Suspension Toasted tyres

Roadhouse

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Mar 12, 2019
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Hey all, bought a 17:56-2 a few months back and getting ready for a couple of weeks away. Has Jtech independent suspension on dual axles.

I noted the tyres showed some wear on the outside of the tread on passenger side. I read up about castor adjustment on jtech so thought the van had a bit of toe-in (can even tell with the naked eye...)

Upon closer inspection of the tyres they have UNEVEN wear on the outside of the tyres - 1/3 of the circumference is worn and 2/3 isn’t too bad. Eg I have maybe 1mm tread between 12 o’clock and 4 o’clock and around 4mm tread around the rest of the clock.

What might cause this uneven wear on the outside? I thought toe-in would cause it ACROSS the tread (so ok on inside and worn on outside) but what would cause uneven wear on the outside of the tyres AROUND the tread?
 
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Drover

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Could be a number of things but in a nutshell alignment and tyre pressure will cause all sorts of wear patterns, also if its the trailing axle sharp turns will screw the tyre, most often poor tyre pressure will exacerbate problems.... Camber and Toe will wear on the edges of the tyre, camber can be a smooth wear while toe can be scalloped and can be worse on the rear axle than fore axle, being laxy independant axles castor isn't a biggy..... You could have all sorts of wear neg camber with toe out, pos camber with toe out in various combinations, with bits wearing everywhere, with Jtec each wheel could be pointing in a different direction....

If you think you can see wheels pointing out of align then they must be bad, on trailers the wheels should be about 1mm max closer at the front than rear, most of the Independant suspensions aren't set up correctly and since most vans don't really travel much the wear isn't apparent for ages.
The solution is to find a truck align shop an get the set up done correctly, a tyre shop can't do the job and a van yard will farm it out or do an eyeball align..... While I know you can DiY on beam axles easily with Jtec and similar suspension it depends on the set up of them but it is doable but would be a pain for sure.

Don't just blindly run tyres at the tyre placard pressure , start there then check when they are hot, once they are 4 to 6 psi above the pressure at cold they are good. This can also change with load and outside temps, its a good baseline for the 25 to 30 deg days....

If your tyres are 4 or 5 yrs old, (check stamp on sidewall), dump and replace them with some decent rubber and get an alignment.
 
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Bluey

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Mar 31, 2014
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How old is the van ? Dose it have Adventro AT 2s on it the tread on them is not great way to lumpy as mine a 2014 model aged they realy lost there way scolloping unevan check your bareings too mine where finger tight the AT2 tyre is old school they dont make them any more cause there crap they make a new tread patten AT3 much better ive got 2 on and will be putting another 2 on when i get home after 2000ks just about and counting this trip there great but i can see the back old ones loosing there cool had my van alighned once but im told with this kind of suspension theres not a lot of adjustment with them bugger all realy thanks to there design
I have a thread on the Adventuro tyres somewhere
 
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BJM

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Sep 29, 2018
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My Jayco Journey Outback has Jtech suspension,.Same tyres same problem.However to check it over I took van to a truck aligner in Newcastle.Results offside suspension too much neg camber,nearside ok.No camber adjustment .Castor not adjustable.Had a mile too much tow in which will scallop outside edge of tyres..Aligner said every J van with Jtech suspension he has done has been miles out,or cannot be properly aligned.My neg camberis caused by the a arm not being welded correctly at Jayco_Only way to see whats wrong is to takevan to a truck wheel aligner.Do not take it to a Jayco service centre.
 

Roadhouse

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Thanks all. Yes got the AT2s on. Just ticked over 4 years old.

Happy to get some new tyres - any recommendations? I know people have their faves - KO2s are mine. Open to recommendations.

And BJM - which alignment place did you go to? Im at Lake Mac so not far away from Newy.
 

Drover

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Tyres for vans need to be something that gives good road grip especially in the wet, good braking and have good wear tendencies, they don't need traction as they are lazy, so an aggressive tread pattern like some come with is no good other than bling, an AT tyre with a mild tread pattern gives the braking and wet road properties required, they have better wear than an aggressive pattern....Buying a quality tyre will mean you should get a good 5 yrs as unlike a car tyre the tyre for a van needs to be able to handle long periods of nothing. Its usually age which catches up with van tyres.
 

Roadhouse

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@Drover - what tyre would you recommend? 99% (100%?) of my towing would be on-road but I can’t bring myself to put an HT tyre on - not manly enough! What mild tread AT do you like?
 

Drover

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@Drover - what tyre would you recommend? 99% (100%?) of my towing would be on-road but I can’t bring myself to put an HT tyre on - not manly enough! What mild tread AT do you like?

I certainly know what you mean, still has to look good, Big Mal has Yokahama Geolanders GO15, nice tread, bought on special but I knew they would go the distance in time and since they are 265 75 16's they are damn big rubber so wanted something I could trust, Big Mal can do around 12,000kms a year, old tyres were Bridgestone they lasted pretty well, got 5 yrs out of them, still had good meat left but getting a bit hard I thought, looked the goods though as well, I would steer clear of the cheapies but a well known brand with pattern like the Goodyear Wrangler is a good pattern for vans/trailers also a LT tyre will give you more variation with tyre pressure and loadings.

1578788236035.jpeg

....The one above would give good stability for a van, better grip in wet, braking and sideways movement while the one below would have less grip in wet and generally all round and is more prone to wear on the edges....... The aspects required for a van tyre are considerably different to that of a car.
.
1578788378177.jpeg


Link to Big Mals new rubber............... https://www.expandasdownunder.com/threads/drovers-new-rig-big-mal.8414/page-10
 
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BJM

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Hi Roadhouse ,in NZ at the moment,so havnt got the receipt well known truck aligner coming into N from the nth,had lot of mucking around to find it.
 

Roadhouse

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Mar 12, 2019
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Righto... finally got around to getting new tyres (Falken Wildpeak AT3Ws @ $215 a corner) and have booked in for a wheel alignment at a truck place tomorrow. Not much adjustment on the J Tech (toe only) so will see what they can do.

Tyre place said there was some wobble in the bearings so maybe that has caused the uneven tyre wear? Might just replace all 4 sets of bearings to be safe (they would be five years old by now) as it doesn't look too hard a job.

With an Outback 17.56.2, is there a standard bearing set for them? Would they have the parallel bearings rated at 1600kg or just the Ford slimline? I know I can pull them out to check but if there was a standard bearing it would be great to know the type without pulling them out first... TIA
 

Crusty181

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Righto... finally got around to getting new tyres (Falken Wildpeak AT3Ws @ $215 a corner) and have booked in for a wheel alignment at a truck place tomorrow. Not much adjustment on the J Tech (toe only) so will see what they can do.

Tyre place said there was some wobble in the bearings so maybe that has caused the uneven tyre wear? Might just replace all 4 sets of bearings to be safe (they would be five years old by now) as it doesn't look too hard a job.

With an Outback 17.56.2, is there a standard bearing set for them? Would they have the parallel bearings rated at 1600kg or just the Ford slimline? I know I can pull them out to check but if there was a standard bearing it would be great to know the type without pulling them out first... TIA
I just replaced my 4 x tyres with cheap nasty Chinese Powertrac donuts. At $275 per tyre I was less than impressed with the 30k km Toyo Open Countrys effective life. I figure this time around its worth the experiment and at $94 per tyre I only have to get 10255.1km out of them to be in front.

My dual axle Jtech is 6 years old with almost 70k km. I've just did the brakes last week and checked the bearings at the same time. They're all good; repacked and good to go. Just pull yours out and have a look, they'll likely be fine. If you do want to replace them, these are my backup pair if you can see the codes

20201027_142627.jpg
 
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Drover

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I would just pop the wheel off and have a lookie at them, no sense buying new stuff when all that is needed is a grease and proper tension.........the bearings in Big Mal have done somewhere in the 80K area and are still looking and spinning well, good Jap bearings and my spare set where only $20 at a bearing shop, I only carry one spare set as I have a draw full of spare bearings from other trailers/vans/cars which have been never used.....
If checked before/after each trip or about every 5000km, just by a shake test then they should last for years, at least once a year I pull the drum off to check brake shoes so bearings get a lick of grease then and a spin................. a job I hate doing hence the once a year but BIg Mal can do 10 to 15K a year and I don't like getting the tools out while away so a must do check.
Always handy to have a few spare oil seals though.....best to confirm the iD of bearings before buying as many have pulled out their spares only to find them wrong.... I pulled them down in Big Mal then found they were noted in the manual, bummer............
 

mfexpanda

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Apr 1, 2011
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I just replaced my 4 x tyres with cheap nasty Chinese Powertrac donuts. At $275 per tyre I was less than impressed with the 30k km Toyo Open Countrys effective life. I figure this time around its worth the experiment and at $94 per tyre I only have to get 10255.1km out of them to be in front.

My dual axle Jtech is 6 years old with almost 70k km. I've just did the brakes last week and checked the bearings at the same time. They're all good; repacked and good to go. Just pull yours out and have a look, they'll likely be fine. If you do want to replace them, these are my backup pair if you can see the codes

View attachment 66135
thought you would have gone the BAR TREADS so they are same same like 70 series :black_eyed: :black_eyed:
 
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Bluey

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Mar 31, 2014
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Righto... finally got around to getting new tyres (Falken Wildpeak AT3Ws @ $215 a corner) and have booked in for a wheel alignment at a truck place tomorrow. Not much adjustment on the J Tech (toe only) so will see what they can do.

Tyre place said there was some wobble in the bearings so maybe that has caused the uneven tyre wear? Might just replace all 4 sets of bearings to be safe (they would be five years old by now) as it doesn't look too hard a job.

With an Outback 17.56.2, is there a standard bearing set for them? Would they have the parallel bearings rated at 1600kg or just the Ford slimline? I know I can pull them out to check but if there was a standard bearing it would be great to know the type without pulling them out first... TIA
I have a 1756_2 as well got mine done at a caravan place they said theres 2 diffrent kinds lucky i had the standed ones as the others are more expencive mines 2014 model as far as i know there not all the same
 

Crusty181

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Feb 7, 2010
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thought you would have gone the BAR TREADS so they are same same like 70 series :black_eyed: :black_eyed:
As of yesterday I do have spiffy new Troopy alloys and donuts. Thanks to a constant line a rednecks who cant get their new GXL 79s to Bob Janes fast enough for the obligatory giant 35in mud tyres for all those urban challenges, and results in a countless supply of brand new factory alloys and tyres that they cant get rid of. Mine were off a 79 straight from the wharf ... only done 15mtrs as it rolled off the truck into the rebirthing suite
 
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Boots in Action

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Could be a number of things but in a nutshell alignment and tyre pressure will cause all sorts of wear patterns, also if its the trailing axle sharp turns will screw the tyre, most often poor tyre pressure will exacerbate problems.... Camber and Toe will wear on the edges of the tyre, camber can be a smooth wear while toe can be scalloped and can be worse on the rear axle than fore axle, being laxy independant axles castor isn't a biggy..... You could have all sorts of wear neg camber with toe out, pos camber with toe out in various combinations, with bits wearing everywhere, with Jtec each wheel could be pointing in a different direction....

If you think you can see wheels pointing out of align then they must be bad, on trailers the wheels should be about 1mm max closer at the front than rear, most of the Independant suspensions aren't set up correctly and since most vans don't really travel much the wear isn't apparent for ages.
The solution is to find a truck align shop an get the set up done correctly, a tyre shop can't do the job and a van yard will farm it out or do an eyeball align..... While I know you can DiY on beam axles easily with Jtec and similar suspension it depends on the set up of them but it is doable but would be a pain for sure.

Don't just blindly run tyres at the tyre placard pressure , start there then check when they are hot, once they are 4 to 6 psi above the pressure at cold they are good. This can also change with load and outside temps, its a good baseline for the 25 to 30 deg days....

If your tyres are 4 or 5 yrs old, (check stamp on sidewall), dump and replace them with some decent rubber and get an alignment.

Hi @Drover , would way out of balance (on that wheel only) cause uneven wear on van as it does on cars and tugs??
 

mfexpanda

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Apr 1, 2011
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Brookfield, Vic
As of yesterday I do have spiffy new Troopy alloys and donuts. Thanks to a constant line a rednecks who cant get their new GXL 79s to Bob Janes fast enough for the obligatory giant 35in mud tyres for all those urban challenges, and results in a countless supply of brand new factory alloys and tyres that they cant get rid of. Mine were off a 79 straight from the wharf ... only done 15mtrs as it rolled off the truck into the rebirthing suite
Pics or it didn't happen ! :behindsofa:
 
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