|
|
05-26-2022, 03:39 PM
|
#1
|
3 Rivet Member
1965 17' Caravel
Curtis Wright
San Marcos
, Texas
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 231
|
Do you need to balance tires?
I went to Discount Tire and the person told me that I don't need to balance my trailer tires. He said that they usually don't balance trailer tires and it makes no difference. That doesn't sound right to me. What do you think/know.
|
|
|
05-26-2022, 03:45 PM
|
#2
|
Rivet Master
2019 25' Flying Cloud
Houston
, Texas
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 996
|
Most trailer tires are not balanced, but Airstream balances theirs. It's better for ride and tire wear, so I balance all my trailer tires, both the Airstream and the car hauler.
|
|
|
05-26-2022, 03:53 PM
|
#3
|
Rivet Master
1988 25' Excella
1987 32' Excella
Knoxville
, Tennessee
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 5,095
|
No, that does not sound right to me. Have them balanced anyway. What is the downside of balancing?
|
|
|
05-26-2022, 04:08 PM
|
#4
|
"Cloudsplitter"
2003 25' Classic
Houstatlantavegas
, Malebolgia
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 19,977
|
YES always balance the AS & TV...I use centramatic balancers on the AS.
BIG advantage...they balance the entire rotating assembly, not just the wheel & tire.
Bob
🇺🇦🇺🇸🇺🇦
__________________
"You don't know where you've been until you leave, enjoy life" RLC
|
|
|
05-26-2022, 05:48 PM
|
#5
|
4 Rivet Member
2024 19' Caravel
Washougal
, Washington
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 334
|
As already noted, the AS tires are balanced. I've balanced the tires on my last two trailers, both were Northwood. I felt it made for a smoother tow, and stuff inside wasn't getting rattled around in a before/after comparison.
|
|
|
05-26-2022, 06:47 PM
|
#6
|
3 Rivet Member
Currently Looking...
Baltimore
, Maryland
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 194
|
When my parents bought an Argosy in 1975, the Airstream tech who was handling the delivery said to keep the tires balanced. He said that it prevented rivets from shearing off.
Cheers,
John
|
|
|
05-26-2022, 06:48 PM
|
#7
|
Site Team
2009 25' FB International
2018 27' Globetrotter
Tavares
, Florida
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 3,655
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS
YES always balance the AS & TV...I use centramatic balancers on the AS.
BIG advantage...they balance the entire rotating assembly, not just the wheel & tire.
Bob
🇺🇦🇺🇸🇺🇦
|
I also use the centramatic balancers. Seem to work as designed.
|
|
|
05-26-2022, 07:01 PM
|
#8
|
3 Rivet Member
1965 17' Caravel
Curtis Wright
San Marcos
, Texas
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 231
|
I have always balanced, and just added centramatics, but I am driving from Texas to Newfoundland and took the wheels to Discount Tire and got this information. I did balance anyway.
Do you think that the historical failure of trailer tires could be related to the fact that they haven't been balanced and bounce down the road?
|
|
|
05-26-2022, 07:06 PM
|
#9
|
Escape Pod II
2022 23' Flying Cloud
2018 22' Sport
Orange
, Texas
Join Date: Jan 2022
Posts: 779
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steamguy
As already noted, the AS tires are balanced. I've balanced the tires on my last two trailers, both were Northwood. I felt it made for a smoother tow, and stuff inside wasn't getting rattled around in a before/after comparison.
|
When I brought my tires off my new 2022 FC to get the TPMS sensors installed, I noticed that the tires weren't balanced. They are now. The tires on my stock trailer and my lowboy are also balanced. An unbalanced tire will cup.
__________________
JEWare
|
|
|
05-26-2022, 07:43 PM
|
#10
|
Rivet Master
1988 25' Excella
1987 32' Excella
Knoxville
, Tennessee
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 5,095
|
I think the historic failure of ST tires was because they were very poorly designed and poorly made tires. And I do not see any real point to not balancing a tire. It is such a small additional cost. My local Discount tire just went ahead and mounted and balanced the tires like I asked. You just caught one of those comments that should be ignored even if it did come from a professional tire mounter.
|
|
|
05-26-2022, 09:11 PM
|
#11
|
Rivet Master
2019 27' Globetrotter
McHenry
, Illinois
Join Date: Apr 2018
Posts: 2,153
|
DT balanced our Globetrotter tires
Quote:
Originally Posted by kevinkatz
I went to Discount Tire and the person told me that I don't need to balance my trailer tires. He said that they usually don't balance trailer tires and it makes no difference. That doesn't sound right to me. What do you think/know.
|
Kevin, I had Discount Tire install Dill metal stems for our TST cap sensor TPMS and they balanced the tires with the sensors installed.
They had two guys doing the job and one installed the weight on the outside of the aluminum wheel. I caught it and asked him to put it on the inside like the others.
I’d go back when there’s another guy at the desk and tell him you want the tires balanced.
__________________
2019 27’ Globetrotter FBT Walnut/Dublin Slate
2018 FC23FB
2019 Ram 2500 6.4 Hemi Laramie Blue Ox 1000#
WBCCI# 10258
RETIRED!
|
|
|
05-26-2022, 09:27 PM
|
#12
|
Rivet Master
2008 27' International FB
Petaluma
, California
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 1,343
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hans627
I also use the centramatic balancers. Seem to work as designed.
|
X3 on Centramatics including my TV. I still have the wheels balanced when installed and let the centramatics handle changes between mountings (lost weights etc) - Brad
|
|
|
05-27-2022, 09:12 AM
|
#13
|
4 Rivet Member
2021 25' Flying Cloud
Fredericktown
, Ohio
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 350
|
Firestone balanced mine. No questions asked.
__________________
Todd Mizer
2021 25' FBT Flying Cloud
Ford F-250 6.7L
WBCCI #6826
We have Year-Round Courtesy Parking.
|
|
|
05-27-2022, 09:17 AM
|
#14
|
3 Rivet Member
1964 30' Sovereign
Ione
, CA
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 249
|
I'll bet your tire person confused 'balanced' with 'rotate'. You don't rotate trailer tires. You do need to balance any tire...they are molded rubber and even a small weight imbalance will cause vibration (rivets really don't like vibration), loosen nuts, and/or damage studs. Plus they sit on a wheel that isn't perfectly round or balanced and thus can slightly distort the shape of the mounted tire. Lazy tire dealers know that a customer won't be able to feel trailer tire vibration and just skip the whole step of mounting.
__________________
Mark & Melanie Trowbridge
1964 Airstream Sovereign 30' (Double)
2004 Dodge Ram QuadCab 4x4 Diesel
|
|
|
05-27-2022, 09:22 AM
|
#15
|
Rivet Master
2012 23' FB International
Woodstock
, Ontario
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 1,423
|
Balance!!!!
Some tires can be 5 grams or more out of balance
You will overheat the tire and there are strong possibilities that you will shake out a few rivets
Would you run your TV with that kind of vibration?
You don’t want to do that to your trailer!
JCW
|
|
|
05-27-2022, 09:23 AM
|
#16
|
Rivet Master
2016 28' International
Trois-Rivieres
, Quebec
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 692
|
Unbalanced tires will wear unevenly (cupping) no matter the vehicle.
Make sure that they stick the weights on the inside of the rim and not on the outside. Technically it's not a problem, but it looks crummy.
And make sure that they use a floor jack to the frame (at the designated spots) and not to the axel (which is a suspension tube and not a real axel as you would find on an SOB). I had to argue with a DT shop to properly jack my trailer when I had my Endurance tires installed.
__________________
2016 International Signature CCD, RBQ, Dual A/C, 28'
2018 GMC Sierra SLE 2500HD, 4x4, Crew Cab, Duramax Diesel, Leer cap
Lift kit, 16" wheels, Michelin Agilis CC LT
DIY Solar: 500W Renogy panels, AM Solar hdw, Blue Sky MPPT controller, 470ah Rolls battery bank, 2000W Renogy inverter.
|
|
|
05-27-2022, 09:36 AM
|
#17
|
2 Rivet Member
2010 22' Sport
Sarnia
, Ontario
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 38
|
Unbalanced tires cause, tire cupping, early bearing failure and suspension wear. Also vibration on trailer and everything in the trailer.
|
|
|
05-27-2022, 09:48 AM
|
#18
|
4 Rivet Member
2005 25' Safari
palm beach gardens
, Florida
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 287
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by kevinkatz
I have always balanced, and just added centramatics, but I am driving from Texas to Newfoundland and took the wheels to Discount Tire and got this information. I did balance anyway.
Do you think that the historical failure of trailer tires could be related to the fact that they haven't been balanced and bounce down the road?
|
Hi Curtis,
Hope to see you in Newfoundland. I hope we're the only two up there, haha.
|
|
|
05-27-2022, 11:48 AM
|
#19
|
3 Rivet Member
1960 26' Overlander
Tipton
, Iowa
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 185
|
You don't need to spend the $20 on balancing if you don't mind beating your trailer to sh$% driving down the road or replacing rivets after each trip.
The tech is right, on most trailer brands they don't bother...but they aren't designed to last more than 7 or 8 years!
|
|
|
05-27-2022, 11:53 AM
|
#20
|
Site Team
1994 25' Excella
Waukesha
, Wisconsin
Join Date: Sep 2020
Posts: 5,503
|
Other than saving money in the short term, is there any possible reason for not balancing?
__________________
Richard
11018
1994 Excella 25 Follow the build on Gertie!
1999 Suburban LS 2500 w/7.4L V8
1974 GMC 4108a - Custom Coach Land Cruiser (Sold)
|
|
|
|
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|
|
Thread Tools |
Search this Thread |
|
|
Display Modes |
Linear Mode
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
Recent Discussions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|