Automotive Forums

I'm a newbie with a tire wear problem. I'm hoping that someone can tell me what's wrong.

New Twin Axle Car Carrier - - all of the new tires are showing the same wear pattern.  Classic under-inflation tire wear: wearing on the outside and inside tread areas and leaving the center section alone, but each tire was inflated to 50 psi (recommended max.). Inflation was checked constantly during the trip. Neither the tires nor the wheel bearings ever felt hot. The trailer was properly loaded/balanced and was within the manufacturer's weight limit (5000#) - - was towed at interstate speeds (65 mph) and showed this tire wear after its first 3,000 mile trip.

There is no feathering, but when moving one's hand across the tread, there is a noticeable jump from the worn areas to the middle part of the tread. What I'm trying to say is that the tire doesn't feel like the tread is being scrubbed off  

The suspension is tight and nothing looks bent or otherwise out-of-sorts. It pulls straight and acts normal in every other respect.

Is it possible that a brand new trailer tire could have a thicker section in the center of the tread area and less tread depth on either side of the raised area ?

I don't have a clue as to what is going on.  Thanks.

wormshoe  

There's not quite enough information here.

First, what tire size are we talking about?  What's the load carrying capacity of the tires (written on the sidewall)?

When you said the trailer was within the load limit of 5,000 #, what was the load on the tires?  Is the 5K the payload?  If so how much does the trailer weigh empty?

Also,  how much tread depth is left on the tires?  (You'll need a tread depth gauge for this.)  Given the mileage, can you estimate how many miles you will get?  Is it enough to worry about, given that between 6 and 10 years, you'll have to replace the tire due to age?

Most tire wear occurs in cornering - and in the case of trailers, turns while backing a trailer into position can really scrub a lot of tread off - and most of it will come off the shoulders.