abnormal tire wear on '95 jayco popup camper.

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ordoc

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Joined
Jun 4, 2008
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5
I have read numerous posts, but non seemed to be my problem. We bought a used popup tent camper. It was a '95 1206 jayco.  Eventually we discovered evidence of a wheel having been run while loose. Probably never totally came off, but hub was hammered onto face of rim ( on the spare tire).

Subsequently, new tires are worn out on the inside of each wheel, worse on the right side. The left side was the side that probably came loose, as it has different sized lugs. total miles on new tires was 7000 and needed to be replaced.

We attempted to have a mechanic add spacers to top of hub on both side.Approximately two washers in thickness with a slight improvement.

The Axle is straight. It is a dexter torsion bar style.

A wheel alignment guy looked at it, but was unsure what to do about it a year ago. Now looking for another one.

Has anyone else had a problem like this, and what was the eventual solution? I am ready to put a quarter inch spacer on the top and try that. (Have new 10 ply tires for another trip!)


Thanks,

Ordoc

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Wear on the inner edges of both wheels suggest that both tires are toed out. That usually means a bent axle on a trailer. How did you conclude the axle is not bent? A truck alignment shop is probably more used to bending solid axles to fix problems than a typical auto alignment shop.

Meanwhile, I don't see any real problem with adding more spacers to see if that helps.  The Dexter people would probably have conniptions if they heard about it, though.
 
Thanks for the suggestions, I put a 4 ft level on the top of the axle, but I did not think to do that front to back, so will do that next, and then follow up with a call to a truck frame shop for additional eval.

Appreciate your help.

ordoc.
 
I had a blow-out on I-95 earlier this year, and when I returned home with the PUP and the dead tire, my tire guy mentioned that I might have been driving in truck ruts, as only the inside of the blown out tire tred was worn  - other tire fine, and PUP not overloaded, no evidence of bent axle....
 
You would have to drive a long time in a truck rut to wear one side of a tire and even then??? Usually the ruts are only 1/8-1/4 inch deep.  Possibly the cause, but not too likely, I would think.  Watch the new tire carefully for signs on inner edge wear - the evidence suggests either a bent axle or bad wheel bearings.
 
I also have a 95 jayco 1206 that wears the tires on the inside.  it's noticeable after 1000 miles.  my thought is that the wheels are toed out or else the frame has settled or bent.  it's always done it though so i don't think it's the frame.  has anyone figured this out?  please and thanks.  i think these internet forums are great  ---  hank
 
I have heard of jigs being off when campers are made. measure the placement of the axle on both sides of the frame just to eliminate that variation . I had a friend that his popup was doing the same thing. he found his axle was displaced by an inch making the camper sort of crab down the road. He had a fabrication shop moved the axle. It is probably a very rare occurance but something to check. I will note he had both tires wearing , yours does sound like a bend somewhere in the axle, possibly near that particular tire. Just a thought.
 
I checked my 1995 Jayco 1207 axle with a 4' level and found it to have a slight bend up in the middle +/- 1/8" and forward +/- 1/8". Is this enough to cause the tires to wear severely on the inside edges? Also the GVW is just over the axle rating and the dry weight is just below the axle rating. Is there a way to increase the capacity of the axle/suspension?
 
If the axle is bent up in the middle, the tires should wear on the outer edges, not the inner. The slight forward bend, howver, could do it, I suppose.

You can replace an axle for a modest price, if you have good tires and wheels to put on the new one. And you can probably get one with abit more suspension capacity (though that might require larger tires to go with it).
 
I also have a '95 Jayco 1206 that has the same tire-wear problem that you're discussing.  Until I read your posts I always suspected it was because the trailer doesn't have any suspension and it will hop around on bumpy roads.  On hindsight that doesn't sound right because it wouldn't just wear on the inside edges... I don't use my trailer as often as when my kids were small, but we still take it out occasionally.  I'm planning two trips this summer, was going to throw a new set of tires on it in a week.  Is this a factory defect we're talking about?  Thanks. --Envy
 
Has anyone ever solved the inside wear on the tires?  I have a '95 Jayco 1206 and it does the same thing as the others have indicated.  It wears out the tread on the inside of the tires.  The owners manual says this is an overweight problem, but I am running it empty of anything, how can it be overloaded unless the factory didn't put the correct axle on it?  I'm going to take it to the local trailer service center and see what they say about it.  I hate to buy a new axle, but if that will help it, then I'll bite the bullet.  It doesn't seem to pull as nice as I would like, lots of sway.  I've lowered the hitch so it pulls level and tried to keep it heavier on the front, but it still does not tow well.  I get lots of feedback through the hitch into the Suburban.  I feel every bump, rut, or crack in the road. 
 
Quie****er said:
Has anyone ever solved the inside wear on the tires?  I have a '95 Jayco 1206 and it does the same thing as the others have indicated.  It wears out the tread on the inside of the tires.  The owners manual says this is an overweight problem, but I am running it empty of anything, how can it be overloaded unless the factory didn't put the correct axle on it?  I'm going to take it to the local trailer service center and see what they say about it.  I hate to buy a new axle, but if that will help it, then I'll bite the bullet.  It doesn't seem to pull as nice as I would like, lots of sway.  I've lowered the hitch so it pulls level and tried to keep it heavier on the front, but it still does not tow well. I get lots of feedback through the hitch into the Suburban.  I feel every bump, rut, or crack in the road.
Click to expand...

Many trailers give extra "feedback" when running empty.  Additional weight, especially in the front my take care of your sway issues.  If you have a forward water tank.  Thats an easy way to check it.
 
torsion axles are supposed to have a positive camber preload of 1.5 degrees or so, to compensate for how the torsion spindle wears in over time. If it is built flat, is weak to begin with, or worn out, the tops of the tires will be closer together than the bottom, causing this wear pattern.
http://www.ucfamerica.com/FlexirideTechnicalLiterature/Camber%20and%20Toe%20angles.jpg
The suggestion of a truck alignment shop is great. They will be able to measure this and the toe for you, and suggest a corrective action. It may be better to replace the axle if it was inadequately sized to begin with.

 
You can take your own toe in / toe out measurements by simply putting a little piece of duct tape on the front and in the approximate center of each tire. measure across from tire to tire to the edge of the tape, then roll the trailer so the tape faces the back and measure to the same points again. They should be the same measurement if no toe is present. You may also want to take measurements from the centerline point on the front of the tongue to the same place on both ends of the axle to verify that the axle is square with the trailer. Other than that the only thing I can think of that would wear tires down on the inside in 1000 miles is either wheel bearings as was suggested, overloading, or an axle that was bent down in the center.
 
I had the same problem with inside wear with my 95 Jayco 1210.  It was driving me nuts since all seemed ok.  I had Load Range C tires at 40 psi.  Changed to Load Range E tires at 90 psi.  Just returned from 5000 mi trip and wear looks virtually even across the tire. 
 
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