Tire wear on steer axle.

[pshoe]

I have a 2015 DS 4369 with 31k miles. I'm seeing minor, slightly uneven, tire wear on the outside edges of the tires on both sides. Took it Gaffney and the tech drove the coach and declared the alignment was good and that he sees this type of wear all the time. Called it normal and said not to worry, the tires will still age out before they wear out.

I'm very interested in what others are seeing with this kind of mileage. Especially those who have FL chassis. I run 120 PSI in the front per the Michelin chart.

Thanks - Phil

[CJ7365]

Originally Posted by pshoe

I have a 2015 DS 4369 with 31k miles. I'm seeing minor, slightly uneven, tire wear on the outside edges of the tires on both sides. Took it Gaffney and the tech drove the coach and declared the alignment was good and that he sees this type of wear all the time. Called it normal and said not to worry, the tires will still age out before they wear out.

I'm very interested in what others are seeing with this kind of mileage. Especially those who have FL chassis. I run 120 PSI in the front per the Michelin chart.

Thanks - Phil

I am no expert on alignments, but I am pretty sure you cant tell if its within specs just driving it.

I would take it to an alignment shop, where they can measure the specs.

I hope he did not charge you for his expertise in alignments.




Here is a link that describes the different causes of tire wear




https://www.bridgestonetire.com/trea...ad-wear-causes

[pshoe]

No, didn't charge me and I said I was willing to pay for an alignment but he talked me out of it. Was very convincing that it was normal. That's why I want to know what others see. To me it looked like tow in issues on a car...they are not feathered.

[Dutch Star Don]

If the wear is the same on the inside and outside, it's typically okay. You could try running a little more air in the tag tires. When a tire is run low, the sides scuff off rubber. A tire will scuff off rubber faster than it will wear off rubber. Over inflated and the centers wear faster. You don't say if your coach has a turning or lifting tag. Either way, the tag tires will have a little bit of choppy looking wear, on the outer edges, as they drag in a turn. If the centers are wearing well, you're well on your way to probably getting 50K out of them.

One good thing about having a tag, you can swap them with the front tires to get longer life. It does require dismounting and remounting, but that isn't too expensive.

[FLJOE]

When I took delivery of my 2017 I got it in for an alignment right away. I utilize a big rig repair/frame shop and not an RV dealer for my alignments. They didn't just drive it, they actually checked it. No adjustment needed from factory settings, except steering wheel needed to be centered.

I think Newmar's come from factory aligned pretty good, however after 30,000 miles it certainly would be worth the money to have it done IMHO.

[pshoe]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

If the wear is the same on the inside and outside, it's typically okay. You could try running a little more air in the tag tires. When a tire is run low, the sides scuff off rubber. A tire will scuff off rubber faster than it will wear off rubber. Over inflated and the centers wear faster. You don't say if your coach has a turning or lifting tag. Either way, the tag tires will have a little bit of choppy looking wear, on the outer edges, as they drag in a turn. If the centers are wearing well, you're well on your way to probably getting 50K out of them.

One good thing about having a tag, you can swap them with the front tires to get longer life. It does require dismounting and remounting, but that isn't too expensive.

Hi Don, the wear I'm seeing is on the edges of the front tires, not the tag. I don't have a steerable tag on my 15 DS. I know you must have some miles on your DS, how are your front tires wearing?

[Dutch Star Don]

I guess I was in la la land and for some reason thought you were talking about the tag axle. When my coach was new, I had a clunk in the front end. After searching a couple of times, I found the steering box was never tightened down. Of the five bolts, one was snug, one was loose and three were backed off about a 1/2". I tightened the steering box up and should have demanded that Freightliner align it under warranty. At about 10K, I started to see some alignment issues. I moved the fronts to the tag and aligned the front end.

I actually aligned it myself. I knew that the toe in and toe out only was off. I use to do alignments in my younger days. It's pretty easy to align these large front ends with a tape measure. I set the alignment and my fronts now have over 25K and are wearing perfectly. It will probably be the first time I'll probably wear out RV tires before I time them out.

[pshoe]

Ok, think I have what’s called Rivering, or River Wear. Found a picture from Michelin that looks just like it. Michelin calls it normal and says continue to run the tires. Common on slow wearing tires they say.

I have a question for you guys that have had alignments...does the typical alignment shop know how to deal with Comfort Drive? I know Ken says it doesn’t really add much complexity, but I’m wondering if you considered it when picking a shop?

[Dutch Star Don]

This is what rivering looks like. I had rivering issues with my Goodyear G670's. I've never heard of Michellin having rivering issues. Rivering is caused by the way they design the outer tread/rib on slow wearing tires.

If your tires look like this, alignment won't help. The best you can do is move them to the tag. How about a picture of your tires, it would help to determine what your issue is.

[pshoe]

Yep, that’s what they look like! I’ll take a picture and post.

[TUCSONRAIL]

I have had two motorhomes on Spartan chassis that had the same problem, with wear on the outside shoulder of tires on the steer axle. I either had the tires flipped around or moved them to the rear. The last time I had the rear axle aligned as well as the front. All previous alignments were only the front. If the drive axle can be adjusted you might try that. Mine was out quite a bit. I just had it done, so I will see if that cures the problem.

[palehorse89]

Originally Posted by pshoe

I have a 2015 DS 4369 with 31k miles. I'm seeing minor, slightly uneven, tire wear on the outside edges of the tires on both sides. Took it Gaffney and the tech drove the coach and declared the alignment was good and that he sees this type of wear all the time. Called it normal and said not to worry, the tires will still age out before they wear out.

I'm very interested in what others are seeing with this kind of mileage. Especially those who have FL chassis. I run 120 PSI in the front per the Michelin chart.

Thanks - Phil

Take a look at page 112 here http://www.euroratas.lt/galery/_euro...ysis_guide.pdf
Mine have the same wear pattern and have had under inflation thoughts till I found that guide to look at. Are your tires wearing like the photo on page 112? Seems this is normal wear.......

[pshoe]

Thanks all, here is what tires look like.



Passenger and driver in that order. They are very similar it’s just that the pictures are taken at different angles with different lighting!

[palehorse89]

They look just like mine, and the photo on page 112 in that link I posted........I researched for a couple of year's when I started to notice the wear pattern..........weighed it, adjusted pressure's..........and spent a lot of time researching it.......then I found that guide I posted and reading on page 112 and seeing the picture's and talking to my local big tire dealer........seems all is normal wear........so I put it to rest. My tire's are 10 year's old this year , XZA2's and are going to be replaced soon before the season starts up north here. I have 50k on mine.........
Dealer told me is just the wear pattern of the steer tire over all those year's of use.......hope this help's ya out........I went through it just as you are.