Running gear balancing

[crispyboy]

I'll throw a vote in for Centramatics. My brother in law has them on his pickup. He says the truck is much smoother now and is totally impressed. There is not a man on earth that is any more anal about details and getting things right than my brother in law.
Before I put my trailer on the road I plan on putting the Centramatics on and putting this problem behind me.

[boondockdad]

Originally Posted by flyfisher

Airstream shipped my trailer without balancing the tires, the wheel bearings weren't adequately greased, and one tire/wheel assembly took almost 1 pound of weight to get it in balance.

Airstream management stated they didn't believe there was any problem with this situation.

Who are you going to believe on the running gear balance issue -- Airstream or Inland Andy?

My money's on Andy.

well said.

[Goin camping]

I have ridden in my unbalanced tired trailer. Holy bats!! It was a nightmare of squeeks, groans, rumble noises, shimmies and side to side movement.

I then got into a friends balanced (By Andy) trailer and it felt like I was riding in the tow vehicle. Smooth and easy.

I choose to have mine balanced because of this "Pepsi challenge" what you choose to do is your choice.

I would point out to those of you that think manufactures always use or do the best for the products you buy. Look at the auto industry where cost per unit overrules engineering design all the time. Ask yourself why there is a multi billion auto aftermarket. Also recall's retro fits etc. No product, design or manufacturing process is flawless.

[Excella CM]

Airstream is like a prime contractor, but apparently they don't have the clout or conviction that it is necessary to test vendor's products prior to installation. This job seems to fall to the dealers and new owners. Many things can be set up to verify equipment before it is ever installed if customer satisfaction is your #1 priority. From reading the posts, it appears that AS is resting on its laurels a bit. Why should a person need to go out and balance the running gear? It should have been done before delivery. It's false ecoonomy to built a great product and then let it get knocked to pieces because you're too cheap to balance it–it's the manufacturer's responsibility to protect it's customers and it's reputation..

[flyfisher]

Originally Posted by Excella CM

Airstream is like a prime contractor, but apparently they don't have the clout or conviction that it is necessary to test vendor's products prior to installation. This job seems to fall to the dealers and new owners. Many things can be set up to verify equipment before it is ever installed if customer satisfaction is your #1 priority.

Shortly after buying my new Airstream several years I went to Jackson Center and met with several managers there to discuss my concerns over the overall poor quality of my trailer.

I specifically asked them at that meeting whether they checked any purchased vendor items for quality purposes, and they said they did nothing in that respect.

One of the many concerns on my trailer was that the fins were crushed on my air conditioner. Here's a picture of it:



After some checking, they told me that the air conditioners were being received that way from the vendor due to the way they were boxed. They apparently just took them from the boxes they were packaged in and slapped them on the trailers as they moved down the assembly line.

Although I was told this issue was only cosmetic and wouldn't effect the air conditioner's performance, I believe it illustrates Airstream management's attitude toward overall quality - just slap those things together, try to forget what happens after we collect our money from the sale, and hope we don't hear from our customers down the line.

John

p.s. The air conditioner issue, above, is quality you can see. Last summer my trailer almost burned down due to a loose wiring connention in my generator transfer switch, which is something I probably would never have seen, and something I'm pretty sure was a result of a poorly installed transfer switch at the factory. Those are quality issues you might never see until it's too late.

[Ganglin]

Personally I'd be happy to have the balancing done. I called Airstream and was told they don't do it. In a city as large as Columbus Ohio I can't find anyone to do it. It took a dozen calls just to find someone who would lug centric balance the new tires....

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Johndigbydog

Andy- Bottom line- HOW does one properly "balance their running gear" ? I bought a new axle from YOU last year AND new shocks...... johndigbydog

This is how we balance "running gear".

Airstream Articles and Photos

Andy

[Ganglin]

Andrew - link to balancing is showing "page not found"....

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Ganglin

Andrew - link to balancing is showing "page not found"....

Thanks.

I have a call into my web site manager to get it fixed, "PRONTO."

Andy

[wbrownrr]

Thanks Andy! I'm eager to learn more about balancing.

[Smokin Camel]

I put the balancing question to several freinds of mine that race cars for a hobby These were serious type of hobbyists...have a six car shop dedicated to the hobby. These are Road America cars in three different classes. I regard these guys as neutral about AS, they rent me storage space and have looked over my AS and the Henschlen axels I recieved a couple of weeks ago.

All three thought balancing would be a worthwhile endeavor. While the trailer will funtion well without the balancing, the trailer will have a lot less vibration if the running gear is balanced. Less vibration means less separation of riveted parts and a longer life. None had an opinion about rear end separation but said vibration could certainly add to or agrivate such a condition. One of them even mentioned that he would mark the wheel and a bolt to insure the wheel is replaced the same way it is run (in the event of removal for a flat). His brother said a rebalancing the whole package, when replacing tires would not be a bad idea either.

It was pointed out that the AS is a C channel frame and heavy cargo trailers are built differently, often with I frames. These are evidently apples and oranges for comparison.

For my money I will be taking Andy's advice. For a relatively small expense this could prolong the life of the trailer and cut a lot of other maintenance costs. After looking over my rig it was also mentioned that I had D tires on C rims and that I should not run the typical D pressures of 80 Lb.s, they said to get other advice but 50-60 should be about it. Too high of pressure puts the wheel at risk for deforming or in rare cases cracking.

When the Camel hits the road again (next year due to axels, plumbing and my schedule) it will have balanced running gear.

Andy, your advice was independently verified, when I mentioned that a dealer recomended doing the balancing, one of my freinds said "listen to that guy, he knows what he is talking about" Thanks Andy