I know what you mean! We stopped in a rest area while we were on our
way
home in the new Dodge pickup towing our 9000LB travel trailer, and I
noticed
that the rear tires smelled hot. I also noticed small pieces of
rubber
stuck to the tire that had pealed off. The tires never spun, just the
torque pulling the tire surface against that of the road. I'm not
sure of
the recommended rotation schedule, but I would think every 2500-3500
miles
while towing heavy loads.
Even my '97 is hard on rear tires. I let my wife drive the truck
w/camper once, and she's pretty insistent on driving every vehicle
like it's her old Ford Escort. We had a headwind, and I think she
had it pretty much floored to be pushing 80. I think she carved
1/8" of tread off the rear tires in that one trip. I'd been
napping and keeping my mouth shut, she doesn't take direction
well. Now I have ammunition to get her to slow down when loaded.
We're still nursing that set of tires, but only use them for
camper-less trips. (Better mileage.)
Our recent trip was unloaded. I drove 60 for mileage, she 75+ for
impatience. Legs where only I drove were 24+ MPG, one leg where
she drove was 19MPG. The (freak) best was a short leg that turned
in 28 MPG. (Yes, I checked the math several times.) Guess who was
driving then? The former high was 26 MPG, years ago.
I like my Dodge. We drove it rather than the SDL (or the 190D, but
it's not quite ready for prime time) because we were bringing back
a free pellet stove. (Our vacation host was remodeling. It's a
Breckwell.)
-- Jim
