Wheel Balancing -- 5ver & TTs

[Runaway]

In process of prepping the 5ver for the trip west latter this week and I noticed the tires on the 5ver were not balanced. I contacted the manufacturer (Jayco) and they replied they did not balance the tire. They went on the say that the industry (RV towables) were not in the practice of balancing the tires! I then contacted several other RV manufacturers and found the same answer. These trailers weigh just as much as the tow vehicles and sometimes more. Wouldn't they tow smoother, tires last longer, etc, etc if they were balanced? For the money that is spent on these toys I would think they would spend a few pennies more to help make the rig last longer.

Plan on having the tires balanced before I leave!



Anyone else notice if their tires were balanced? Curious!

 

[rickhans]

I don't bother to balance my tires on my utility trailers I just use around town, but when I buy tires for towing on the highway I do have them balanced. I buy my tires from Discount Tire who does a life time balance. Although I don't feel the trailer tires, I know that an out of balance tire will wear a bald spot much quicker and can fail much sooner when towing a load on hot concrete.



Also, If you have a bad or out of round tire, the defect has a better chance of showing up when it is being balanced, rather than later on the road.

 

[paccool]

An out of balance tire will shake on a trailer just like on a car. Probably worse on some trailers without shocks. I always have my trailer tires balanced.

 

[frijole]

Balance anything that goes 'round

Once saw a 20' fiberglass boat that had been towed on a trailer WITHOUT balanced tires. The boat hull cracked from the rough ride and constant "hammering". Heck of a way to protect your investment..... Also tears up bearings in short order. ALWAYS balance anything that goes in circles, cheep insurance.

 

[Runaway]

Tires Balanced

Went and had tires balanced this AM. They were way off. Couple three oz. on one of the tires. Just as I suspected, I don't feel a vibration in the shift lever now. Who knows, towing fuel mileage may even increase a bit. Glad to see I'm not the only one who feels the trailer tires need to be balanced.

 

[paccool]

Your trailer will love you for it! Should last longer(both the tires and the trailer)



Stan

 

[chuck3]

Wheels

I was wondering the same thing last year when i looked at mine and didnt see any wheel wts, so i checked some of the units at the rv park i was staying at, the only units i saw with wheel wts were the very exp. ones but dont know if they came that way or if the owners had it done later?

 

[Doc Tinker]

I hadn't given this much thought before (I don't know why) but now that I have my rims off, to pack the bearings and check the brakes, I'm going to balance the rims too. It makes a lot of sense to do it.



Doc

 

[Gonzo 1066]

Dont go unbalanced!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have ALWAYS balanced my trailer wheels. The differnce is profound. I dont understand why the trailer manufacturers dont balance the wheels in travel trailers? Seems if you pay $25,000 or much more for a 5er it should be balanced. If the wheels wernt balanced I would refuse delivery!

 

[WCrovo]

First thing I do. No trailer I have got has had the wheels balanced. It will make a big diff.

 

[klenger]

Where do you get the trailer tires balanced? I doubt that Discount Tire wants my 5th wheel in their parking lot so that they can remove the wheels to balance them, but maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Gonzo 1066]

Balance!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would hope that any good tire shop that has room for a big truck would be happy to help you out. Do you have Les Schwab tire stores in Colorado? If you do they will RUN to do the job for you. Dont let embarisment keep you from prolonging the life of your 5er.

 

[klenger]

I'll check with Discount and see if they are interested. I suppose I should take it in on a weekday when they're not too busy so I don't take the whole parking lot.

 

[Ron Bissett]

will get mine balanced too . thanks , I did the axles like you did and was ok . I am going to put on longer stop bumpers to limit travel of axle . will have to add some to the shock shaft about 4. 5'' or so to finish up . and then lower the pin to put more on the truck as it light on the pin now . I have a 4x2 3500 . Have a safe and fun trip . Thanks for your help . Ron (ddskipper) P. S Time is now 2352Z not as shown 0430-1n red

 

[COBRAJET]

Discount Tire had no problems balancing mine. They jacked it up in the parking lot and took care of it. I went during the week when they were not real busy. I also had the cheap rubber stems replaced with steel stems. Rubber stems and 80 psi don't agree too much.

 

[bigkid59]

What Cobrajet said about the valve stems made me remember something that I learned several years ago. I obtained a take off set of 16" wheels from a F**D E350 cutaway chassis that had a special ambulance prep option. These wheels were 7. 5" wide and I wanted to put them on a 3/4 ton IHC 4 WD truck I had. I noticed that the valve stems had larger than normal heads where they fit inside the wheel. I checked with a company that supplies tire stores with such hardware and they showed me a catalog that explained the differences in the stems.



These stems were rubber but were a special design to prevent being blown out of the wheel at high pressure. The regular stems that almost every tire store will use in car or light truck wheels are not suitable for the pressures needed in load range D or E tires. Please be sure that you insist on suitable valve stems any time you are getting tire service done. The correct stems are available in rubber or steel, but you have to be sure on the rubber ones that you are not getting passenger car type stems.



When I was pulling a 36' gooseneck car trailer and a tow dolly behind it I did my own wheel balancing. I have a bubble balancer and it does a pretty good job. It not only saves money, but I can check the balance while repacking wheel bearings or doing brake work.



Hope this info is of use!

 

[LEEH]

I have had two Alpenlite 5er's and both came from the factory with the wheels balanced. This should be standard practice on all trailers, be they 5er's or pull trailers of any shape and size.