Do I balance tires

[hbillsmith]

When we took our 2016 Wildcat on its first shakedown weekend after pickin up at the dealer, I noticed that all the rear crunch cushions were bounced down to the floor when I arrived. Repacked them back in the couch at camp and then headed home. Once home noticed they all bounced off again and it was a short 100 mile trip! Few weeks later had it back at the dealer for a short list of warranty fixes (nothing major and all were fixed). I asked to have the alignment and balance checked while they had it. They took to a nearby Discount Tire chain store and had the 4 tires balanced. Amazing! Couch cushions now stay on the couch even after thousands of miles towing.

[Grampa Jim]

If your farm utilities are tagged and used on the roads at higher speeds, yes, you DO need them balanced. I grew up on farms in Vermont,,,,,and if they weren't taken up to higher speeds, no need to balance them. ....But you're pushing your luck if you take them up to higher speeds without balancing. I speak from my personal experiences.

[18CrewDually]

Originally Posted by Dogpound

Farm trailers aren't driven on the road very much. Besides they don't get tags or have the lights working. So why should they balance the wheels, cost to much

I think you're thinking of a hay wagon. We always balance trailer tires.

[Dogpound]

Really...they don't around here. You should see some of the live stock trailers here. I back off a couple of hundred yards...my feeling is they probably don't have brakes either

[rlocicero]

Always!!!!!

[spudston]

I have read in the forums that the typical tire shop uses the center hole in the wheel to mount it on the balance machine. Supposedly the hole in trailer wheels may not be concentric with the rim thus throwing off the whole balancing operation. There is an adapter that centers the wheel with the lug nuts but is apparently difficult to find. I have no idea if this is true or not, it's just something I have read.

[OldCoot]

As I've said a couple of times on other threads, "for every solution, there is a problem". They've been balancing tires using the center hole for years and years, the center hole is punched/formed at the same time as the stud holes.

[SilverArrowPro]

Originally Posted by youroo

If anything rotates,"Balance It"! Vibration is a Killer! Youroo!!

Ditto

[CedarCreekWoody]

Does FR balance them at the factory? I don't recall seeing any balance weights on the new tires.

[Iwannacamp]

This has gotten me thinking...scary.
I am driving 1000+ miles on the way back from pick-up. I should prolly make sure they are balanced or get them done. Good idea?


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[Radio]

Originally Posted by DrLewie

Over the years with my 5th wheel I have asked at least 4 shops servicing my trailer to balance the tires, and none would. Seems terribly wrong to me, and I never could get a reasonable explanation.

My tire guy does what I tell him to on my truck and trailer.

I do what he says on the car, van, tractor and lawn mower.

Always balance any highway tire. Especially if you go up to a heavier load range, like D to E, as the tire will be heavier weight wise.

[raytwntrvlr]

Would not balance my TT tires. He just would not do it. Just like a previous poster claimed. No good explanation just some mumbly mumbly about the alloy wheels and stick on weights that would just fall off. So I recalled that the TT came without balanced tires and so did the previous one I owned so I decided not to make a federal case of it.

I had an issue with my motorcycle a couple years back where the dealer could not get the new tires balanced good enough. At that time, I tried some slimey gunky stuff that I shot into the tires from a can.... worked like a miracle. Smoothed out the unbalanced feel right away.

Don't remember the name right now but I may try it in the TT tires if I get a notion it's bouncing down the road too severely.

Anyway, heading out in the A. M. for some time by the lake.

Happy Camping

[youroo]

Originally Posted by CedarCreekWoody

Does FR balance them at the factory? I don't recall seeing any balance weights on the new tires.

No the Tire supplier brings them in "Tire Mounted on the Rims full of ?"! Youroo!! PS Sometimes they are installed "Backwards"!

[dcheatwood]

Yes. Everything but my mower. (And ATV, and dolly, and wheel barrow, and wagon) but all vehicles and trailers get balanced.

[jk510]

Here is a product I came across a while back.
http://www.innovativebalancing.com/
I have never tried them and have no connection to the company, just thought I'd mention an alternative to balancing.

[checkmate99]

Nope.....I've never balanced a trailer tire of any kind. Tires on trailers from the mfg come without balancing. (Not saying this is correct, just stating the obvious.) I have also been told multiple times from the tire dealers that they don't balance trailer tires. I really don't see the necessity in doing so. In 35 years of towing, I've had 1 blowout, so I don't really believe balancing has much to do with this problem. Maybe we could hear from a tire expert that actually has a technical answer. Let the naysayers begin.....

[18CrewDually]

By not balancing, if you have a tire way out of balance it's going to bounce around wearing out suspension bushings. Most camp trailers also don't have shocks so there is no dampening of the out of balance wheel/tire.
Of course if you only camp 20 miles from home or drive down all low speed roadways you may never see a difference.

[SpringerPop]

My tire guy tells me that the tires have to legally be mounted "date code out".

One can get really psychotic with mounting, too, as the colored circles mean (yellow) min weight and (red) max run-out. one COULD attempt to check the rim for run-out and weight, too, and mount the tires on the rims where things tended to counter-act each other.

Jus' sayin'..........

Pop

[SYE]

Every trailer that I have had, have never had a balanced wheel on it. They do not come from the manufacturer balanced. If you want them done (a good idea) it is on your dime for you to do. I do not know why they done balance them. I work at GM and the tire and wheel assemblies are shipped to the plant already mounted, and balanced, ready to be put on a vehicle that is being built.

[MilCop4523]

we just purchased a new toy hauler from Pete's RV in Vermont. When i asked them to throw in the tires being balanced and a set of Wheel covers they told me that they were going to charge me $65 dollars to take the tires off to have them balanced 2.7 miles up the same street at the tire shop plus $20 bucks a tire.

I'm thinking I can get the trailer there myself.... for 65$ and let the garage do the work

Oh and the tire covers a retail price of like 60$ couldn't be worked into the deal because it wasn't the first thing I spoke of in the deal.

YES always balance the tires - you haul with balanced tires why would you not haul a trailer with balanced tires?