Luckyrogue

I hauled a 14' trailer out to Nebraska a month or so ago and noticed when I got home that the rear passenger tire had unusual wear. Looking at the tire from the outside about one inch from the edge on the tread there was a dip in the tire and the dip only went about half way around the tire. after unhooking the trailer and driving for about a week the unusual wear was gone and the tread was a lot less than on the other three tires. Again I hauled a different trailer out to neb last weekend and the same thing happened. Could bad sway bar bushings and one bad link cause this or could the shock possibly be causing this? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

WestTN

It sure seems that ALL of the tire wear problems are on 4x4s. I have 156,000+ miles on a 2wd and absolutely no problems with tire wear.

It is hard to believe that the 2 configurations could be so different.

SIXSLUG

How about road conditions?

Did you catch the fog line a lot or get onto the shoulder?

I'd check air pressure first and also balance.

I can run my passenger side tow mirror down enough to see the tire when at speed to see if its bouncing.

Luckyrogue

Thanks for the responses. Well, road conditions were good on both trips and the tire pressure is good, I didn't run on the line or the shoulder either. I had them rotated and balanced about 3 weeks ago. What I don't understand is that there is wear when I pull a trailer and not when I'm not pulling a trailer. Just to reitterate, They were not the same trailers. I also am noticing a little bit of axle oil leaking out of that side, I assume the seal is leaking when I'm parked on a side slope. There are no bearings that could be causing this issue are there?

wyododge

You could jack up that side and check for play in the bearings. If everything mechanical is up to snuff the only thing I can think of is the trailer pulling to one side.

If it only happens when the trailer is hooked up I would take it to a level parking lot and measure your fender well height on both sides. Hook up a trailer and check again. If you have a weak spring, your bed will tilt. This may transfer into your tires and cause uneven wear.

Were the trailers bumper pull or gooseneck?

Is this a new issue, or is this the first time you have pulled a trailer long distance.

FWIW I've never had tire wear issues and mine is a 4x4.

Luckyrogue

I thought about the trailers pulling to one side but they were two different trailers and this has never happened in the past even on long trips with a trailer. They both were bumper pull trailers. I have a flatbed on it with a truck tool box on either side. The driver side box is full of horseshoes so that side always sags lower than the passenger side. I have not changed anything on the truck in the last 4 years or so, so It is a new occurance. I did have the rear end completely rebuilt just over a year ago, new bearings, seals, etc. Here is a pic of what it looks like. Between the center of the tire and the outside edge you can see the dip in the tire. That dip only goes about half way around the tire.

SIXSLUG

That almost looks like the beginnings of a separation between the carcass and tread...

I'd get a good tire guy to check that out.

Luckyrogue

I just don't understand if that is the case why it would do it to two different tires only on the passenger rear. I switched tires before my 2nd trip to NE and the same thing happened to the good tire on that side as well Thanks for the input.

Fiftygrit

Usually if there is too much sway, the rear tires will ware on the outside and the inside of the tire, and usually both back tires, if you are only waring out one tire and not even all the way around, I would say its starting to delaminate, just my .2c worth

SIXSLUG

Have either of those two tires been run flat. That wear line looks to about line up with the wheel?

Just a thought.

gorms

How heavy is the tongue weight? I'd check everything on the springs on that side with a prybar, like shackles/bushings, look for broken springs, overload spring stops, etc. That is weird it did it with 2 different tires. Were these on the same rim? Have you been running the same type tires with weight before? Maybe balance load of the truck a little better when towing? Are they E rated tires?

I used to run Michelin XT's (I think) and had similar wear no matter what, on both sides. It went away when I changed to Dunlops, which wear the centers more than the insides. I can't find a reason for it.

Luckyrogue

I really appreciate all the replys! To sixslug, nope, they have never been run flat or even low for that matter. To gorms, I will check the springs and I do know for a fact that the bushings in the ends of the leaf springs need to be replaced. I just haven't gotten them done yet. I'm not sure of the tongue weight but it is they were only 14' stock trailers and both were empty so they don't weigh but a total of 2500 lbs or so I would guess, and that's gvw with both having tandem axles. And no, they were on different rims. That would be a great thought though. I plan on putting new sway bar bushings, links, rear shocks, and the leaf spring bushings on in the next couple weeks or so. I will do them one at a time and let ya'll know if I see any progress. Thanks again for any and all ideas!

Luckyrogue

Update! WEll I finallay replaced all sway bar links, bushings, shocks, and the wheel seal. I am going to be pulling a couple of trailers this weekend and I will let ya'll know if I still get andy unusuall tire wear. I think it might have been that I did not have any exhaust after the resonator, which dumps out right in front of the rear passenger tire and shock. I had just replaced the shocks less than 15K and the passenger one was shot, along with that side wheel seal. I think the heat from the exhaust might have been the culprit after all. I put the exhaust pipe back on and we'll see how it goes this weekend!

PaulDaisy

Well, you made all these changes all at once, now you will never figure out what the problem was...

Luckyrogue

Yeah I know, it seems to have done the trick though. I didn't want to wear the heck out of my tires any more. I really think it was the heat from the exhaust though.