20' Series Tyres scrubbing

[Red1]

Hi all,
Our expander is only a few months old, and has done about 8000 km. I was under it yesterday and found the inside of the drivers side front tyre is scrubbed almost completely away. Has anyone else had this issue and what did you do about it. I expect it is a wheel alignment issue as the othe 3 tyres are in perfect condition.

Thanks in advance

 

[crackacoldie]

Double check the pressure

 

[bigcol]

got a few answers for you from @Drover

The axle should be 50mm square and really shouldn't bend but if your tyres were scrubbed out and a dealer said the axle was bent , well it probably wasn't, just badly aligned, a trip to a truck align place will fix it all. Buy a set of after market shocks but the Alko should be okay.
My rig has covered some 20,000kms since I upgraded my suspension (original was no good) with Alko springs and all good but greasable pins and good alignment is crucial.
Chunky off road tyres on dual axles will chop out even when aligned, just need highway pattern on lazy axles.
Buying a new van is a bit drastic and alignment on independents is even more crucial.

In addition to my earlier post.........okay scrubbing on inside of both tyres, in reality an easy fix at a dedicated alignment shop (not a van dealer or tyre shop) it means a slight bend of axle.......but if you haven't got greasable pins, the bolts that hold the axle to body then it would be a waste of time...........the ability to grease your shackle pins is invaluable in keeping your suspension in top shape, I grease mine weekly when on the road, more so after rain or dirt roads............you shouldn't worry about ALKO stuff it is not too bad, mine has belted along some horrible stuff out around Aramac which tested my upgrade very well and I was very pleased that it didn't fall off as I did it all myself.
Don't be concerned with the shocks, I have had top brand ones fail on truck and FWD in weeks, it's really luck of draw but there are others around which are pretty good, take old shock off measure it at full extension and at compression , take pic of mount type and go shopping.

Independant suspension is great but since most folks only belt along the tar it is an expensive/heavy addition, properly set up spring/axle is just as good in many ways if staying on the tar plus if done right is still far better if it breaks when out in the never never, easier to fix.

So basically take it to a Truck Alighn specialist and get it set correctly and your tyres and springs will last for ages, they will more than likely have decent shocks to suit, decent ones because they don't want you coming back again for warranty and rather you spread the word on what a top mob they are...................it does work.

A dealer is the last place to go for specialist work...........

 

[Red1]

Thanks, the pressure is fine, it has coils springs, not an axle

 

[bigcol]

I think I would still be looking for a Truck Wheel Alignment place

than you can rule that out of the picture............

whether they can be adjusted is the un-known

 

[Roosterman]

I suspect its an alignment issue mate, having done a bit of research on the jayco suspension before we bought ours, I discovered that there has been a few vans with the same problem as yours......very soon after I picked mine up, I had it booked in to a truck tyre centre, which there is plenty that can do it.......and had my wheels aligned, after speaking with the tech, he informed me that they were pretty close to being aligned from factory...good news

Be aware though that the new suspension doesn't allow for full adjustment, left/right...in/out.... from memory, and I stand corrected, you can only do toe in/out adjustment....or camber as well.....or it may be the other way, in any event you don't have both......buggered if I know why they design a system which doesn't allow full adjustment, but anyway that's Jayco I guess.....what the tech did for me was try and compensate for this by aligning my wheels with this in mind.....all based on his experience.

Ive just completed a bit over 2000ks during the xmas period and kept a close eye on them and have no probs thus far...and since pick up from the dealer ive clocked over 5000ks easy......doesn't help you though, as you now have a buggered tyre by the looks....maybe a phone call to Jayco to seek some info/help might be the go....

Hope it gets sorted for you..

Rooster...

 

[Red1]

Thanks for your help all, a call to the dealer tomorrow it seems. An alignment place may be difficult to find in my part of the worl, 600 km from the dealer!! Out in central Qld.

 

[Drover]

Caught up !!!!!!!..........from what I've gathered the independant suspension only has toe in/out which looking at the pic I would say thats all it needs.................trying to think I was pretty sure I saw a Truck align place at Emerald on my travels but could be wrong.
A nice bit of concrete, good tape measure, white pen, spanner and jacks you could probably get it close DIY, but not having played around with that set up I wouldn't try to explain things on here....................but it's not really difficult.


PS: It was Barclays that I was thinking of, don't know if they do vans though.

 

[Red1]

Cheers Drover, I will see what I can find

 

[Drover]

Worth a try anyway.

 

[Crusty181]

Prepping for our trip, i discovered the Jtec suspension camber is randomly out of whack and is not adjustable.

Toe in and out has minor adjustment, but unfortunately camber has zipperty

Lie down 10 ft behind the van, have a look at the levels of short "axels", they should be parallel with the ground. All my 4 are tilted by different angles.

I looked under 10 brand new Outbacks at the dealer and only 2 of them were all straight, the rest like mine, all tilted at various angles

I only spotted it 3 days before we left and I didnt have time to sort it. Ill be getting the entire suspension replaced when we get home

If your toe in/out is out and your camber knackered, that would scrub out very quickly

 

[Red1]

Called the dealer today, apparently under jaycos warranty system, tyre wear is my problem, but as always my dealer is fantastic and is replacing the tyre for me. However, to keep jayco happy from the wheel alignment point of view, i have to take it to the coast, Mackay, rocky etc, as no one else is good enough !!!!! Grrrrr. I will have a look out here and see what I can find

 

[bigcol]

thats good that they will replace the tyre,
but I would suggest getting the alignment done asap after tyre fitted

 

[Red1]

Alignment sorted. Found a place out here that does caravans. Great news for us!!!

 

[bigcol]

have you done it yet?
or its been booked in...........?

 

[Red1]

Booked in for Thursday

 

[Drover]

Let us know who and if they do a good job, we like to spend a bit of time at Sapphire RSL and be handy to know, do shopping for food and beer in Emerald.

 

[bigcol]

Let us know who and if they do a good job,

DITTO

always handy to know someone somewhere cares about their work, and does a good job

 

[Dove]

We had the alignment problem last year. Finished up with a new axle under warranty. After a discussion both tyres were replaced also. How Jayco can say scrubbed tyres are the owners problem when their suspension caused the problem beats me. Good your problem seems to be sorted.

 

[Drover]

It's understandable, well if they were properly alighned in the beginning but it only takes a decent sized pothole or gutter to whack the axle or even a stub axle out, a beam axle if it's taken a good hit no need to replace the axle better to get it reset as a new one needs to be lined up to your springs anyway and I doubt any caravan place is capable of doing the job properly. Shaping an axle, adding shims etc is really an art.