had pretty bad camber wear on the inside.
Since I wasnt 100% sure of the history I thought it might have been run with low air pressure that caused the excess wear.

The other side (starboard front) tire was replaced with a new one when I bought it and I just checked and found continued wear on the port side and fairly aggressive wear starting on the starboard side - both front tires.

Both rears seem to be wearing evenly. Since i've had it pressure has been maintained.

Anybody else have this issue with their low profile tires/wheels?

bjames 08-31-2012 9:50 AM

I dont think there is a way to adjust the alignment on trailers. ???

gdavid 08-31-2012 10:09 AM

sounds like an issue with the torsion spring, replacing the bushing in it may be able to solve it or if it was milaligned at install it will be harder to fix. Low profile tires are much less forgiving for subtle differences in camber as there is less sidewall to flex/give to compensate. For the life of me I don't understand why anyone would want to forgo the extra cushion that a traditional tire provides in exchange for looks or a minor (questionable) decrease of sway.

gdavid 08-31-2012 10:41 AM

Also, the previous owner probably didn't have the trailer hitch/ball height right (it was too low) and this caused the tongue to sit too low which prevented even distribution of weight across all four tires. A torsion axle trailer needs to sit level because it cannot compensate like a dual axle leaf spring trailer can (due to the rocker piece between the front and rear springs). Because the front axles were overloaded they began to twist up at the tips of the spindles creating negative camber. Does this make sense?

FunkyBunch 08-31-2012 10:52 AM

Had this problem. Tire wear on just one side front axel. Had to replace the front axel. Dealer said it was bent which I would agree with now but IMO the trailer was never right from the day I bought it. It had always looked a little off to me since the front tires where always closer than the rear tires to the fender. Almost like I had to much nose weight but the trailer frame was level. With the new axel this has been corrected but Boatmate would not warranty the axel said they figured I hit something, as I understand the argument I am not sure what the warranty is worth because how would you know about this until enough time has passed to see the tire wear.

Other than this I actually love my trailer but I was not happy about this.

dougr 08-31-2012 1:13 PM

you will never get it perfect. Try and adjust the hitch height and balance the weight and rotate the tires every month or so. You will never get it perfect. I know this sounds stupid, but the road angles also have alot to do with it. We use to go to the lake (100 miles each way) and the pitch of the hi way was so aggressive that it would were down the passanger side trailer tires (like they where positve camber) the road was 2 lanes and the pitch was to move standing water off the road( no center drain in the road)

I have hated every trailer i have ever had (boat trailers) they all seem to be poorly built. hope you have better luck

OneMoreSet 08-31-2012 1:54 PM

thanks for the feedback.

I'm happy with the trailer, been good, and last one i owned was a boatmate aswell.
Thought i'd post to see if its typical with these lowprofile types of tires which it seems to be.

I thought about hitch height aswell and its pretty balanced right now and still continue to get wear. Looking at it - it doesnt look like a dropped civic with tires pitched in to cause the wear.
I'd imagine a slight correction would make a diff here.

thanks guys!

pennery 08-31-2012 2:25 PM

I know you can have Spring axles aligned but I am not sure about Torsion. We have a shop here that aligns them however its quite common to have a misaligned trailer wheel, or at least it is on the 3 trailers I own... The 18" wheels on my Boatmate I know are balanced as well so i am not sure if that can affect it as well...

Fourspeednup 09-01-2012 10:49 AM

Had the same issue with the front axle on an 04 Boatmate chewing up tires. As others have said, previous owner probably ran it with the hitch too low or did something which put undue stress on the front axle causing the ends to bend upward.

At the time, I replaced the spindle assembly on the side that was worse hoping it had been tweaked at some point, etc. but it accomplished nothing. Save yourself the headache and replace the whole axle. With your 18's any minor misalignment will kill your tires in no time.

Might as well service the bearings and flush the brake fluid while you're in there. Mine looked like Jagermeister :eek: completely black. Brake fluid collects moisture and eventually rusts components like calipers, etc making them stick.

Personally, I would keep running it through the end of the season and rotate the tires for even wear then get it handled over the winter.

zack@boatbling.net


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