rear wheels tweaking normal?

[haulin'Dquads]

Hi Guys and Gals,
Last year I bought my first 5th wheel toy hauler - a 31 foot River Forest Stealth. I really like it and pull it with my Ram Cummins 2500 diesel 4door, long bed. I notice when I make sharp turns or backing into my driveway, the back 2 of the four wheels have a pretty dramatic tweak ( vertically ) to them and when I was pulling out of a gas station ( turning ) the rear wheels leave a little rubber streak until I straighten back out. Is all this normal?

[wingnut60]

Yes, very normal. Only thing you can do is increase the radius of your turn. I believe the term is called 'scrubbing'--the rear tire on either side will appear to be just about to come off the wheel in very sharp turns.

[haulin'Dquads]

Sheww! you took a load off my mind. I'm about to drive from L.A. to Denver tomorrow.
Thanks for the quick response

[wingnut60]

Stiff sidewall tires will help, but keeping the air pressure at max listed on the tire also will help. This is normal sideward force placed on the tire/wheel because the trailer is pivoting on the front wheel and the rear wheel moves sideways more so then forward/backward, causing it to slide rather than roll. As I said, if you do some sharp turns, the back tires will tend to slide sideways rather than roll. Leaving a tread track is also normal on flat pavement--on gravel, the rocks will move allowing the tire to slide.
Good eye that you noticed it. Keep watching all tires for uneven wear, and stay away from sharp turns that cause you to hit a curb--much harder on the tires than scrubbing.
Joe

[haulin'Dquads]

Awesome advice.... many thanks again! :p