That is likely your problem. The only trailer
I ever pulled that really "ate" tires had a bent axle, and I also had that
trailer shear one wheel clear off of its lugs. Not fun. I've not
ever pulled anything but a tandem axle with leaf springs--and I've found that
they are sufficiently stable that one can travel pretty well on just three
wheels in an emergency. (And if need be, one can put a small wood block in
the rocker arm of the suspension to expedite that.) But the only time I've
had a problem other than the trailer with the bent axle (with which it was a
consistent and recurring problem) was when I didn't regrease my wheel bearings
after Mount Saint Helens blew, and I had one wheel seize up and come off the
spindle because of that. (And I had to drive quite a ways three-wheeled to
get anywhere I could get it fixed that time, too.) Had the same sort of
thing starting with axles out of alignment on my current trailer, and hubby
kindly redid it all underneath and nipped it in the bud. Any time you have
uneven tire wear on a tandem axle trailer, you have SOMETHING under there that
isn't right, and it pays to get it fixed as soon as one can, since the same
forces that put uneven wear on the tires are also putting uneven stress on
wheels, wheel bearings, spindles, etc.
The
axle on the wheel in front of this tire is bent about 1/4 inch and always
causes excessive wear on the tire in front on the outside edge. I don't know
how that would effect the tire in question.
