Suspension and tires
Worn suspension and bad tires cause handling complaints and blowouts.
The short version
- Look for worn shackles, bushings and equalizers. Elongated holes mean wear.
- Check tire age on the sidewall date code. Old tires fail even with good tread.
- Uneven wear points to alignment, bent axles or worn suspension.
- Set tire pressure to the trailer's placard or tire sidewall spec, cold.
- After any wheel work, torque the lug nuts to the wheel maker's spec in a star pattern and re-check them at the intervals it gives (often 10, 25 and 50 miles).