www.iFourWinns.com

I have a dual axle trailer with a tire problem. My left rear wheel is wearing considerable more than the other tires. For example the three other tires look brand new, the other tire is worn to the cross section tread bar. I Have a 2008 H240 that is seated properly on the trailer and the trailer rides fairly level to the road front to back. Does it need an alignment and if so, who do I trust to do it? Could there be another reasons for this? I have a spare but obviously want to correct the problem before replacing the tire.

Any suggestions and/or advice is welcomed. Thanks....

Possibly a bent axle or spindle. Oil bath hubs? Any evidence of overheating? Do the brakes seem to work well?

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

I am guessing bsent axle or spindle. Or maybe wheel bearings are really bad?

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1998 Baja Boss 252 7.4L MPI Bravo 1 (SOLD)
2007 FW H200SS 5.0GXI (Sold)
2004 Chevy Silverado 2500 Crew 6.0L (tow vehicle)
1991 FW 170 Freedom 4.3L (SOLD)

That sounds bad and expensive! The brakes seem to work just fine and I'm not sure what oil bath hubs are unless you mean bearing buddies which I have.

I'm guessing FW dealers farm that kind of work out to local shops. Have you had this problem before. It's not like I have hit something or damaged it driving. How does this happen?

Potentially so. If it's bent, it may have simply been a defective axle before it was even assembled onto the trailer. If your dealer is nearby, you might see if they can do anything to help out with it. Otherwise, you might need to find a good trailer shop (they aren't always easy to find). A good shop can also try to figure out if something else might be causing the problem.

For decades, the standard hubs used thick wheel bearing grease which needed to be cleaned out and replaced every 1-2 years (in the case of boat trailers, since they get submerged). Not long ago someone came up with an oil bath version, using liquid oil instead of grease. Oil bath hubs have been in use in commercial trucks forever, but they're fairly new in the boating market (at least in family sized boat trailers). Bearing Buddies are used on some greased hubs, but I didn't know they were used on any recent FW trailers.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Correction...I should have said, which I think I have. I am currently at work so I'll check tomorrow morning. A bent axle or hub....that blows! I appreciate your suggestions, thanks.

That's likely to be a bent axle or spindle on that side....you might take it to a trailer shop and have then check the alignment and see if it can be bent back into alignment...unless there is any warrantee on the trailer still in which case take it to the dealer....esp if it has done this since new...
I have something called a spindle lube axle and it's a good system...it has a grease fitting in the end of the spindle...you have a metal dust cap on the hub with a rubber plug you can pull out...then that exposes the grease fitting...
You grease it and the grease goes through the spindle and come out through the inner bearing...then it pushes the old grease out which you can see exit the dust cap...when you see new grease then you're done...you do this while having the wheel jacked up and rotating it so the grease gets all through the rollers...if the old grease comes out the same color it's OK if milky then you have to take it apart and clean out the water contaminated grease...

http://www.championtrailers.com/spdlubax.html

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

It could be as simple as tire pressure…. Have you checked tire pressure of trailers lately? If tire pressure is too low it will cause tire to wear un-evenly.
It happened on my race car trailer once..... The one side of tire pressure was too low and the tire worn significant more that other side (for only 800 miles trip)

2008 FW trailer has oil bath so if bearing should last much longer if lube is kept clean and up to the level. If seal fails then oil will leak out rather quickly and will cause bearing to fail… If your wheel were covered with oil then you would know the seal is gone.

Take a look at Tie Down site
http://www.tiedown.com/cturboqa.html

I have hard time to believe it is bent axel or spindle since it is 2008 trailer but it sounds that way in the end

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08 H260 VP 8.1Gi DP.....Previous
2013 Crownline E6 Merc 8.2MAG BIIIX, DTS/SC

Thanks for the replies regarding the tire issue. I did several checks and I think everything is ok.

1. Tire pressure was a little low on all four tires.
2. Wheels apprear to be alligned by use of a straight edge and the human eye. (???)
3. Oil bath hubs appear to be full. (Thanks for the link Flying Sushi)
4. I did however notice that when I back my trailer up my curved driveway the load tends to ride on the one tire that is wearing more than the others. It also leaves a skid mark while turning.
5. I also noticed that when making sharp left turns, the load rides on that one tire, also leaving a skid mark.

I am heading out to the Colorado River in the morning. I'll update ref anymore issues.

When turning a multi-axle trailer it's normal for the tires on one axle to be pulled sideways and leave skid marks, because the two (or more) axles follow different turning radii. When I back mine in a tight turn it looks like the tires on one of the axles are going to rip right off the wheels.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

I you end up taking it in to have it checked. Go straight to an axle and spring shop. If you don't have one close, a trailer shop. The only two things a dealer will do for you are take it there anyways and charge you mark up, or change the axle and charge you even more than might be needed.
As they say, let your fingers do the walking.

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1992 Baja 38 Special Twin 502 Mags

03 Stingray 3.0
88 261 Liberator 460 King Cobras
95 Bayliner 1850 3.0
77 Fiber Form 20ft 350/385hp
70 Wescraft 1800 SS 455 Jet

Lead, Follow, or get the Hell out of the Way!

You are spot on!!!

I stopped to get gas in Needles, Ca. This old grease monkey appears out of nowhere and says to me, "You should replace the Clarlisles because they're crap!" He follows with "that one tire is cantered a bit and I can tell you why." He has me follow him to the garage and shows me a bucket of pins, shackles, and spring parts. He said the newer trailer suspensions hardware are not fastened tight enough from the factory. He goes on to say that he repairs several suspensions per week during the summer months for that reason.

Whether or not his last statement was true, he did point out an area on the pins and shackles that I should check for abnormal wear. As I finished pumping my gas he told me to call him if I decide to get get the work done. If not him, and axle shop because the dealer will oversharge to just send it out.

I left wondering if the Four Winns god sent a hillbilly angel to my rescue.


By the way, local FW dealers are either shut down, or having non-english speaking receptionists taking messages and not retuning calls. Frustrating!!!

Is there any other kind?

If you have a chance to take a pic of the area he's talking about I'd like to see it. The guy sounds to me like he knows what he's talking about.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

See! The world needs more than college grad dr's & lawyers to get by. Us redrecks & hillbillys keeps the rich on the road and on the water!

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H210SS 6.2
F150 Platinum

I can tell you that the two FW trailers I have owned have both had axle issues and entire axle replaced on 1st trailer, 2nd has had to have some major alignment work to get it to quit wearing tires so much going straight down the road.

My next boat will have a HD custom built from Metal Craft. Had there trailer under my Reinell , they will build a goose neck with spots for jet skis!!!! For me thats the ticket.

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2000 248 5.7L DP
'92, '94 SXI 750, '08 STX 15F, '12 Ultra LX 300
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