Be Kind To Your RV Tires and Axles

If you haven’t crawled under your 5th wheel to examine your axles, leaf springs and leaf spring equalizers you should. As a safety precaution, be sure your RV is adequately supported with appropriately rated jacks before you crawl under it. Most axles will have a tag on them (usually centered in the middle of the axle) that will tell you the weight rating. Axles are made from steel and therefore are flexible. If you overload your 5th wheel it will bend the axle, stress the equalizers and tires (not to mention the brakes, bolts and frame welds). This 5er is overloaded because the axles are bowed making the tires meet the pavement at an angle instead of being perpendicular. This will eventually wear out the tires and can cause severe damage to other components. To be safe, you should put each tire on a scale by itself and make weight shifts accordingly. You should also weigh each axle to ensure you are not exceeding the rating. Some axles have zerk fittings as well as the leaf spring equalizers and bolts holding them (called wet bolts). These components require greasing at manufacturer recommended intervals. The 5er below is being towed so the passenger side tires frequently cross over the fog line and ride on the “wake-up” bumps as I like to call them. Most RVers will not wear out a set of tires on a travel trailer or 5th wheel from mileage, but will replace them due to expiration of time, tire failure or road hazard. When you pull your rig over the fog line you are exposing your tires to road debris such as screws, nails and shrapnel of all varieties. The “wake-up” bumps will also ruthlessly vibrate your leaf springs causing fatigue in your axle system. This vibration will also work it’s way throughout your 5th wheel simulating an earthquake inside while you continue driving oblivious to to what is happening to your tow. If you are not completely confident where your rig is when you're driving, I suggest you stop on a lonely road where there is no traffic and it's safe to stop, get out and go back and look at where you typically drive in the lane. If you are not centered get back in, drive another 30 yards or so until you think it should be centered then go back and check again. Once you’ve established your visual reference points inside your truck that will keep you centered as you drive, look at your mirrors and note where you are in the road in relation to your mirrors. That is what you should see when you’re driving to stay in the center of the lane and avoid damage to your tires and suspension. Giving it to you straight - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing