a different type of tire question

[E2360]

do most people have their trailer tires balanced? Never seen balancing weights on a factory unit. I replaced the tires at a RV shop and they said they do not need to be balanced.



Just wondering if it is worth the work taking them off to have them balanced.

 

[Radshooter]

I have ours balanced every time we put new tires on the rig. We are fulltimers, so we see lots of miles. The trailer is a 38' triple axle fiver with 3 slides, and weighs around 17K.
If it was just a small, occasional weekend rig, I may not bother though.

 

[RWinzen]

All I can tell you is from my personal experience. I have a bumper pull 3 horse slant load trailer with tach room and torsion suspension. After getting new tires, the left front tire bounce noticeably. I took them back and had them balanced. No more bouncing and I'm sure my horses are happier, at least my wife thinks they are and that's the most important thing!!!!!

 

[B.G. Smith]

A lot of the tire places have tried to tell me that too, one even said his machine was too small to balance the tires. They definitely need to be balanced too, saves tire wear and trailes suspension wear. They just don,t like to lift the big tires. bg

 

[LRutigliano]

I always get ours balanced when replacing the tires, both on the 5er and boat trailer. The tire shops have to charge you the labor to install the tires, so you basically get the balance for free.



If you think about how badly your car feels when driving w/unbalanced or mis-balanced tires, just think about the wear/tear on the RV or other trailer that doesn't have shock absorbers.



Louis

 

[JCasper]

I just put my new trailer tires on, they were all balanced

 

[jelag]

If you've ever been along side a vehicle with a out of balance tire and have seen the tire bouncing up and down, you'd understand why I balance all of our tires on vehicles and trailers... we usually take our wheels off the trucks or trailers and transport them to and from the tire shop... . we usually do brake inspections, or other work when the wheels are off... . and we'd rather do that work in house instead of letting someone else do it... .

My daughter called one afternoon when she was having an oil change and mentioned that the shop had found she needed brakes... since we're in the brake business I sent her a set of high end pads... . but I told her that the shop was pulling the wool over her eyes because I know her driving habits and knew she couldn't be out of brakes..... I guessed that she had 60% left or so... . she later took the vehicle to another shop who confirmed that she had 65-70% left... needless to say the tire shop with the special for oil changes was looking for work... .

We try to know our vehicles... usually better than the people in the shops servicing them... . we do this to reduce the cost per mile... . and we've been doing it this way for so long... we just don't have other work done unless we have to.....

Balance the tires... . you'll feel better about it...

 

[AMink]

I've been told it doesn't matter, but when Les Schwab put on my new tires, they balanced them. It makes sense, knowing what it feels like to drive down the road with a bad balance on your truck tire. Easier on the equipment.

 

[DodgeWarlock]

Did 1800 miles each way on a trip last year with my new flatbed. Made 2 big mistakes.



1)Did not rewire the brand new Lawrimore trailer(had an electrical fire on trailer in Nebraska on a Sunday evening)

2)Did not balance tires before trip(3600 miles of vibration)



It's worth the few extra bucks.

 

[Bob Cochran]

One thing you need ask sometimes the center hole is not really center in the wheel. The tire shop should use an adapter that uses the lug holes rather the the center hole to balance. Can make a big difference if you are picky like me. Not sure why this happens on trailer wheels so much and not on our trucks I have no idea.

Oh Big O that I bought my Michilen XPS highway rib for the 5er said they don't balance trailer tires either. The did balance mine even though they did not like it very much at NO CHARGE,

 

[AABEN]

All Tires Need Balance!! If You Do Not Your Tire Life Is About Half. You Will Shake Your Trailer To Bits In No Time. you Can Have Then Bal With Powder. That Way They Stay Bal When You Rotate Them. it Is By For Better Than Lead Weights

 

[Dieselnerd]

I've always had my replacement trailer tires balanced. When I bought my last new trailer in 2006 and noticed that there were no balance weights, I installed a set of Centramatic balancers (8 bolt) on the trailer.



I've got about 10,000 miles on the trailer now and the tires are wearing perfectly.

 

[steved]

Another thing to consider is that although it is a discomfort to you, each "slap" of the pavement is causing that tire to self destruct...

I have ALL my trailer tires balanced except for the little ones...

On a side note, you can have tires balanced, but still have them shake if they are out of round... I have seen that in non-radil tires.

 

[J.BURCHFIELD]

After Computer balancing came out I found a deal on the old Bubble Balancer and use it to balance my trailer tires. I would disagree that they don't need balancing. The biggest issue (as far as I am concerned) is the quality of ST Tires (Trailer only) They are limited to 65 MPH and are engineered to loose 1/3 of their strength in 3 years of service regardless of the condition of the tread. Considering they are made in China and shipped to a warehouse in the US and later to a Dealer they could be a year old by the time they are sold. The tire industry knows that the average trailer use would never wear out the tread so they engineer the ST tires to bring you back for more tires. That is why I call ST Tires SCAM Tires. Tire Dealers refuse to sell anything else for trailers. They will lie to you and say Pick Up tires won't work. If you know to buy tires that are rated to carry the load. Trailer weight plus the load there is no reason they will not work. Pick Up Truck dealers and tire dealers (guided be the tire industry) are in business to make money first and foremost. Customer satisfaction takes second place. Experience is the best teacher. 4 trailer tires blowing rubber all over the highway in 1200 miles creating a traffic hazard and possibly a serious or fatal accident and I became determined to find out why. I found the answer in the directions concerning ST tires written by the tire industry. No doubt the only reason I found it is that their attorneys told them they had better have the information available. The paper says Maximum speed 65 MPH because the tires if run at a higher speed will heat up and deteriorate. Then they say how the construction has to be stronger to withstand trailer use (cant you just smell the BS). They go on to say that trailer tires loose 1/3 of their strength in 3 years and should be replaced. Greed comes first, highway safety second. I was fortunate to know a small dealer who would sell me pick up tires. He had been having the same problem with the tires on his boat trailer and like me will only use Pick up tires. I wrote about this months ago and got criticized but that is OK I just considered the source. So Those of you that want to disagree or criticize me, feel free, it's still a free country thanks to the 1/2 million HEROES that came home in a Coffin during my lifetime.

 

[RClark]

We went to Alaska in 99. I faithfully cleaned the trailer and the outside of the tires. My mistake. The tires started to cup and when I had them balanced it took the shop 1 1/2 hrs . They needed to be cleaned. because of the mud buildup on the INSIDE of the wheels.

 

[Okie-Go]

I always have mine balanced also. When I am feeling energetic I even rotate them. If not for the ride part I think it takes a lot of vibration away from the bearings.

 

[HJJOHNSON]

New tires and schocks on our 5er.

Reciently replace the tires, Mission 225/75/15 D with BFG commercial T/A 225/75/16. Also installed Monroe gasmatic trailer shocks. What a difference this makes. Also along with all this I installe a Moryde hitch pin box. This was the clincher. Also a set fo Monroe Reflex shocks on the truck, a 3500 Dodge Dooley. Only 30K on it, but the oem's were shotttt!!! It is much more smooth, still has a truck feeling, but the neck jolting jerk and the bouncing are gone. It is worth every penny. As for the tires, Mission's started comming apart and after see some pix I gruess that wasn't going to happen to me. The new tires ride much smoother, less musshing around,and track better. The 225/75/15's were only rated for 55-65 MPH. These are rated for75 plus. OEM doesn't give you one pound of safety margin. After weighing the trailer it war right on the bubble, no safety buit in. Just a trip of less the 200 miles, but it feels a lot better. My 2 cents.

 

[RRB]

Shortly after purchasing a 4 horse GN trailer, my wife was convinced something was wrong and talked me into riding in the trailer to to see if there were unnusual noises or vibrations. I had the tires balanced the very next day..... I had no idea how bad it was. (this was a $35k trailer). No wonder we had trouble getting the horses in the trailer. Unbalanced tires must be devestating to bearings and suspension parts.

 

[J.BURCHFIELD]

RRB you are right about that. I want to pass along to you what a friend and his friends do with their Horse trailers. When the tires on the Pick Up wear down half way they buy new for the Pick Up and put the old ones on the trailer. This way they do not have to use ST Tires that loose 1/3 their strength in 3 years and splatter rubber all over the highway. Blowing a tire is no fun for the Horses as well as being a highway safety hazard. As long as the tires are rated for the weight carried they are OK to use. A Tire Dealer won't agree, he/she wants you back buying more trailer (ST) Tires much much sooner than if you use Pick Up tires. The Tire Industry states that you can not exceed 65 MPH and that the ST Tires should be replaced every 3 years regardless of the condition of the tread. I fail to see how a ST Tire is better. It is actually built differently than a regular tire. It is engineered to loose 1/3 of it's strength in 3 years. By the time it is made in China and shipped to a US Warehouse and then in time to a dealers rack it could be almost a year before it is sold. That leaves only two years of usable time if that. It is an industry SCAM. I call ST Tires SCAM Tires. I tell you all of this from my own experience. I learned the hard way. TDR Members are a Great bunch, always willing to help. I have been helped. I hope to return at least a little of it. It is the way of the good old days of neighbor helping neighbor. REGARDS Jim

 

[HJJOHNSON]

Just got back from a 1400 mile trip to Florida with the new tires, shocks and hitch. What a difference! Trailer is much more stable, the truck rides a lot smoother, and the bouncing is all but gone. Gotta love it. ( see my previous post)