Diagnosing Tire Wear on the Inside of Trailer Tires

If you’ve noticed premature tire wear on the inside of your trailer tires, don’t panic. You’re not destined for twenty years of replacement every six months. It is, however, something that will need to be addressed. Uneven wear can affect the performance, lifespan, and even the safety of tires. Let’s look at some common causes.

Too Much Weight

The most common cause of tire wear on the inside is having the trailer overloaded. Since the bulk of the load is carried between the two trailer tires, there will naturally be a force pulling down to the middle and causing the tops of the tires to pull inward and extra pressure and friction on the inside.

Wrong Tires

Tires specifically designed for trailers are superior to those in the passenger car world when it comes to carrying heavy loads. Since trailer tires have reinforced vertical sidewalls, they withstand more downward pressure. Passenger tires are susceptible to tire wear on the inside because the weaker side walls allow extra weight to shift to the inside.

Tires Are Under-inflated

For the same reason we want quality trailer tires to withstand the downward pressure of the load, we also want trailer tires to be adequately inflated. Tires that are widened and squishy under the weight wear faster because they create more friction and a concentration of downward pressure on the inside.

Flipped or Flattened Axle

Trailer axles should have an upward arch or bow to them. Sometimes that arch is compromised. Whether it’s loss in the arch or a twisting of the arch, either way the result is an axle that now bends the wrong way and pulls the tire to the inside and thereby wears the insides more quickly.

Misaligned Axle

Even the tiny variations in the alignment of the axle can have huge consequences. If tires are being pulled unevenly, they are going to wear unevenly.

Suspension Is Worn or Defective

Uneven wear can also occur if the balance, alignment, and stability of the trailer are not supported because the suspension is faulty. Many older trailers have ineffective suspension components and renewing them can significantly reduce tire wear on the inside.

Faulty Bearings

Trailer tires need to be vertical and when the stability of a wheel is gone due to a defective bearing, wobbling, swaying, and leaning are all possible symptoms.

If you would like help diagnosing and repairing the issues causing uneven wear to your trailer tires, or anything else trailer related, contact us. Affordable Trailers has oodles of experience and we love to help our customers love their trailers!