My inner duals on my 48' flatbed are wearing way faster than my outers, Tire pressure is same in all of them +/- 3 lbs. Its a spread 10' axles. Transcraft eagle super 1998.

 

Did this happen all of a sudden ? or have you had tire work done recently ? Are the tires matched up with ones that have the same amount of wear ?

 

HOW are these tires wearing; shoulder wear, patchy, feathered edge?

accelerated wear on only the inner duals, (in properly matched rolling diameters, given proper alignment and air pressure, suspension ride height, etc)........... is typically caused by axle tube deflection... is it running near (or over) gvwr?

have you been talking to mike b?

 

If the tires are mismatched to begin with then the smaller tire will skim the ground and wear down in a matter of weeks. I found this out real fast when I had new steers put on and I had the old steers put on my flatbed. Took 3 weeks and one was as bald as Telly Savalis (Disclaimer: must be over 50 to get the joke)

 

No you don't. I am 35 and I got it.

 

I don't get it.............Google............. :lol: Aahhh, to be 25 again, oh wait I am!! :P :P

 

Interesting. How does ride height affect this? I don't own the truck, and the tires were already showing this pattern when I got in it, but the truck I'm driving, all four inner drives have a weird wear pattern. Tire pressure has been maintained at a steady 105 psi, all tires were replaced at the same time, and should theoretically be evenly worn. The tractor has a very good three-axle alignment, and it's still in excellent shape; the best aligned truck I've ever driven in my career.

However, the owner just had to replace the height control valve after it started acting screwy. At first, I was dropping trailers so low that other people couldn't get under them with their bags dumped, and I ran under several kingpins in the same week. Then I started lifting pickup trailers 3" off the ground, and the overall height of the truck above the kingpin was about 13'8".

The ride height was screwy, and had potentially been screwy for months. It's all fixed now, but those tires are going to wear out before their time. I wonder if the ride height had been subtly off for a long time, and that caused this somehow.

Mostly curious. Not the owner, but I take care of my equipment, dammit. It troubles me that this happened on my watch, even though the tires had already started this wear before my watch.

 

I seem to remember my inner duals on my tractors always going bald first? I suppose you could rotate them once in a while if you really wanted to maximize life? The guys that make tire inflation equalization systems (CatsEye and Crossfire) say their products fix that "problem", can't see how but I haven't tryed them.

 

Since it is a Transcraft, have you checked it for cracks in between the spread.

I have around 20 hours of welding alone in my Transcraft flat, and mine is a 2001.

ALL the crossmembers were cracked in between the spread, and had to be re-inforced to make it right, BUT it NEVER did wear the tires out like yours is.

I also run the Cats-eyes on my tractor and on the trailer, they do a pretty good job of keeping the pressure equal, and I don't get any "funny"
wear problems.

 

transcraft trailers will get way out of alignment. that will cause rapid tire wear. check real close with a flashlight in every nook & cranny from just in front of front axel to very back underneath. you may find lots of big cracks in lots of places. that will also cause uneaven wear.