Wheelhouse wearing the inside of the tires out.

[DIESELDAN]

I have a tandem axle icecastle with a berkon hydrolic frame and its wearing the inside of the tires pretty bad. Wondering if there is anything that I can do to fix this problem. Has anyone else had this problem and if so did you do anything to fix it? Thanx DieselDan

[aczr2k]

I would be calling IC make them fix the problem. There is something not right with the frame. Just went through this on a different brand of house.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

That is usually an indicator of being overweight with leaf springs, but I'm not sure if torsion axles will do the same thing? Regardless, I think the advice to talk with Ice Castle, or Berkon, is solid.

I have lots of miles on my Ice Assault frame with zero wear on the tires, so I know it can be done.

[Redlineracer12]

That is usually an indicator of being overweight

First thing that came to my mind too, but yeah; manufacturer should be able to help diagnose the cause.

[bobbymalone]

could it be a camber angle sort of thing?

[Hazzard]

Could be low tire pressure?

[blue_healer_guy]

1st thing that came to my mind was an ice castle.

[2thepointsetters]

1st thing that came to my mind was an ice castle.

Anything else come to your mind? Read the post it's a berkon frame.

[dirt292lv]

Just wondering if you have solved any thing out with you frame I have the same frame in 26 plus 4 foot v only have about 1200 mile on mine so can't really tell but the nipples on the inside of the tires are worn off and not the outside ones hope its not a start

[loadmaster]

Have a G-3 boat with same problem.No help from factory that made the trailer,kept saying under inflation. Talked to g-3 rep at boat show and he told me unofficially that the boat is to heavy for the trailer. This was a package deal, Still have not resolved problem. Almost 1 set of tires in a season.

[bak2MN]

Had a brand new 8x18 ice castle single axle years ago same thing. They ended up building me a new one with tandem axles. TOO HEAVY.

[dirt292lv]

So ended up looking at mine front right tire is wearing out pretty bad took it back for that and a couple windows and v joint cracking in spot from not pre drilling anyways they said at the time it would be fixed but they will have it for over a month and told me that, that was the thing with berkon frames and it will be taking care of

[Nisswaguy]

So I'm having the same issue with my 17' RV Edition. I've owned it for not quite 2 years and have used it moderately in summer and winter. I always try and make sure the tires are properly inflated before hitting the road. The insides of the tires are worn to the steel radials. The tires bow out a little bit as well so obviously there's a problem.

I contacted Berkon and was told an alignment can be done on the axle to solve the issue, so I contacted a local welder. He recommended I get it weighed first, so I did. 4,640#'s with minimal stuff inside such as sleeping bags, some pots and pans, etc. Nothing that would be considered big and heavy by any means. According to Berkon's HSOforum, this frame is rated for 4,500# capacity. I'm guessing I have less than 40 lbs of my own stuff in there but let's just give them the benefit of the doubt and say I have 140 lbs of my own stuff in there. That means that this house was built right to the absolute limit of this frame. I sent a reply email to the guy asking if he thought the issue was too much weight for that frame. Crickets. I sent him another reply email with the same question a week later and again, crickets. I know, big shocker!

Anyway... I was told by the welder - who by the way was fabulous, up front and honest - that he could take it all apart and align it but I would most likely back at his shop within a year with this exact same problem. He would have to take it all apart to figure out what parts were all used to put it all together - meaning some parts are cheaper than others and better parts might do a better job of holding things in alignment but that's probably not the problem. The problem is simply too much weight for this size frame/set up.

His advice was to contact the manufacturer and see what they'd do. I haven't contacted them yet but that will be my next step. But considering they've built hundreds of this model and still offer it for sale, I'm guessing I'd have the same problem unless I upgraded to a tandem.

Anyway... the solution to my problem right now in the short term is to stick some new tires on it rated with a higher load (E - 10ply) with the knowledge that if nothing gets done I'll be going through some tires from time to time and flipping them on the rim so I get longer life out of a set of tires.

Has anyone who's had this problem contacted IC and if so, what was their response? Just curious to know for when I give them a call.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

With a torsion axle, they should be able to check/change alignment. You can really only do so much, being that it is a single axle, and overweight. Heavier tires may help a bit, but if excess weight is causing the actual wheels to tip, they probably won't make much of a difference.

You may be able to do some arm twisting with Ice Castle if they built it over the design limits of the frame. That is completely unacceptable, IMO.

[dirt292lv]

Yes I have talked to ice castle and there respones was they don't built the frames as for the wheels out of alignment, weight wise haven't have asked about it but heard one other talk about and he replied to me when he talked to ic the weight tag was printed wrong again I did not hear that from ic

As for the fix berkon sends there frame to bee line out of st.joe's off 94 think that was the road was just down there to look at mine thats having the axles aligned tires wearing out and when talking to berkon it sounds like they made a plate to bolt on the hub and bend it straight can't say for sure but can't think of another way either because it looks like an extended torsion arm axle

They had a few ice house down there homemade ones also was assuming for the same problems

[BigDogRob]

I'm not saying this is your own doing by any means!!! Some come that way, but I have on the other hand seen guys racing across the lakes doing 30+ mph...and seeing these houses bouncing off the ice and landings nearly 2'-3'. I would say that don't help the situation. I understand that there are such things as warranties, but common sense also has to play a role with some guys... Not ALL, but some! It's kind of like guys that throw a pole in the lake and say they deserve a new one, because the instructions didn't say to NOT toss it in the lake to catch fish. JMO...