Tire wear

captainwings

Aloha All,  Last June we picked up our  new T@b CS-S (only one with Hawaii plates) in Columbus, Ohio and made it to Newport , Oregon (3600 miles with all the side trips) with no problems at all.  In September, trailer was winterized and put in storage.
In January, I had brakes adjusted and wheel bearings lubed and an overall inspection, all OK. Camped our way down to Tucson, Arizona and back to Newport, Or. about 3100 miles. Tire pressure 45-47# psi. After parking trailer I noticed excessive wear only on the outboard side of passenger side tire. Shoud I replace only the worn tire and any thoughts on what could cause the wear?

ericnliz

captainwings, If at all possible, a photo of the worn tire would be helpful. Since the T@B has separate independent axles, my thought would be the problem only exists on the passenger side. A measurement front to front of both of the tires [inside of the front center (L) to inside of the front center (R) ] , and back to back, inside of the back center (L) to inside of the back center (R) would tell you if the issue is with the toe in of the passenger side tire, which could be a possibility for the outer wear. A determination of what is causing the wear would be prudent prior to purchasing new tires [I personally would replace both unless you were able to find an exact match]. The other scenario for the wear would be a camber issue. Camber is the tilt top to bottom of the tire either in, or out creating positive, or negative camber. My biggest question would be if any of this wear was there prior to your service, and how was the trailer lifted to perform the service? The axle configuration is such that the trailer should NOT be lifted using the axle to lift it. Any more info would be helpful to determine the cause. Thanks

Ratkity

I don't think the tires are adjustable on this axle. If there's a pronounced wear on one side, the axle could be slightly bent or have a loose U bolt or however it's attached.

Geo

That was my first thought Ratkity, the axel is bent.
Possibly the tire was not molded properly ! 
The trailer is not like the front wheels of a vehicle with toe-in and camber adjustments.

ericnliz

Ratkity, and Geo, I never said that anything was adjustable on the trailer, and I already knew that. I was merely pointing out that these are tire wearing angles, and hopefully captainwings could determine which angle, if any was out. The bent axle scenario is one I would suspect as well. Potholes, curbs, or improper lifting could all cause either a toe, or camber angle to be out. Since the wear was not noticed prior to the service being done, I would be curious to know if they removed the bearings to pack them, and did they get them seated properly when they were re-installed. 

captainwings

Thanks for all the information. During our trip I did use my BAL leveler to lift passenger side about 1 foot. Could that have caused or contributed to the problem? I'm scheduling a repair appointment with RV repair company that did the brake and bearing work. I'll keep you posted.  Thanks again

Ratkity

@ericnliz, still good information you gave on tires! I didn't even think of wobbly bearings or unseated ones. 

TabberJohn

captainwings said:

During our trip I did use my BAL leveler to lift passenger side about 1 foot. Could that have caused or contributed to the problem?

A BAL just raises the wheel although there is some side pressure as you lift the wheel. One foot high must be close to the max.

LNOGUNNER

I just replaced both tires at 6k miles(2014 TAB S); passenger side had the worse wear. None of the tires show any sign of beginning balanced, I took the spare in which needed to be balanced.  Before I put the tires on I want to re-pack the wheel bearings. I've seen comments that they are sealed, and should be replaced at 50k miles. Owner's manual shows them not to be sealed. How do I know? Called the Tab number but haven't been able to talk to a human. 

wizard1880

The Dutchman T@Bs used automotive style bearings.  Sealed, non-lube and designed to last a long time.  They're sourced from Europe.

All 2013+ newer ones made by Pleasant Valley use AL-KO axles, same ones used on thousands of trailers of all sorts in America.  They're not sealed, and must be lubed regularly.

I wished they still used the sealed types, they usually last the life of the trailer.  But I understand they'd need to import the axles, adding to the cost and being very rare.