wheels bend on travel trailer axel?

[qwestman]

I have a double axel travel trailer. I noticed yesterday when I was backing up the trailer, when I turn the wheels on both axels kind of tweak. I parked my trailer but was turning when I stopped. so I look at wheels on the trailer, they don't match. the rear axel wheel is kind of tilted out while the wheel on the front axel is either straight up and down or slightly tilted in. Is this normal? When I'm driving straight and I stop without turning and get out and look that are aligned perfectly. I'm wondering if the axel twists and bends when turning and if this is ok or not. Hope this makes sense.

edit: In other words. the wheels camber in different directions depending on what direction i'm turning while backing up. I'm just wondering if the camber should remain 0 while backing up and turning at the same time with the travel trailer.

[fivecodys]

Originally Posted by qwestman

I have a double axel travel trailer. I noticed yesterday when I was backing up the trailer, when I turn the wheels on both axels kind of tweak. I parked my trailer but was turning when I stopped. so I look at wheels on the trailer, they don't match. the rear axel wheel is kind of tilted out while the wheel on the front axel is either straight up and down or slightly tilted in. Is this normal? When I'm driving straight and I stop without turning and get out and look that are aligned perfectly. I'm wondering if the axel twists and bends when turning and if this is ok or not. Hope this makes sense.

edit: In other words. the wheels camber in different directions depending on what direction i'm turning while backing up. I'm just wondering if the camber should remain 0 while backing up and turning at the same time with the travel trailer.

Mine do the same thing. I think it has alot to do with the forces that are at play when turning sharp and the uneveness of the ground.
Are you experiencing any uneven tire wear? That is a sign that you might have an alignment issue.

Hook up and go find a nice level parking lot. Check the alignment there. If they are still tweaked then you might have a problem.

Bill

[qwestman]

whew! that makes me feel better that someone else notices it, too. I don't think i've driven it far enough to notice any uneven tire wear. If i hook up the trailer and drive a few feet they look perfectly normal. no camber at all. it's only while backing up and turning at the same time does it tweak like that.

[tomhole]

Normal. I get them bent really bad in a jack knife turn. Amazing they don't pop.

Tom

[harper223]

Ah yes, I remember watching this happen for the first time. Ahh...memories.

Normal. Those axles bend and torque and are designed to do exactly that. If you look under your TT, you will also notice that at least one of the axles has a slight bend upward on it. This is for load distribution and support on the larger trailers.

[jdubh]

hehe, my old little 25 foot trailer used to do that, freaked me out at first.

[Bocephus]

and this is why you put "trailer tires" on your trailer!