# Uneven Tire Wear On New Rv After 11K Miles



## Already Gone (Feb 25, 2013)

Purchased a new 2013 Keystone Outback 277RL TT in February, 2013. We took it on a 1000 mile break-in trip and all seemed well, other than the usual 100 minor problems that new RVs seem to have, worst of which was the shower door shattering 10 minutes after my wife took a shower. Was able to fix all the rest myself.

We then embarked on a 10,000 mile trip. About 8000 miles into the trip I started to notice the curb side tires were showing excessive wear on the outside of the tires. Both tires are showing the same amount and area of wear. I am very diligent about keeping tires inflated exactly as specified and use a tire monitor system on the trailer. I do periodic checks of the wheels for loose bearing, etc...

I am now a ping-pong ball being bounced between Keystone and Camping World (where I purchased the trailer). Camping World does not have the equipment to deal with this type of problem so Keystone tells me to take it to another "authorized" Keystone dealer. Ha Ha Ha!! I can't even get another dealer to do the necessary analysis, let alone fix it. So I called Keystone back... They have yet to get back to me.

So has anyone else had this type of tire wear and what did you find as the cause. My first thought is a bent axle, but both tires, front and back on the same side, are wearing exactly the same. Seems a little unlikely that both axles would be bent the same amount. HELP!!


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## Todd&Regan (Jul 1, 2010)

You would probably need to take your Outback to a shop that works on trailer axles to get a proper diagnoses/fix. The problem with that though would be having Keystone cover the cost. Or, depending how far you want to drive, take it Lippert Components in Goshen, IN. Lippert makes the frames, Dexter Axle makes the axles...both companies are owned by the same parent company. If you took it Lippert, you could probably get it covered under warranty pretty easily. Might be a good idea to call Lippert anyway to see what they have to say. Just a suggestion. Good luck!


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## Already Gone (Feb 25, 2013)

I did have an additional question. I have Trailer King ST Radial ST 225/78R15 tires on the trailer. Being radials, can I rotate side to side as well as front to back? I have always heard that you can not rotate a radial such that it changes original direction of rotation?


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## KTMRacer (Jun 28, 2010)

Already Gone said:


> I did have an additional question. I have Trailer King ST Radial ST 225/78R15 tires on the trailer. Being radials, can I rotate side to side as well as front to back? I have always heard that you can not rotate a radial such that it changes original direction of rotation?


Don't know about ST radials, but starting about 10 years ago, auto radials rotation recomendations went back to a pattern similar to the old bias plys. IIRC a common one now is to rotate front tires directly to the back same side, and cross the rears as they go to the front. The exception being tires that are designed to rotate in only one direction, some of the high performance tires are directional for rotation, mostly due to the tread pattern design.

Also, I had a set of Towmasters that got rotated side to side and didn't suffer any ill effects. wear was even when I replaced them at about 20K miles.

And I'd guess that in normal situations, there is no real reason to rotate TT tires. Unlike cars, front and rear and side/side see similar forces. However, since your experiencing unusual wear, once you figure out the problem swapping side may be a good idea.


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## Already Gone (Feb 25, 2013)

Just talked to Keystone rep... He says the first step is to do measurements of stringer positions, axle positions, etc... USING A TAPE MEASURE!!!
I would estimate that IF I had an axle skew, it would be on the order 1/2 inch, maybe 1 inch at most. We gonna find this with a tape measure over 30 feet... with stuff in the way! He said it should take about 10 minutes. All of the points of reference, to be used in the required measurements, are within the thermal barrier. This means undoing the thermal barrier, then putting it back. This ain't gonna end well. I suggested taking it to a truck alignment shop... deer in the head lights! We gotta do tape measure first. I LOVE KEYSTONE!


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## therink (May 13, 2010)

I could be wrong here, but personally I would drive a spike into the ground centerline directly beneath the hitch a d use a snap line, plumb bob line, or some other non stretchable line/string. Using the line, measure back on one side to center of each axle (at a shackle point for even reference), then mark the line at the reference point. Do the same for other side at same reference points and the string markings should in up if axles are properly aligned. If not, then you should be able to tell offset measurement by difference in string markings. This isn't exactly scientific, but should be able to confirm your findings. 
If off alignment, I would likely find a local authorized dexter/lippert axle repair facility and ask keystone to authorize realignment and tire replacement at that facility. Many non rv frame and trailer repair shops are dexter axle dealers.


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## Already Gone (Feb 25, 2013)

What you are suggesting makes common sense and is a better way to measure. However!!! I was sent a sheet with SPECIFIC points to measure between. Dealing with a DA!!


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## Already Gone (Feb 25, 2013)

robertized said:


> AG I think it is great that they gave you the Spec Sheet with the measurements and I would like to get my hands on one myself is there anyway you could post it. What I would like to know does the specs include a measurement from the ball hitch location, as no matter how square and correct the frame setup is the trailer will always track the ball. As far as a possible measuring point that goes from the hitch down to the ground, if the hitch jack is installed plum and square in the hitch platform maybe this would work for a reference point as it is just behind the ball. In the past when I have needed to take good measurements I have used some light weight chain long enough to do the job and save it with the rest of my tools to be used in the future on other projects or problems. Good Luck.


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## KTMRacer (Jun 28, 2010)

Already Gone said:


> AG I think it is great that they gave you the Spec Sheet with the measurements and I would like to get my hands on one myself is there anyway you could post it. What I would like to know does the specs include a measurement from the ball hitch location, as no matter how square and correct the frame setup is the trailer will always track the ball. As far as a possible measuring point that goes from the hitch down to the ground, if the hitch jack is installed plum and square in the hitch platform maybe this would work for a reference point as it is just behind the ball. In the past when I have needed to take good measurements I have used some light weight chain long enough to do the job and save it with the rest of my tools to be used in the future on other projects or problems. Good Luck.


[/quote]

Looking atPDF file it looks like the measurements are checking the squareness of the frame and the squareness of the axle hanger mounting points and the squareness of the hanger mounting points to the frame.

What it doesn't verify is the alignment of the frame/axles to the ball, And it won't tell if the axles have the correct toe-in or correct camber. IMHO the measurements will verify if the frame and axle mounting is correct. That's the first step, if that isn't correct, it's going to be hard to get the alignment correct with the axles installed.

If these measurements show everything in alignment, then the next step is confirmation that axle toe-in and camber are correct and that measuring from the ball mount center to each axle stub is the same.

Personally, I don't know why the dealer is making you take the measurements. It's under warranty, they should take the responsibility to check to see if it is a defect or not. If I brought this kind of condition to my selling dealer I'm confident they would do due diligence to determine if there is an alignment or axles problem and if it should be covered under warranty or not.

As to not having the "equipment", all it takes is a good tape measure to get the measurements to determine if the issue is with the frame/mounting. Any dealer can do this!!. I'd take the sheet back to camping world and say, I bought it here, you do the check to see if it is a warranty issue or not, and it should be free of charge.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Back to the tire question.

If it has a rotation direction arrow on them then it must be installed to rotate that direction. If it does not then it is okay to do a cross pattern.


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## chrispmeyer (Feb 23, 2014)

Trying to give back a little here thanks to all the great info...

We have a 2014 301BQ, picked it up in May of this year. When taking delivery, I noticed the tires/axles seemed out of alignment - asked the dealer and they said "they are all aligned at the factory so it's good". We're now about 10K miles into our summer-long adventure and I noticed significant wear on the back two tires. Happen to be in southern Utah near Grand Canyon & Zion and tracked down this incredible trailer service garage called Red Rock Garage in St. George, UT. They squeezed us in within 24 hours (during busy season) - our authorized service center (Camping World said they'd see me in 3 weeks and might not be able to do anything about it - so very helpful...) and sure enough the back axle was out about 1.5" and the front just under an 1". Wow. Quinn at Red Rock showed me the setup - full laser alignment and cold press adjustment. It's what they use for semi trailers and they can apply to TT's. Got both axles done for about $250 and now on to fighting for the warranty payback with Outback. Net-net, I wish I'd checked the alignment when taking delivery but glad I caught it now before heading across the Mojave in July. After doing a bunch of research and talking to folks, I'd say find a trailer specialist for this work as the typical RV dealers (I spoke with a half dozen) just don't know how to do this.


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## W5CI (Apr 21, 2009)

Now that is what I would do it take the TT to a Truck Alignment shop and get it checked and fixed, AG has allready used up the $250 in Pain and Suffering.


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## Todd&Regan (Jul 1, 2010)

chrispmeyer said:


> Trying to give back a little here thanks to all the great info...
> 
> We have a 2014 301BQ, picked it up in May of this year. When taking delivery, I noticed the tires/axles seemed out of alignment - asked the dealer and they said "they are all aligned at the factory so it's good". We're now about 10K miles into our summer-long adventure and I noticed significant wear on the back two tires. Happen to be in southern Utah near Grand Canyon & Zion and tracked down this incredible trailer service garage called Red Rock Garage in St. George, UT. They squeezed us in within 24 hours (during busy season) - our authorized service center (Camping World said they'd see me in 3 weeks and might not be able to do anything about it - so very helpful...) and sure enough the back axle was out about 1.5" and the front just under an 1". Wow. Quinn at Red Rock showed me the setup - full laser alignment and cold press adjustment. It's what they use for semi trailers and they can apply to TT's. Got both axles done for about $250 and now on to fighting for the warranty payback with Outback. Net-net, I wish I'd checked the alignment when taking delivery but glad I caught it now before heading across the Mojave in July. After doing a bunch of research and talking to folks, I'd say find a trailer specialist for this work as the typical RV dealers (I spoke with a half dozen) just don't know how to do this.


Most, if not all TT's don't have perfectly aligned axles right out of the factory. The axles are aligned with just the weight of the frame on them. By the time the camper is built on top of the frame, the alignment will be off due to variances in side to side weight of the camper. In your case, that's out of alignment pretty bad. This has been covered in another thread, but everyone needs to check the torque to the axles u-bolts, especially brand new campers...70 ft. lbs. Loose u-bolts can result in an axle moving.


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