Two axles that disagree wear each other out
A tandem trailer has two axles that are supposed to sit exactly parallel to each other and square to the trailer. When they do, the tires on both roll straight. When one axle sits at a slight angle to the other, neither set of tires can roll freely. Each axle is trying to steer the trailer in a slightly different direction, and the tires scrub against the road to reconcile them.
That scrubbing is constant, on every mile, loaded or empty. It does not usually produce a dramatic symptom. What it produces is tires that wear out early, in a pattern that is easy to misread as a tire quality problem.
Look at the trailer tires for:
- Scuffed, feathered tread on both axles, rather than smooth even wear.
- Wear heavier on one axle than the other.
- Inside edges wearing on one side of the trailer and outside edges on the other.
Any of those suggests the axles are not parallel, and replacing the tires without measuring the axles simply starts the same wear again on new rubber.
What moves an axle
Worn spring hangers and bushings, a hard strike on a curb or a dock, a suspension repair, or a slider that was never adjusted correctly. A trailer bought used comes with whatever its previous owner left it with, and it is worth measuring before it joins the fleet.
Plan the visit
Ogden is open Monday to Friday until 5:30 PM, so a trailer dropped during the day has more of the afternoon behind it. Align the tractor at the same time with heavy-duty truck alignment, and have the wheels looked at through wheel refurbishing if a position keeps losing air. The national trailer alignment page covers what the measurement includes.
Other stores nearby
Tremonton aligns trailers to the north, and the Salt Lake City Truck Tire Center to the south.
About this store
The Ogden store runs eleven services and is managed by Mike Theis.
See the national trailer alignment page for all 36 locations.