tire wear/possible bent axle?

[jbinnh]

The right rear tire on my T1950 is worn on the outside edge. The tires are about one year old and all other wear seems even. It has been suggested that I have a bent axle but having no experience with such things I thought I would ask for advice here. For now, since I was jacked up and checking bearings, I rotated the two tires on the right (passenger) side to even out the wear. I suppose I can just rotate the tires on the drivers side onto that position over the next year or two then replace all four but that's not a solution.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
John
2004 T1950
F150 4x4 supercab 5.0L

[krazedave]

John, my advise would be to find a good local repair shop. One tire wearing like that could be many problems besides a bent axle. It could be axle alignment, bearing going out or hub nut not tightened enough. Tires are to expensive to not find the real problem.

[jbinnh]

Thanks for your reply Dave. I intend to get it to a shop and get some professional advice when I find that good and local shop. Agree with you about tires after spending a boodle today on four new ones for the TV.
Was hoping someone would say " oh yeah, that happened to me and it was the ......."

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by jbinnh

Was hoping someone would say " oh yeah, that happened to me and it was the ......."

I'm that someone....

Here was my finding the problem
http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f72/tire-wear-pattern-tandem-axle-tt-pics-where-to-look-next-9589.html

and here was fixing it
http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f71/tt-axle-alignment-details-long-with-lots-of-pics-10043.html

That might be more then you want to tackle, there are however some checks you can do with common home tools, tape measure, 2 foot level, 4 foot level, and some time that may be able to help narrow down the hunt. If you want to do some of this investigating, let me know I'll type some more on what to look for.

If you can post some pics of the tire wear (face across tire in good focus, close up) and pics of the other 3 tires, I may be able to help eliminate a few things.

While you may not be able to fix it, you may know more about the problem and who to find to fix it. If you’re looking for a shop, look for a truck and trailer place. The axles and wheels on cargo trailers, flat beds etc. in these smaller trailers are all close to the same and work on the same principals. The truck/trailer places fix this kind of suspension often if you can find the right shop. Many RV dealers really do not do a lot of axle work. They may change under warranty parts, however doing a trailer alignment check of fix, it not the norm I have found.

Hope this helps

John

[jbinnh]

Wow! Be careful what you ask for because you might get it!
That was the most thorough and well documented explanation of anything mechanical I have ever seen. Even though I do not have the capabilities to go thru the whole process you did, I have a much better understanding and will take another look with a more educated eye.
Thank you very much.
John

[JohnB]

Hi John,

Gee, thanks for the good words. I'm humbled.

It was hard to find much documented on the web about trailer axle and wheel alignment, so I had to dig to find the right spec info. Dexter axle helped me the most and I praise them often for the good customer service they provide. Once I knew what to look for, due to my work background and shop, I came up with a method to sort this out. Hopefully all that research and pics helps someone someday looking for the same thing.

Having tire wearing issues on a camper is more common than one thinks. Many of them can get along with them wearing as the tires age out before they wear out. However there are some that put on medium to high miles (we are one of them) and this sticks out like a sore thumb once you know a little what to look for.

I can attest to, trailer wheels when in proper alignment wear even and very well. And the sad part is, it is not rocket science to be able to get it with a little higher quality and craftsmanship to build them. Many have hangers installed wrong from day 1, axles made wrong from day 1, light duty parts that can easily get knocked out of alignment and then premature suspension wear due to low grade components. OK I'll get off my rant now...

Good luck with your camper and let us know how you make out or if you need more help

John