Trailer axle question

[Pistol Pete]

FWIW Pete, those are the oil bath hubs that he's got.

10-4

Adjustment procedure is the same for grease or oil bath.

The spindle nut should be 18-29 inch-pounds or about finger tight.

If McBean doesn't take the hub apart and can get his hands on a 1/4" drive in/lb wrench, all he may need to do is check it for this torque. Of course, he has to drain and re-fill the oil.

[CumminsBu]

I did a typo should be 18-20 inch pounds.

[Lance B. Johnson]

OK. Just an update.

I just got off the phone with Tony from Extreme and he recommended checking the following:

1. Tires should be radials...not biased (I'm almost certain they are radials...will double check). He mentioned that biased tires may develop uneven wear pattern.

2. Jack up trailer and see if there's any slack/play in the wheels when rocked back and forth. There should be very little to none. If there is some movement drain oil bath hubs and check center nut to make sure they are tight.

3. If there's no play in the wheels, then the only thing left is to replace axles.

Other than this, he says there's really no adjustments for camber or alignment on these trailers. Spindles don't usually go bad. If they do, it usually is on one, not all four wheels.

I called several alignment shops and got the same answer, there's nothing to adjust or realign on these torsion axle trailers.

I've got a long weekend ahead. I'll jack up trailer and see if any wheels are loose or have any play when rocked back and forth. If anything is loose, I'll drain hubs and check center nut for tightness.

I'll try to get pics also of the wear pattern and see if you guys think it's normal wear or if I do indeed have an abnormal wear pattern.

Thanks for all the feedback guys.

Just another note on this: It sounds like you are on the right track to me. Check the bearings first. If you find they are loose then you need to check the condition of the bearings, not just adjust them. I adjust them just to the point where there is no play, no tighter, no looser.

[mcbean7]

Thank you for all the feedback guys. Here's an update.

I jacked up the trailer over the weekend and checked for looseness in the wheels. All four are solid. There's very little movement...if any on all four wheels.

I included some pics to show the wear pattern. What do you guys think? Does this wear pattern look normal or you think I've got a bent axle/axles?

Thanks.

Edit: pic #1 is port front, #2 is starboard rear, #3 is starboard front.

Edited March 9, 2010 by mcbean7

[mcbean7]

One more.

Edit: pic is port rear tire.

Edited March 9, 2010 by mcbean7

[tvano]

how many miles on those tires?

i know we all want our rigs perfect. it's a given.

you still may want to consider another alternative.

• how often do you tow at highway speeds?
• how often do you pull long trips?

if both answers are 'seldom' i would consider replacing the tires a little more often.

it's going to be much less painful than anything axle related.

if either answer is 'too often' then i would (maybe) lean towards getting the axles replaced or straightened.

another factor: given that it's a dual axle it may tolerate a trashed tire better than a single axle rig.

while i sure don't want to convince you do pull a dangerous trailer i also don't think that new or straightened axles will guarantee even tire wear.

i'm sure that if you chase this problem long enough you can get even tire wear but at what cost (time, $, effort, etc.)?

[Pistol Pete]

Like I said earlier, I don't know much about anything.

With that said, it seems to me that if all the tires are worn on the inside edges, the axles would need to be bent downward in the middle. Thus, causing an arc making the inside edges of the tires be in contact with the road at an angle. Probably not visible to the naked eye.

I'd find a friend with a long spirit (carpenter's) level and lay it against both axles on all sides and check for straightness/parallel.

[mcbean7]

how many miles on those tires?

i know we all want our rigs perfect. it's a given.

you still may want to consider another alternative.

• how often do you tow at highway speeds?
• how often do you pull long trips?

if both answers are 'seldom' i would consider replacing the tires a little more often.

it's going to be much less painful than anything axle related.

if either answer is 'too often' then i would (maybe) lean towards getting the axles replaced or straightened.

another factor: given that it's a dual axle it may tolerate a trashed tire better than a single axle rig.

while i sure don't want to convince you do pull a dangerous trailer i also don't think that new or straightened axles will guarantee even tire wear.

i'm sure that if you chase this problem long enough you can get even tire wear but at what cost (time, $, effort, etc.)?

The port front tire was replaced mid summer last year. My guess is it has about 500 miles on it. All the others came with the trailer when I bought it so I'm unsure of the mileage on them.

I tow at highway speeds (65-75 mph) every time I go to the lake. The lake is about a hour away. We usually go 1-2 times per week.

We do a long trip (Powell) once a year...that's about it (12 hours round trip). A routine weekend outing is 2 hours round trip.

I'm going to check on cost of straightening axles and will decide whether to replace tires more frequently and call it the day or have them straightened to see if this helps with even wear.

[WakeGirl]

The port front tire was replaced mid summer last year. My guess is it has about 500 miles on it. All the others came with the trailer when I bought it so I'm unsure of the mileage on them.

I tow at highway speeds (65-75 mph) every time I go to the lake. The lake is about a hour away. We usually go 1-2 times per week.

We do a long trip (Powell) once a year...that's about it (12 hours round trip). A routine weekend outing is 2 hours round trip.

I'm going to check on cost of straightening axles and will decide whether to replace tires more frequently and call it the day or have them straightened to see if this helps with even wear.

Was that one of the 4 tires that were on it when we towed it down? Or was that a replacement by you?

[mcbean7]

Was that one of the 4 tires that were on it when we towed it down? Or was that a replacement by you?

This is the replacement by me.

[tigercity]

If it helps, my torsion axle trailer has the same wear pattern on the tires. We just bought the boat in September, so I do not know the maintenance history,( not very good from what I've seen so far.)

I decided to just replace the wheel bearings and replace the oil bath hubs with grease. That may fix the wear issues, but if it doesn't, I wont worry about it. I have seen trailers with much worse wear, get towed for many years with no problems. I'll replace the axles if it gets worse, until then i'll just monitor the tires.

FYI, I have towed my uncles boat that has leaf springs, and it rides much worse than my boat. No way would I put leaf springs on it after that comparison. We have 11 trailers on our ranch that I work on. 9 of them have leaf springs. There are a lot more moving parts on a leaf spring suspension than a torsion. Many more wear points, lots more bolts to come loose. I wouldn't consider them to be easier to maintain. I say, torsions for boats and horses, leaf springs for everything else.