Trailer Tires are Wearing on the Inside and Outside Tread and Not the Middle

Updated 06/24/2013 | Published 06/22/2013

Question:

Hello, I recently returned from a 2500 mile trip with our 33.5 foot ultra lite trailer. It was the first time we have had it out since buying it used. It had new st205/75 tires that are for 5.5 inch rims. Along the trip, I noticed the tires were wearing badly on the edges, inside and out, while the three middle tread lines seemed fine. I assumed I was over inflated, and lowered the pressure from 35 psi to 30. This did not seem to help. I also noticed no sign of any balancing weights on the rims. Do the rim/tire assemblies come balanced? or is that something that should be done by the buyer? Any imput on why these new tires have worn so badly in 2500 milescupped badly would be greatly appreciated.

asked by: R D

Helpful Expert Reply:

It actually sounds like the tires were under inflated. This would make the middles of the tires more sunk in so the wear would be on the inside and outside tread. Trailer tires should ALWAYS be inflated to the maximum psi as indicated on the tire. Also if the tires were overloaded and caused to flatten out some that could also be a related issue.

If you could tell me the capacity of the trailer tires and the gross trailer weight it will be easy to determine if the tires were overloaded.

Other factors that can lead to tire wear are the terrain and the temperature. On a 2,500 mile trip you probably encountered a variety of weather and road conditions but even given the harshest scenario it would probably only be a small part in the overall causes or causes leading to the wear.

expert reply by: Michael H