Tahoe Transport Tire Rub

[LK99]

Hello Everyone: My wife just purchased an 06 Tahoe Transport 27WTB 5th wheel. We took it out for the first time this weekend just to test everything out and I noticed the tires were rubbing the fender liners. The right rear tire was rubbed worse than all the others. It actually rubbed through the plastic liner. We did not have any toys in the trailer but it did have a full water tank (100 gallons). All the roads we traveled were paved and relatively smooth. I crawled underneath and looked the suspension all over and could not find anything wrong with the suspension. Everything was tight and nothing was broken and out of place. Before leaving the campground I put duct tape on the liners where it was rubbing. I very carefully got it home and when I checked the tape and the tires didn't rub on the way home. I had someone who works on trailers (not toy haulers but heavy duty trailers) all the time look at the suspension and he agreed that the suspension looked fine. His opinion is that the tires that are the wrong size (too wide). The problem is, the specification sticker on the side of the trailer is faded so I cant tell what size tire should be on there. The current tire is ST235/80R16. Does anyone happen to know if this is the correct size tire? Has anyone seen this issue before? I've tried searching the internet but haven't had any luck. Any information would be helpful. Thank you everyone.

Loren

[lincster]

You don't have any "issues".
Your tires are bigger than what the manufacture built the trailer for.
Flipping the axles is exactly what should have been done when the bigger tires were put on.

Flipping the axles is done constantly to 5th wheel toy haulers. Due to multiple reasons.
Weekend Warrior even offered that as an option from the factory if you wanted it.

I had Warrior add a 2" spacer to my trailer when it was built. Instead of flipping the axles.

[deltabravo]

LK99 wrote:
What they suggested is to flip the axles.

Axles aren't "flipped", though that's what everyone inappropriately calls it when you do a "spring over axle" conversion.

Dexter makes a kit, but any trailer shop that has welding capabilities can weld a new spring perch on top of the axle.

[LK99]

The spring shop looked at the trailer and they said the suspension looks fine. Nothing is broken or out of place. What they suggested is to flip the axles. The trailer is nose up when connected to the truck. This is shifting the weight to the rear axle, which when cornering may cause it to rub. The spring seats are already on top of the axles so it will be an easy swap. The trailer will obviously sit higher, but the extra ground clearance will be nice on some of the roads the trailer will go down. Thank you again for all the information.

[LK99]

Yes everything seems to line up inside. All the doors close properly with no gaps. It seems like a pretty well built as far as that is concerned. I think my issue is in the tires or suspension. Hopefully, I will find out more tomorrow. Thanks again for information.

[Bedlam]

You may be able to run longer shackles to get the required clearance under the trailer skirts. As others have posted look for side sag. Does everything line up properly between wall and floor inside with no gaps (telltale sign of sag)?

[LK99]

Thank you for the all the information. I have made the decision to take it a suspension shop that does a lot of trailer repairs and have them figure out whats going on with it. My wife and I are planning on using the trailer a lot over the summer, so we would rather have it gone through and make sure its safe. When it gets figured out, I will let you know what is found. Thanks again for your time.

Loren

[lincster]

Yep, tires are too big.
Previous owner did the right thing by moving to a better tire, but he chose the wrong size.

I tried the 235/85/16 tire on my 04 Warrior and got some rubbing.
I went to 225/75/16 and plenty of room.

I have 3 axles, so the drop in load capacity of the tire was still plenty for my rig.

[JIMNLIN]

Your used trailer may have a automotive wheel installed by a previous owner. Trailer wheels have with a zero offset.

[tinner12002]

I did a search on your RV, according to what I seen on a youtube video it looked to have 8 lug wheels which would be 16" tires and wheels. I also seen an unloaded weight of 8570lbs. I would want the weight off the suspension in order to correctly check it out for worn shackles and bushings. Everything may look ok but once the weight is off of the springs you might notice play in it. If the bushings are wore the tires very well could rub while cornering.

[Y-Guy]

Welcome Loren,

I can't help specifically. I did search the archives for your model number and came up with these posts for you to check out.

There might be a thread talking about tires or you might find a member that has one and send them a message. Another option if nobody comes along is to call a dealer that is selling one like yours and either go see it or ask what size tires are one it.

Most likely the 16" rims were not stock so potential for rubbing is real. Most rigs came with and still come with 15"

The part that concerns me is that some rigs of that era had sidewall issues that they actually were not built strong enough to keep the outer fiberglass walls from settling. This was more common in the weekend warrior line but its happened to others too. Main Toy Hauler forum there is a link at the top of the topic list, you can scan that for some info. Might be worth looking into.

Hopefully some owners still have one and will come on to help you out.