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 2023 OWNER’S MANUAL 
will seldom cure the problem. Any worn 
component that connects the wheel 
to the trailer (wheel bearings, springs, 
bushings, etc.) can cause this condition. 
Worn components should be adjusted 
or replaced with new ones. The worn tire 
should be balanced and possibly moved 
to a dierent location on the trailer. 
Occasionally, wheels that are out of balance 
will wear like this, but wheel imbalance 
usually shows up as bald spots between 
the outside edges and center of the tread.
Second-Rib Wear
Second-rib wear is normally found only 
in radial tires, and appears where the 
steel belts end in relation to the tread. 
Normally, it can be kept to a minimum by 
paying careful attention to tire pressure 
and frequently rotating the tires. Some tire 
manufactures consider a slight amount 
of wear at the second rib of a radial tire to 
be normal, but excessive amounts of wear 
indicate that the tires are too wide for the 
wheels. Be careful when having oversized 
tires installed on narrow wheels.
One side wear
In instances where an inner or outer rib 
wears faster than the rest of the tire, there 
may be a need for a realignment of the 
tires. This occurs when there is excessive 
camber in the axle, causing the wheel to 
lean too much to the inside or outside 
and putting too much load on one side of 
the tire. The trailer may simply need the 
wheels aligned, but misalignment could 
be due to  sagging springs, overloaded 
trailer or an unbalanced load on multi-axle 
trailers. Because load has a great eect 
on alignment, be sure the trailer is loaded 
to balance the weight on the axle or axles. 
Trailers should be towed with the trailer 
level, this is particularly important with 
independent suspension trailers using 
torsion axles.
Cupping
Cups or scalloped dips appearing around 
the edge of the tread on one side or 
the other almost always indicate worn 
(sometimes bent)  suspension parts. 
Adjustment of wheel alignment alone