fowlthing
Roger, AR
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Joined: 08/17/2003
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Bought trailer used. Have now noticed wear of tires against bottom of trailer.
Springs are above the axles.
Was this caused most likely from a flat tire rubbing the bottom or is clearance not enough?
Would stronger springs help??
Any ideas? Is best bet TPMS system to lesson chance of blowout or flat ??
Thanks
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bgum
South Louisiana
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Possibly from wrong size tires and rims.
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MFL
Midwest
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If the springs look somewhat flat, replacing with heavier will help.
Oversize wheels/tires...maybe, but clearance is the issue. Normally 2"s in not enough, but most times 3"s is sufficient.
Jerry
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time2roll
Southern California
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I assume replacement springs are needed. If spending money I would go up some in rating.
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fowlthing
Roger, AR
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Tires and rims are per factory sticker.
Springs look flat to me. But just a guess
On my part.
2017 Ford 350 SRW
Grand Design Solitude 375RES
may switch to a Ram
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shelbyfv
TN
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Are you saying the tires are rubbing now or that it looks like they have rubbed in the past? All tires, some tires, one tire?? I like my TST TPMS. It shows temp and pressure.
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MFL
Midwest
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fowlthing wrote:Tires and rims are per factory sticker.
Springs look flat to me. But just a guess
On my part.
Tires/wheels match factory sticker, then most likely springs were barely adequate from new, and are loosing their arc, from carrying a heavy trailer.
Are both sides of trailer at just 2's clearance? Have both sides lost their spring arc? It is possible to have a broken spring in the pack, that is not real noticeable.
Here is a pic of my FW spring arc, which is allowing a good 3"s of clearance. They do not appear flat.
![[image]](https://i.imgur.com/IDIvNA8l.jpg)
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fowlthing
Roger, AR
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Tires have rubbed in the past.. through to the plywood. MFL thanks for the pics... mine are flatter.
I think new heavier duty springs are in order. The rubbing could have been due to a blowouts... but heavier springs can't hurt
Thanks again
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JBarca
Radnor, Ohio, USA
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Joined: 12/16/2004
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It would help us give you better answers if we knew some more about the camper. Year, make, model so we know what you have? And do you know the axle size, the dry empty weight and the GVWR of the camper? Some of this info can be in the camper manual or on load stickers pending the year the camper was made.
2" of wheel well clearance may only work if the springs on the camper are a lot heavier in rating then the GVWR. Some camper brands are set up as low riders, and usually underslung axles. But in your case, you stated the spring are over the axle, which does not fit the common thinking of low rider camper with heavy springs.
The prior owner may have overloaded the camper, as was stated, a spring broken, or the springs are fatigued from age. We have no idea if your camper is 5 years old or 50 years old. If they did overload the camper, there is an axle inspection that can be done to see if the axle tube has lost camber. And you can get leaf spring arch heights on the spring packs from the spring manufacture if you can find a tag on the springs or axle. Assuming you have leaf springs and not a torsion axle.
3" of wheel well clearance is a common guideline from Dexter axle. However, some manufactures set up campers lower then that, and they can work, but again, this comes back to the capacity of the springs verses the rated GVWR if they can run lower then 3" clearance.
The wheel well rub may have come from broken suspension (shackle failure) or a blown tire, or both to name a few by the prior owner.
Give us some more to go on, just throwing heavier springs at the camper may not solve all the issues you could be up against.
A TPM on a camper is a very good thing regardless. I use the TST system, this one, https://tsttruck.com/ It works well for my setup. I have it on the truck also as my truck is older before TPM's were mandated.
Hope this helps,
John
John & Cindy
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TenOC
On the road -- Full time
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time2roll wrote:I assume replacement springs are needed. If spending money I would go up some in rating.
At same time flip the axles
Please give me enough troubles, uncertainty, problems, obstacles and STRESS so that I do not become arrogant, proud, and smug in my own abilities, and enough blessings and good times that I realize that someone else is in charge of my life.
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