Flat patches on one tire. freightliner cascadia

brake grabbing while bobtail?

 

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Do these happen to be Firestone? I had bought two steers a few months back and they both ended up needing to be replaced very fast. Ruined the tires and will never buy another set of those steers. belts inside broke is what I was told. Guessing they do not do good on I70 across IL, IN, and OH.

 

Grabbing noise is the tire locking up. Warped drum. Causing flat spotting.
Or. The left brake is loosely adjusted. Causing more pressure to the right.

Is usually the case.

I'd think you'd feel it pulling though.

 

Maybe it's just the dust on the tire, but it looks to me like the 2nd and 4th rib are spotted, not the 3rd (middle rib).

Weirdest thing I've seen in a tire if I'm seeing it correctly.

 

If the last tire didn’t do the same, only 1 answer. It’s a bad tire. Goofy things like that may happen at 100k or more. The tire’s rubber outlasts the construction. But being so new, it’s just a bad tire. Sooner you get credit for it the better. Call the Manufacturer, talk to a rep. Make it clear you’ve already been on social media. Their reputation is everything. They should give you a free tire. Happened to me once with Yokohama.

 

You need to center your brake drum and wheel on the hub. If brake drum isn't centered than drum will be out of round on the hub and will lock up when empty. Also a wheel that’s not centered will have uneven wear as well as sometimes cupping. at the same time when wheel and drum aren’t centered you’ll have balance issues.
If I were you, I’d start from there and do a rotation.

 

that tire is NOT locking up and it's NOT a brake problem.

Just a bad tire, probably a broken belt.
that is assuming front end is good shape as said..