Tires for tow vehicle

[jerry davis]

I have been towing a Rav4, purchased new, for 15k miles. The tires have been wearing unevenly and now are quite noisy even though I have rotated them.
Are there any suggestions for tire brands that seem to wear well on a toad? I have more towing miles on the toad than driving miles.

[jerry davis]

I have been towing a Rav4, purchased new, for 15k miles. The tires have been wearing unevenly and now are quite noisy even though I have rotated them.
Are there any suggestions for tire brands that seem to wear well on a toad? I have more towing miles on the toad than driving miles.

[OldForester]

Jerry,

I tow a 2006 Toyota 4 Runner, and so far have put about 40,000 towing miles on it, along with 33,000 driving miles on the odometer. The factory Bridgestone Dueler H/T's had 50,000 miles on them when I replaced them and still had 3/32" of tread. I replaced them with the same tires, and now with 23,000 miles on the second set, they still look nearly new. So I'm a big fan of Bridestone Duelers for wear on the toad.

Only question I have, is are your tires properly balanced?

[jerry davis]

The wear in question is from towing as the Rav ia alligned and balanced correctly. Am I the only one that has had uneven front tire wear from towing?

[OldForester]

I'm sure you've have no issues with the steering wheel being unlocked during towing?

I'm also assuming you're towing a RAV with an automatic transmission. Do you do anything special to deal with the transmission -- lube pump -- or wheel shaft unlocking -- or whatever? Reason I ask is that in case you're getting some transmission resistance that's contributing to the tire wear.

Just trying to think of any ideas that might be causing the problem--

[Loren]

Jerry and Judy,
No, you are not the only ones with tire wear from towing, this is quite common. The coaches with the most overhang seem to have the most problems. Our rig measures 13 feet from the rear axle to the rear bumper so when we make a right turn the towed car has to first turn left, and then immediatly right to follow the motorhome. On our explorer the front tires wear out the inside edge, I have heard about other wear patterns on other vehicles and coaches.
Loren

[jerry davis]

The Rav is a standard transmission and the tires are wearing on the front inside edges. I have never towed it in a locked position.

[OldForester]

Jerry,

OK, the only other thought that I have is that when I used to tow my VW Beetle all the time, also with standard transmission, I would get a little uneven wear and the tires would need rebalancing and rotating more frequently -- like every 5,000 miles or so.

The company that installed my hitch told me I needed to drop the hitch down to a lower height on the motorhome, so the tow bar was pulling in a more straight-line or level fashion. I purchased a drop-down adapter and began using it. I thought it might have helped because I didn't seem to have the balance problem after that, but I only towed the VW about 7000 miles since that time.

For what it's worth, don't know if this would help you or not, or if you're already fairly level with your hitch hookup.

Could another possibility be the tracking width of the RAV is so narrow (sort of like my Beetle) that the inside of the tires get more contact with the crown of the road, especially in the pavement ruts, and perhaps need to be inflated to a higher level than factory recommended so the edges don't wear as much? I have SmartTire on my coach and I note the inside dual rear tires always run warmer and at a higher pressure than the outside duals, and my brother, a tire expert, tells me it's mostly due to the crown of the road.

[two sailors]

One of the tow bar mfgs. websites mentions toad tire wear due to tow angle and play in connections between drop hitches, tow bars and vehicles. I don't remember where I read it.

[SteveS]

If the RAV has independent suspension the wheels will likely change in camber significantly according to the weight in the vehicle. With this in mind, if the RV hitch is lower than the mount of the tow bar on the RAV, it will constantly pull down on the front end of the toad and cause the front wheels to "spread out" while towing (causing additional wear on the inside of the tires)and "collaps in" when braking (causing additional wear on the outside of the tires). Likewise, if the RV connection is higher than the toad it will have a tendency to lift up on the front end when towing, causing the wheels to "collapse in" and spread out when braking. Most tow bar manufacturers indicate about 2" maximum deviation between RV and Toad mounts. The best is when the bar is level. You might want to check how level the bar is when connected between the RV and toad.

[Tom and Patty]

Jerry the alignment maybe within specs, but maybe a tire shop with a good alignment tech can add a bit of "toe in". You need a mechanic that understands the geometry of alignments, not one who just reads the computer.If you ever hear "It's within specs", that is a pure BS line from someone who doesn't know alignments.

If it is wearing the inside, the suspension is loaded (like Steve says) or the alignment is zero or toed out.