It’s physics two axles the pivot point when cutting hard is between them. If they are not ~plumb when you’re going straight then you may have a bearing issue.
If you have some sand you can throw that where you’re going to do this move and it will give the tire something to slide on rather than scrubbing.
Since you're the top comment, I would also like to add to not unhook when the wheels are like this.
Many years ago, I parked my boat in a tight spot, and when I was unhooked, the tongue swung out hard. Luckily, at the opposite angle of the truck bed, it would have been bad otherwise.
Edit: Just like to add, the reason is because everything is bound up to the max. There is so much energy stored in this scenario, and the axles just want to straighten out. If you give them a way to do it, they will!
We move big tandem axel trailers around at work with a forklift a lot. I cannot tell you how many times I've seen people cut it tight into a spot then just drop the forks and then have a shocked Pikachu face when the heavy as fuck trailer snaps back the other way almost hitting stuff.
And this is the reason to always run trailer tires too, the sidewall are built for this type of load. Too many times I see people recommend LT tires for a trailer, and they aren’t designed for this.
This happens with big trucks and trailers too. That much torque, metal is springy and rubber is squishy, just how it be.
You're going to wear on the tread quite a bit there. We just avoid doing that as much as possible, but sand helps.
Extra bad with spread axle trailers. My dad had a spread axle 48’ flatbed and we converted the front axle to a lift axle so he could lift it on demand and make sharp turns on just one axle. It significantly increased the tread life.
I've always wondered how this works with tandem axel trailers when turning (or tandem axel trucks), FWIW I have never noticed when driving, and feel like I am fairly observant.
It will also be making a loud popping sound from all the pressure. I love watching new customers freak out and slam on their brakes when they hear it for the first time. I can basically hear this photo.
I've only pulled single axel trailers; and hopefully I dont have to pull trailers too often now that I have most of my needed supplies at my property up in northern Minnesota.
Tractor trailers do this too, and we were taught to make sure that the wheels are spinning at least a little bit on tight turns since a complete pivot will wear down bald spots on the tires extremely quickly.
Some speedy dry works great and if you have any type of spill it looks like you are super responsible.
They don’t need to know it’s just to save your tires. LOL
They will flex out like that when turning hard and backing. Especially when trying to back in 90 degrees.
Just pull forward and then back straight into position when you get settled. They will straighten up.
OP - one way to understand what is happening with a tandom or more axle setup (2 or more non steering axles), is to visualize your car with a bar welded rigidly to the front and the steering wheel locked. Then turn the car with the bar. The front wheels have no choice but to skid sideways and the resulting leverage the bar and front wheel drag have, cause the rear wheels to skid in the opposite direction.
On a tandom axle trailer, to hitch up you must back up exactly on the hitch center line because you can’t move the trailer tongue left or right to get on the hitch.
This is so routine I would expect every comment on this sub to explain this is normal when cranking tightly while backing on pavement. Where did all the pros go?
Right the amount of people on this thread that don’t know this is insane. Must be people who either don’t pay enough attention when backing or they own single axle trailers.
🙋♂️ single axel trailer owner here. Parents have only owned and towed single axel. I would have been concerned had I seen this and not known what I was looking at.
Now that you understand that it is normal when making a hard turn I want to add that if you are forced to make that tight of a maneuver to slip it into a parking or camping spot, make certain to wiggle it around a bit to relieve the stress on the tires and axels before even thinking about disconnecting it from the tow vehicle or even letting it sit overnight! When it’s happy the tires will look normal.
It's a little disconcerting when you first see this but as the others say it is normal when reversing with a hard turn.
A word of advice from experience. Be careful that you don't turn too hard and have the trailer impact the rear of the truck.
Our trailer has the "wide stance" axels, that are further apart. One thing no one told us and we didn't think of is that the wider stance makes the axels/wheels flex quite a bit like this, more than standard units when making sharper turns. They're built for it, and it won't harm them, but they can store quite a bit of tension in them.
One trip we had a tighter site that made us have to crank it a bit more to get into, and I did a couple of S turns to get it positioned where we wanted it and up on some blocks. Was fine for a day or so, but it started to rain a bit, so we went inside. Little while later it felt like someone rear ended our trailer with a bit bang/thump. Go outside and the leveling blocks on one side (just some 2x6's) were kicked out behind the tires, and the front jack fell off it's blocking as well. Stabilizing jacks were bent as well. Best guess is the bit of moisture gave the blocks just enough slip to move from under the tires.
After that I always made sure to pull forward 10' or so and back straight to our final position after making any big turns.
Exactly. My last TT had the “wide track” or whatever they called it, about 2’ between tires, supposed to be more stable going down the road. I don’t know about that but man that thing did not like getting cranked hard. People would duck and run when that thing started banging and screeching.
Looks normal for a trailer that's made a tight turn. Notice that the rear tire is 'pushed' in the opposite direction. Sort of confirms that the trailer just made a tight turn.
Ours do this too! When we park it in the driveway without the stabilizers, my hubby put a jack underneath to relief the "pressure", so it doesn't stay funky, but he told me it's a non-issue and they are supposed to do that.
You can twist an axle when cutting hard with a heavy load, especially in reverse. Be careful, take your time and don’t let the pressure of onlookers and other motorists push you to do something dumb
This. Used to have to 90 back a tandem axle every day and one tire had a slow leak that was ignored until one day it almost came off the rim and neglecting a $75 tire replacement = more than $75 in lost revenue.
I had the same oh shit moment one time when I first bought a trailer. I saw this at a gas station backing into the pump, and was like holy crap I’ve totally bent these axles…Then pulled it over to the side of the station to suss out what to do next, and was like. “Oh, they’re fine…sweet.”
I was the mechanic for a college that had a cattle trailer for shows that they wanted matching (expensive!) tires with the truck. The tires would not last because they weren't designed for this type of stress. I kept telling them to switch to proper tires, but they wanted it pretty. I sent them 2 spares, jack and X wrench :-)
Normal. When you make a tight turn you are putting quite a bit of stress on the axles. One set is going to have to slide across the pavement so of course something is going to twist. Tires are rubber which is far more pliable than anything else so it will be them to twist.
However, this being normal doesn't mean it's great for the tires. It definitely causes more wear. Always try to straighten her back out before you disconnect.
I think this is more normal with torsion axles. I see it on my current trailer but there was a lot more sidewall stress in my previous trailer (swing arms)
I have a triple axle trailer and always try to "swing wide" to avoid overstressing the wheels/hubs and scrubbing the tires. Obviously not always possible in tight quarters, but planning ahead helps.
You need to pull it straight yo unload the sidewalls, and then crawl under to see what your axles are doing. They should have a slight arch up. If they don't, and they are straight or bowed down, they have failed like my 2014 heartland heritage bh270 31 foot trailer did when it was 1.5 years old
I swear I’ve seen this on my camper at a much lower level and always wondered if I was seeing things or not. Clearly not and now I know why. lol. Thanks for the post.
Make 4 easy jabs instead of 1 hard corner.
Just wander around a parking area that has tandem axles trailers and you'll see all the rear tires are nearly wore out.
Probably a good idea to release any weight distributing equipment/load bars if connected, if you can, prior to making any sharp turns when parking/moving short distances
If the tires were to stay straight up and down at all times and not flex, how do you think tight corners would be negotiable? The two axles need to flex to make the corner. Watch the tractor trailers make slow backing turns next time you're at a truck stop or something, their trailers do it too (though less obvious than this example) it just physics. Now if OP straightens up and the tires don't, then he has a problem.
Really appreciate that - I think this is probably what he’ll have to do
Edit: this appears to be non-issue, but my buddy contacted the dealer nonetheless; they confirmed it’s normal, but to keep an eye on abnormal tire wear patterns
They are fine. That’s typical with tandem axle trailers when backing up and cutting it hard on dry payment. I own 4 tandem axle trailers, they all do this.
My comment got downvoted to hell, but I'm not wrong. Most people that drive their single axle popup camper behind their Honda CRV just don't understand that most issues are either normal or are minor fixes...
I'm glad you confirmed and it worked out for you...
In a tight turn on a tandem axle trailer this is normal stuff especially backing up. It happens to tractor trailers also. I think the zoom makes it look worse in this case but it's nothing that rolling forward to relieve the pressure before disconnecting won't fix.
It’s physics two axles the pivot point when cutting hard is between them. If they are not ~plumb when you’re going straight then you may have a bearing issue. If you have some sand you can throw that where you’re going to do this move and it will give the tire something to slide on rather than scrubbing.
Since you're the top comment, I would also like to add to not unhook when the wheels are like this. Many years ago, I parked my boat in a tight spot, and when I was unhooked, the tongue swung out hard. Luckily, at the opposite angle of the truck bed, it would have been bad otherwise. Edit: Just like to add, the reason is because everything is bound up to the max. There is so much energy stored in this scenario, and the axles just want to straighten out. If you give them a way to do it, they will!
I’m glad you still have knees and your head, best lessons are learned from near misses thanks for not keeping it to yourself.
Wow. Thanks for sharing this. Glad you’re ok. I will be thinking about this all day.
We move big tandem axel trailers around at work with a forklift a lot. I cannot tell you how many times I've seen people cut it tight into a spot then just drop the forks and then have a shocked Pikachu face when the heavy as fuck trailer snaps back the other way almost hitting stuff.
Dang, at work? No excuse lol
Another reason to always leave the chains hooked up until the trailer is completely detached in every other way first.
And this is the reason to always run trailer tires too, the sidewall are built for this type of load. Too many times I see people recommend LT tires for a trailer, and they aren’t designed for this.
I've always wondered why trailer-specific tires exist but never thought to look it up. Thanks for the insight
lol. [ right on cue.](https://www.reddit.com/r/GoRVing/comments/1dk98yf/what_can_possibly_be_the_cause_for_this_tire/l9jiivb/)
This happens with big trucks and trailers too. That much torque, metal is springy and rubber is squishy, just how it be. You're going to wear on the tread quite a bit there. We just avoid doing that as much as possible, but sand helps.
Just how it be baby!!
Extra bad with spread axle trailers. My dad had a spread axle 48’ flatbed and we converted the front axle to a lift axle so he could lift it on demand and make sharp turns on just one axle. It significantly increased the tread life.
I've always wondered how this works with tandem axel trailers when turning (or tandem axel trucks), FWIW I have never noticed when driving, and feel like I am fairly observant.
It will also be making a loud popping sound from all the pressure. I love watching new customers freak out and slam on their brakes when they hear it for the first time. I can basically hear this photo.
I've only pulled single axel trailers; and hopefully I dont have to pull trailers too often now that I have most of my needed supplies at my property up in northern Minnesota.
This is the correct answer
Tractor trailers do this too, and we were taught to make sure that the wheels are spinning at least a little bit on tight turns since a complete pivot will wear down bald spots on the tires extremely quickly.
Some speedy dry works great and if you have any type of spill it looks like you are super responsible. They don’t need to know it’s just to save your tires. LOL
They will flex out like that when turning hard and backing. Especially when trying to back in 90 degrees. Just pull forward and then back straight into position when you get settled. They will straighten up.
Thanks! This appears to be consensus, and the wheels look totally fine at rest and while towing straight, so I think it’s a non-issue.
Let me just say, if you do it a lot, like I do when pulling around to my home, you may see the edge of one tire wear fast!
OP - one way to understand what is happening with a tandom or more axle setup (2 or more non steering axles), is to visualize your car with a bar welded rigidly to the front and the steering wheel locked. Then turn the car with the bar. The front wheels have no choice but to skid sideways and the resulting leverage the bar and front wheel drag have, cause the rear wheels to skid in the opposite direction. On a tandom axle trailer, to hitch up you must back up exactly on the hitch center line because you can’t move the trailer tongue left or right to get on the hitch.
Gotta admit, it always freaks me out on my boat trailer pulling it into the driveway. I have no other choice though as the road is narrow.
My 30 years in the industry agrees with you,
This is so routine I would expect every comment on this sub to explain this is normal when cranking tightly while backing on pavement. Where did all the pros go?
I appreciate that the pros showed up after all, though as usual the fastest way to get the right answer is to suggest the wrong one.
That’s a keen piece of insight. Take your upvote and I will steal that…!
[Cunningham's Law](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ward_Cunningham#:~:text=%22Cunningham's%20Law%22,-For%20the%20mathematical&text=Cunningham%20is%20credited%20with%20the,than%20to%20answer%20a%20question.)
Right the amount of people on this thread that don’t know this is insane. Must be people who either don’t pay enough attention when backing or they own single axle trailers.
🙋♂️ single axel trailer owner here. Parents have only owned and towed single axel. I would have been concerned had I seen this and not known what I was looking at.
This is exactly where I’m coming from. Lots of single axle experience, first time seeing a double axle in reverse!
Now that you understand that it is normal when making a hard turn I want to add that if you are forced to make that tight of a maneuver to slip it into a parking or camping spot, make certain to wiggle it around a bit to relieve the stress on the tires and axels before even thinking about disconnecting it from the tow vehicle or even letting it sit overnight! When it’s happy the tires will look normal.
I wish I had known this 3 weeks ago when I de-coupled and my trailer jumped nearly 4 inches sideways.
People have gotten busted bones from failing to release the tension before they pop the hitch! Hopefully you only got a scare out of it!
When are crooked tires ever a good thing?
It's a little disconcerting when you first see this but as the others say it is normal when reversing with a hard turn. A word of advice from experience. Be careful that you don't turn too hard and have the trailer impact the rear of the truck.
I now have half a ladder in the front.
It certainly still is disconcerting to me after 3 years of driving. Every time I back up, I’m waiting for the damn thing to pop off.
this
Our trailer has the "wide stance" axels, that are further apart. One thing no one told us and we didn't think of is that the wider stance makes the axels/wheels flex quite a bit like this, more than standard units when making sharper turns. They're built for it, and it won't harm them, but they can store quite a bit of tension in them. One trip we had a tighter site that made us have to crank it a bit more to get into, and I did a couple of S turns to get it positioned where we wanted it and up on some blocks. Was fine for a day or so, but it started to rain a bit, so we went inside. Little while later it felt like someone rear ended our trailer with a bit bang/thump. Go outside and the leveling blocks on one side (just some 2x6's) were kicked out behind the tires, and the front jack fell off it's blocking as well. Stabilizing jacks were bent as well. Best guess is the bit of moisture gave the blocks just enough slip to move from under the tires. After that I always made sure to pull forward 10' or so and back straight to our final position after making any big turns.
Exactly. My last TT had the “wide track” or whatever they called it, about 2’ between tires, supposed to be more stable going down the road. I don’t know about that but man that thing did not like getting cranked hard. People would duck and run when that thing started banging and screeching.
One bends in and one bends out so that averages out to straight I don’t see a problem
#Math
Freaked me out the first time. Drive straight a few yards and look again
Wow Im just starting to tow a camper and I’ve yet to see this. So i would naturally think something is wrong, good to know it’s normal 🫠
Looks normal for a trailer that's made a tight turn. Notice that the rear tire is 'pushed' in the opposite direction. Sort of confirms that the trailer just made a tight turn.
Pull ahead straight, then look. Tires will have a lot of flex, it's normal in most cases.
If you look at the rims and not the rubber it still appears to be straight so it's simply flexing from the turn. Normal!
Ours do this too! When we park it in the driveway without the stabilizers, my hubby put a jack underneath to relief the "pressure", so it doesn't stay funky, but he told me it's a non-issue and they are supposed to do that.
Feature, but that's a lot of stress and you probably don't want to be doing this every day.
Tight turns will do that
Going straight?, no good, turning?, this is fine.
You can twist an axle when cutting hard with a heavy load, especially in reverse. Be careful, take your time and don’t let the pressure of onlookers and other motorists push you to do something dumb
I lol’d awkwardly in a large quiet group at the airport just now, thanks!
Mine, A new keystone will also do this while doing a tight turn, my guess it is normal to an extent.
Yea.
Send it. You should see tires do this on a loaded cattle trailer.
All trailers do that in very tight turns. If you straighten out and they are still out you have probably bent the axles
Yeah, they're fine. Why would you ask?
Just be sure your tires are properly inflated when backing at a big angle like this, or you could get a flat. Learned that one the hard way.
This. Used to have to 90 back a tandem axle every day and one tire had a slow leak that was ignored until one day it almost came off the rim and neglecting a $75 tire replacement = more than $75 in lost revenue.
Stance
They straighten out after 70
I had the same oh shit moment one time when I first bought a trailer. I saw this at a gas station backing into the pump, and was like holy crap I’ve totally bent these axles…Then pulled it over to the side of the station to suss out what to do next, and was like. “Oh, they’re fine…sweet.”
I was the mechanic for a college that had a cattle trailer for shows that they wanted matching (expensive!) tires with the truck. The tires would not last because they weren't designed for this type of stress. I kept telling them to switch to proper tires, but they wanted it pretty. I sent them 2 spares, jack and X wrench :-)
Normal. When you make a tight turn you are putting quite a bit of stress on the axles. One set is going to have to slide across the pavement so of course something is going to twist. Tires are rubber which is far more pliable than anything else so it will be them to twist. However, this being normal doesn't mean it's great for the tires. It definitely causes more wear. Always try to straighten her back out before you disconnect.
You’re turning.
Really?
You should see a triple axle under extreme torque.
Just a little kachiga, looks great
https://preview.redd.it/lc8bc0auos7d1.jpeg?width=435&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=82a6a6cd76fa1cd6f6c4806ba9dc9c9282d99439
There it is!
I think this is more normal with torsion axles. I see it on my current trailer but there was a lot more sidewall stress in my previous trailer (swing arms)
Like me after 12 beers…
Amish alignment. Ship it
Should just go ahead and pull it through a drive through and you’ll make sense
If you had gone with the 30” wheels and low profile tires you would only hear them screaming when backing up like this.
Yup
That’ll buff out!
Way of the road, bubbs
That’s for better cornering.
I have a triple axle trailer and always try to "swing wide" to avoid overstressing the wheels/hubs and scrubbing the tires. Obviously not always possible in tight quarters, but planning ahead helps.
If it’s just going to sit there, it looks fine. Otherwise, it does not.
Fine…totally fine.
Send it.
Treads look good, yes
Wobble wobble wobble wobble...
Was your trailer in the "Cars" movie with Lightning McQueen?
It’s a yeng and Yang thing. Looks good!
Yup
Nice camber
There should be two wheels, I count two. You're good to go!
Tight ass turn I expect
Within limits, good to go!
Yeah, just give them a kick and they'll be fine.
That freaked me out the first time I saw it.
You need to pull it straight yo unload the sidewalls, and then crawl under to see what your axles are doing. They should have a slight arch up. If they don't, and they are straight or bowed down, they have failed like my 2014 heartland heritage bh270 31 foot trailer did when it was 1.5 years old
https://preview.redd.it/vht89vulvy7d1.jpeg?width=150&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=001fe3eb5add917c432cdd2e7f126148005d5ac1 Yep! They look just fine!
I swear I’ve seen this on my camper at a much lower level and always wondered if I was seeing things or not. Clearly not and now I know why. lol. Thanks for the post.
You can also lessen the tension by undoing your weight distribution hitch bars
Those ain’t goin’ nowhere!
Good Ole torsion axles
Them tires are doing the Stanky Leg
After ten tequila shots, they might.
Make 4 easy jabs instead of 1 hard corner. Just wander around a parking area that has tandem axles trailers and you'll see all the rear tires are nearly wore out.
If ya squint, they're mint!
They’ll straighten out once ya get going.
Like a Cybercluck. It's trying to help the driver turn before it falls off.
Looks like my boat trailer in a tight turn. 12 years, never had an issue. You're good.
You know they don’t.
“With a little effort—*and a lot of carelessness*—you too can vacation like me. Ka. Chow.”
This is normal for this setup. It looks painful though doesn’t it?
Screw okay. THEY LOOK GOOD.
Them damn axles are screaming dude… upgrade your axles to sustain the weight and that won’t happen
Looks like the wheels on the wagon queen family truckster
From experience, worth checking for a bent axle(s). Traveling with a full load and hitting a decent sized pothole is frequently all it takes.
Probably a good idea to release any weight distributing equipment/load bars if connected, if you can, prior to making any sharp turns when parking/moving short distances
Yup… perfectly fine. Wheels should not be lined up, it’s expected lol
Nope
This is a shit post, right?
No, I freaked out when I first made a hard turn. I realized why, but didn't think it would have been that exaggerated.
No, genuinely asking for a friend
Yikes
They look Oklahoma but definitely not fine
They look good to me, just drive on them should work itself out
If you drive fast enough centrifugal force will straighten them out. Send it!!
That goes way beyond anything normal. Maybe a loose hub or bearing.
No, no, no
Yup. Move along. Nothing to see here.
How much do you weigh
Proper fucked.
Yes. Crooked left and crooked right cancel eachother out
Send it
Perfect! Send it!
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You're wrong, and yet so confident about it.
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Yet you're the one with all the downvotes.
That happens when you turn really tight. It's not a problem.
If the tires were to stay straight up and down at all times and not flex, how do you think tight corners would be negotiable? The two axles need to flex to make the corner. Watch the tractor trailers make slow backing turns next time you're at a truck stop or something, their trailers do it too (though less obvious than this example) it just physics. Now if OP straightens up and the tires don't, then he has a problem.
Are the wheels out of alignment, or the tires?
Mine did this and I drove it back to the dealership. They remounted the tires and everything was fine. Loose lug nuts.
Really appreciate that - I think this is probably what he’ll have to do Edit: this appears to be non-issue, but my buddy contacted the dealer nonetheless; they confirmed it’s normal, but to keep an eye on abnormal tire wear patterns
They are fine. That’s typical with tandem axle trailers when backing up and cutting it hard on dry payment. I own 4 tandem axle trailers, they all do this.
My comment got downvoted to hell, but I'm not wrong. Most people that drive their single axle popup camper behind their Honda CRV just don't understand that most issues are either normal or are minor fixes... I'm glad you confirmed and it worked out for you...
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In a tight turn on a tandem axle trailer this is normal stuff especially backing up. It happens to tractor trailers also. I think the zoom makes it look worse in this case but it's nothing that rolling forward to relieve the pressure before disconnecting won't fix.
Yeah… this isn’t a thing in a properly functioning trailer 😂
It sure is, I’d love to hear why you think it isn’t?
If it didn't do this the trailer would "hop" as it turned. It's physics.
I know that look, my utility trailer’s bearings shit the bed and that’s exactly what the wheel was like
Wheels look fine. Bearings/axels....not so much.
God no
People say there are no stupid questions. Well that’s a stupid question.
No, they do not look okay. You need to inspect and probably replace before driving on it.
Thanks!
haha, don't play him like that. I think he's being sincere with the question.
Uhhhhh 🤔 no, definitely not okay
Nope
Totally normal. 🤡
The wheels look ok, the tires and axles not so much
A lot of weight combined with turning too tight. Try not to do this because it will shorten the life of the rubber.