What's up with my trailer tire?

[kelLOGg]

 

 

 



About 1/3 of the outside perimeter of one tire has very odd wear. Gaps between the treads look spongy (but aren't). Never seen it before. Ideas?
I did use it anyway today to deliver lumber to a neighbor 1/4 mile away driving at a speed of 2.5 mph. That's about my limit until I replace it.

[Southside]

I don't know if it's the cause but I always balance trailer tires. I find they wear better. 

[sprucebunny]

Looks like a factory defect. Voids in the molding.

Can't think of any real world thing that would have chewed it up evenly like that.

[rusticretreater]

Looks to me like you hit something in the road.  I can see a lot of scuffing and torn rubber.

[kelLOGg]

That is one of the original tires I put on the trailer - maybe 8 to 10 years ago.  Very odd wear. Manufacturing defect makes the most sense to me but given the age, is that reasonable ? I'll see what a dealer says. 

[Tom King]

If that's the inside, my first look would be to see if the axle is bent, or even worn out bearing.  Looks like the tire has been pulling against the way the trailer is headed.  Has the trailer ever been overloaded?

[Walnut Beast]

Definitely agree with Tom! I'm furious with the quality of rubber in general and tires companies are sneaking in!!!!

 

 

 

 

  It's absolutely garbage. Here is two tires from less than six months and one a year and half. The one tire was a original from years ago that came with the trailer.  And the bigger tire is a new old stock Firestone tire from the 60s I had bought from a old guy years ago. It still looks brand new!!!!!

[Southside]

Is that mower tire Chinese? 

[kelLOGg]

It is outside wear, the axles are only 2 or fewer years old and trailer has not been overloaded. Axles are bent up in the middle as they were when bought and installed. 

[Ianab]

Any sign of something being jammed between the tire and guard (dent / scratches etc)? Could have chewed up the tire pretty quick, then been spat out again.

[Stephen1]

That is one of the original tires I put on the trailer - maybe 8 to 10 years ago.  Very odd wear. Manufacturing defect makes the most sense to me but given the age, is that reasonable ? I'll see what a dealer says.

I don't think after 8-10 years its a manufacturer defect. I like Ianab idea of something getting stuck and then getting spit out, I could see me driving over the chunk of wood I blocked the trailer with and forgot to remove. 

[rusticretreater]

My landscaping trailer wore the outer edges of the tires when it was new.  After I loaded it down a few times, the axles lost some of their spring and it got less bouncy and more stable.

Tires have become one of those areas where you have to bite the bullet and shell out some cash to get good tires.  Store bought tires are mostly trash now. And don't use Traveler brand inner tubes(Tractor Supply). Trailer manufacturers use the cheap tires to keep the prices down.  I had bought some no name tires for my lawn tractor and they wore out in less than two years. 

I ordered Carlisle ag tires for the front of my Kubota and upgraded my 17'car hauler/logging trailer with Maxtor tires which have a thicker sidewall and are much more stable.

[beenthere]

Sounds like a two axle trailer. That right? A pic in your gallery?

[kelLOGg]

I think I did run over a chock but don't remember which side. There are no fenders.  They are Karrier tires and there is a pic of the trailer in my gallery but I think it is when I had mobile home tired on it. I will update tomorrow. 

[barbender]

It looks like ply separation underneath that is causing the tread to break up, as much as I can see from a picture anyhow.

[doc henderson]

looks like it skidded, maybe brakes set to high when empty, but that does not explain the uneven wear.

[Walnut Beast]

Is that mower tire Chinese?

I wouldn't doubt it. It's on a little extreme poly dump trailer I had rigged up as a spray trailer with boom. One of the big tire places had a new one and put it on and when I was spraying out in the CRP it went flat not long after. So I took it off and took it back and had them put a tube in it. Then it went flat. And the other original tire that came with the trailer is still fine. Makes me more furious they bent the rim in one place and didn't notice it till I got home and said screw it at the time. Rarely I let stuff go like that if something gets screwed up by somebody else!!!! Now I got a crappy rim, shot tire and tube 😤

[rusticretreater]

I bought the tire changers from Harbor Freight because of so many issues all around with shops.  Yeah it takes muscle, but its surely faster than taking it to a shop.  And if the work sucks, you know who to go see about it! 8)

[Walnut Beast]

I think the other tire place I go will fix me up with the bigger tires. They give me a smokin deal on them when they scratched up my aluminum rim on my truck. It's hard to get stuff done right without getting stuff damaged.

[Walnut Beast]

That sounds like a good idea! That's why I always like working on and fixing my own stuff!

[Walnut Beast]

Kinda getting sideways on the subject. I've always been particular on stuff being right. I've had new machines where they said it will get scratched up. My response is I'm not most people and I don't care if it's going to get scratched up. When I'm buying it or anything it's going to be right or I'm going to get compensated for it!! My friend that owned a ASV/ Kubota dealership I did a lot of business with knew it better be perfect when I come and picked new stuff up! 

[kelLOGg]

There is a current pic in the gallery.



 

[YellowHammer]

It looks like ply separation underneath that is causing the tread to break up, as much as I can see from a picture anyhow.

I've also seen that pattern also on some of my tires with broken ply, one way to tell is raise the tire off the ground and spin it.  If there are broken ply, you will see a little "hump" or high spot right where the odd wear is because the tire has extremely high contact pressure at the hump so will tear and rip the rubber.  I also see a radial discontinuity in the bond line on the left side of the sidewall, and that indicates the tires may be to be out of round at that point.  That would indicate a damaged ply, also.

Or it could be the other things people are discussing.  Either way, I agree with you, it's time to put new tires on the trailer?

It's always a good idea to replace trailer and truck tires every 5 years if they are seeing road service, both because it's required by the DOT for commercial drivers and I've had a few real bad experiences with tire failures, and typically after the magic 5 year time frame.  In some cases, like my log trailer, I put new rubber on it every 3 years.  

[kantuckid]

Speaking from experience with many tires as both a mechanic and my Goodyear Tire plant apprenticeship that included time in the tire lab, I agree with several comments above. I suspect that tire has internal ply separations that have occurred over time, not from any specific event. Could be an indication of heat from the internal stresses.  Many if not most current trailer specific tires are made in Asia FWIW. My OE RV trailer tires were USA on our Lance trailer and I was lucky to catch a sidewall bubble on the inside of one tire, in spite of not that old. Those come mostly from a separation of materials internally not some event. With tires-"stuff happens". I'd replace them all or at least that one. When a tire "speaks to you" it's best to listen.  

You could also spend all day reading web opinions as to how old a tire must be before it's "too old". ;D Motorcycle forums are famous on that discussion-it's right behind oil threads.

My current tire set on my utility trailer came from Walmart via their website, not regular store stock, which is pretty meager.
Much greater choices on their website! When bought that way you get free mount & balance when they come do in.  

[kelLOGg]

Two of my 4 trailer tires are just under 3 years old and the other two are close to 10 maybe. I am replacing the older ones. I inquired at COSTCO today if they replaced tires if I brought in only the wheels. They said "yes". Is that a good place for tires?