Jacking up trailer to rotate tires

[vulcanbill]

Greetings to all.  We're about 5K miles into our adventure.  We are currently in an awesome little Forest Service campground in Stanley, ID where we've been for a while and will remain for a couple days because it's incredible here.  Many tight left hand turns have taken their toll my right rear tire shoulder.  I'd like to rotate the tires (just front to back) but there doesn't seem to be a spot that says "hey stupid, put the jack here" so I'm consulting the collective.  We're pretty far from anyplace and I have a nice flat site and the manager doesn't care and there's nobody here because it's Monday so that concern isn't a concern. 

First off, I'm assuming my 1/2 ton Ram jack will suffice because I'm also assuming I don't have a lot of suspension sag to deal with.  If either of those are incorrect, please advise.  Secondly, given that there are 2 axles and they are connected by a "bracket" of sorts, can I just put the jack under one of the axles and know that it will lift both tires or should I try to use that bracket as the jack point.  My concern there is that it's thin looking and doesn't give me a warm fuzzy. 

Long story short, where is the best place to put the jack to lift this puppy off the ground so I can get the tires sorted?  Thanks much.

BillO 

 

[vulcanbill]

Disregard.  Found the manual then did some experimenting.  Used the frame between the axles where the truck jack fit perfectly.  Took us 10 minutes.  Bought me thousands and thousands of miles of peace of mind. 

 

[scottydl]

I'm pretty inexperienced when it comes to trailers... do they recommend periodic rotations just like any other vehicle?  It seems like trailer tires would be more balanced in usage, since they are close to one another and not being used differently (steering, driving, pulling, etc.) like car & truck tires.  Even my motorhome manual says rotations are not necessary, except perhaps occasionally switching front ones left to right and vice versa if tire wear indicates the need.

 

[vulcanbill]

Watch any multi axle vehicle make a tight turn.  You'll see that the outside rear tire will experience a lot of lateral drag.  I apparently favor left hand turns because I can see the trailer and the tires show it.  I wouldn't have given much thought to the rotation thing if it weren't for the wear pattern I'm seeing.  Matter of fact...straight from the manual...

"Trailer wheels must carry much higher loads per wheel than passenger car or truck wheels.  Each wheel may carry from 1000 to 3000 lbs.  Furthermore, wheels on tandem axles do not steer, and are subject to very high side load stress whenever the trailer makes a tight turn.  When you go around corners--especially slow tight ones-- the wheels on your trailer are subjected to these strong side loads.  This tends to flex the wheel and gradually loosen the wheel nuts."

It goes on to say check the lugs regularly.  It doesn't mention that this will also chew the shoulders off your tires and if you're doing a lot of miles all at once, it'll happen pretty quickly.  We're at about 5k miles which has involved quite a few tight turns.  Just getting into and out of shopping centers is brutal on tires.

So, I just swapped the right side front and rear so the tire with more wear gets a break for a while.  I don't see anything in the manual or see any logical reason to rotate the tires that doesn't involve obvious wear pattern issues.  But I'm a newb at this and going with my gut. 

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

No need to rotate any RV tire unless you see signs of wear on one tire vs the others, as Bill did.

We don't routinely rotate tires on our motorhome either. A lot of expense for very little gain, in most cases.

 

[COMer]

I've read several places that you need to be most careful when jacking up a trailer with Tor-Flex axles.  The tube that contains the spring may not be heavy enough to hold the entire side of the trailer and you could dent it.  Don't know how accurate that is but apparently there must have been some problems (maybe when they first came out) so there is that caution.  I have a nice spot on a bracket where I can jack them up but it would sure be easier to go under the tube.