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Old 02-01-2020, 08:31 PM   #1
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Front inner tire wear

Discovered uneven tire wear on front axle. Inside both street and curb front tires worn smooth - and beyond on curb front. Trailer mileage: 14262 miles, 5 trips since May 23, 2019 pickup.

Curb Front

Curb Rear

Street Front

Street rear


Based on Escapees SmartWeigh, trailer is balanced front to back and side to side, with about 100 lbs more weight on rear trailer tires than front when hitched.

Check tire pressure before each long towing leg - 50 psi. Check torque on all lugs when starting and when returning per trip. Have not rotated or balanced. Interstate towing speed 70-73 mph - which may be too high for these tires which are speed rated at 78 mph.

Thoughts?

Replacing tires on Monday with four 205/75R15 Goodyear Endurance - $665 with replacement certificates.

73/gus
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Old 02-01-2020, 09:10 PM   #2
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Looks like your front axle is slightly bent (downward in the middle of the axle) and the front tires are also showing signs of being under inflated.

The bent axle could be a result of an encounter with a pot hole or a curb that you might not have even noticed at the time. I don't know if these torsion axles can be straightened or not. Perhaps someone more familiar with them can comment on that. But do make sure to regularly check the tire pressures. There appears to be more wear on both the inner and outer edges than the centers of the two front tires, which is a classic indication of under inflation.

If it were my trailer, I wouldn't tow it very far until I'd gotten that front axle checked out and repaired so as to avoid damaging the new tires.
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Old 02-01-2020, 09:31 PM   #3
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You may have a defective front axle. I had a defective rear axle. My curb rear tire wore excessively on the outside edge. I had the bearings and hubs checked out at my tire shop and no one thought that was it as that all looked fine. Reace said he thought it was a defective axle. I put the unused spare in that spot and it did exactly the same thing. So I contacted Dexter. They denied responsibility but "as a goodwill gesture offered to send a new axle at no charge". They sent it to the tire shop. I paid the labor to swap them out and all has been well since. By the way, Reace told me to keep him in the loop and let him know how things worked out. When I did so he asked how much the labor cost, and when I told him he mailed me a check to cover the cost. I did not ask for or expect that, but it is what he did.
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Old 02-01-2020, 11:09 PM   #4
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I had excessive wear on the inside of one my tires after a brake/bearing service. I think if the wheel is not properly seated after a bearing servicing this can happen. Rotated the worn tire with the spare at the next service, and all is good now.

Try searching the forum for tire wear and bearings, I figured out the cause from browsing the forum.
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Old 02-02-2020, 01:39 AM   #5
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We had some uneaven tire wear on our rear axle, there was a loose axle bearing. Check your axle bearings are torqued correctly. Good luck.
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Old 02-02-2020, 06:28 AM   #6
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Also get a new tire gauge, I always carry 2 for comparison and compare to the air pump pressure to see if all 3 agree.
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Old 02-02-2020, 06:55 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KirkB View Post
I had excessive wear on the inside of one my tires after a brake/bearing service. I think if the wheel is not properly seated after a bearing servicing this can happen. Rotated the worn tire with the spare at the next service, and all is good now.

Try searching the forum for tire wear and bearings, I figured out the cause from browsing the forum.
This is why in my case I first had the bearings checked out and the wheels reseated with the unused spare then placed at that location. When that made no difference (the unused spare started wearing excessively in the same manner) we realized it must be the axle. Axles can have a manufacturing defect, be damaged in shipping to ETI, or damaged after the trailer is manufactured. Replacing the axle solved the problem.
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Old 02-02-2020, 07:30 AM   #8
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Will be watching

Quote:
Originally Posted by casejh View Post
This is why in my case I first had the bearings checked out and the wheels reseated with the unused spare then placed at that location. When that made no difference (the unused spare started wearing excessively in the same manner) we realized it must be the axle.
Will carefully watch these new tires, and will make sure Discount Tire seats the wheels properly. Am a bit doubtful this is a wheel seating issue, as it would be common on both sides.

Will be contacting Dexter and ETI this week.

73/gus
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Old 02-02-2020, 07:44 AM   #9
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50 PSI seems about right for load and axles

Quote:
Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
Also get a new tire gauge, I always carry 2 for comparison and compare to the air pump pressure to see if all 3 agree.
Have two, one round-face and other stick. Both show the same ±1-2 lbs. Will get a third one today.

Found this for Goodyear Endurance:
Tire Size ST205/75R15
Max Speed 87
Rating Inflation Pressure - PSI/lbs
25/1220 30/1360 35/1480 40/1610 45/1720 50/1820 55/1940 60/2040 65/2150 (D)
Goodyear Endurance Load Inflation Table
Per spec sheet, Endurance load index is 107 = 2149 lbs, load range is D = 8 ply, and
speed rating is N = 87 mph. Seems to be the best ST tire rating available.

73/gus
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Old 02-02-2020, 08:40 AM   #10
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Put on 4 Endurance last summer at Discount Tire, a nationwide chain. ST205/75 R15. The tires were 475 US, after installation and all the other fees it came to $614. Done in North Carolina.

Before they installed them I checked the dates on the tires, they differed a bit but all were stamped 2019. That was close enough.

I also joined the installer in the bay to be sure that he jacked the trailer up using the frame and not the axle.

Very pleased with the results.
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Old 02-02-2020, 09:07 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fudge_brownie View Post
I also joined the installer in the bay to be sure that he jacked the trailer up using the frame and not the axle.
Thanks for the reminder - MUST tell them and watch them on this one.

Quote:
Originally Posted by fudge_brownie View Post
Put on 4 Endurance last summer at Discount Tire, a nationwide chain. ST205/75 R15. The tires were 475 US, after installation and all the other fees it came to $614. Done in North Carolina.
Discount Tire is where I am getting these. Price varies a bit by location with the state imposed fees. Getting these in California.

73/gus
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Old 02-02-2020, 09:57 AM   #12
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Discount tires/American Tires (depending on area of the country) has always given me great service. They will fix a tire free. Once they even fixed a costco tire that had a nail in it, no charge.
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Old 02-02-2020, 04:06 PM   #13
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I had a similar issue, outside wear on left rear, inside wear on right rear. Dexter sent an axle to an RV repair I specified, paid for 2 hours labor to change the axle. They also said, no admission, but as a customer satisfaction replacement. I paid for new tires and balance. Have a picture of the axle serial tag, a picture of the drop arm from the axle to the spindle, showing the spindle is lower than axle center, and a picture of the axle between the wheels showing the arc of the axle. Don't delay, call Dexter asap
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Old 02-02-2020, 05:03 PM   #14
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At 12,000 miles on our 2014 Escape 19 we had uneven tire wear on both front driver side and rear passenger side tires. Dexter replaced both axles, offered to replace two tires, and paid the labor charges. It all took a while but this was the end result. No yelling or upset, just steady communication.
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Old 02-02-2020, 11:35 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by TZBrown View Post
Have a picture of the axle serial tag, a picture of the drop arm from the axle to the spindle, showing the spindle is lower than axle center, and a picture of the axle between the wheels showing the arc of the axle.
I'm not sure why the picture of the arm... to show that the wear is not due to the rubber being worn out? If so, simply having the hub below the tube centre isn't meaningful- they would be comparing arm angle to stock (which is specified on the axle tag and which they can look up in their records by serial number), or checking the torque bar position as I described earlier.
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Old 02-03-2020, 06:35 AM   #16
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All 4 brakes?

One other thing to check when at the tire shop would be whether all four brakes are working. I had one wire come apart at the crimp joint, so had three brakes.

If you had no brakes on the rear axle, that could cause the wear difference.

Someone sits in the tow vehicle and applies the brakes or the brake controller, while another tries to spin the tires, one at a time.
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Old 02-03-2020, 01:10 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by Bill and Earline View Post
Someone sits in the tow vehicle and applies the brakes or the brake controller, while another tries to spin the tires, one at a time.
You can also unplug the trailer from the car, pull the breakaway switch plug, check each wheel, then put the breakaway switch plug back in. Only one person required for this method.
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Old 02-03-2020, 01:57 PM   #18
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Goodyear Endurance installed

Quote:
Originally Posted by mvassallo View Post
Dexter replaced both axles, offered to replace two tires, and paid the labor charges. It all took a while but this was the end result. No yelling or upset, just steady communication.
New tires installed. While wheels off, took pictures and videos of each hub, but there were no noticeable differences, sounds, or feel.

Will do the brake check method by driving up on leveling blocks to get one tire off ground at a time.

Dustin Dionne at ETI responded that they have no idea as to "why", and he recommended I send all the photos and info to Dexter. Have done so this morning.

Will carefully watch new tires for any excess tread wear.

73/gus
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Old 07-03-2020, 09:50 PM   #19
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We appear to be joining this club. Our rear axle curbside tire hardly has any tread left on the inside. The tire on the street side rear axle is also worn on the inside, although not as much. We have 20-25K miles on these tires, check pressure daily when driving, set at 50#. Even have 3 gauges and they all agree. The tires on the front axle have worn evenly. We just sent pictures to Dustin. We picked up our trailer brand new Oct 1, 2018. Should be under someone's warranty. Should we just ignore Escape and go directly to Dexter?

We have the underside insulation. Is it possible to read the Dexter serial number or does foam need to be removed? I am being lazy and not crawling under right now...
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Old 07-04-2020, 06:15 AM   #20
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My axles have no foam on them. Time to get up out of the chair and climb under.
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