Tire balancing

[maggiek]

Well it's Fri and the spring service is done. As I promised, I'm posting the result of the tires balance exercise. The tt tracked as normal but with a noticeable smoothness that wasn't there before. Made for a more comfortable ride.
So, the experience has been interesting and most beneficial. To those "nay sayers", try it, you will be rewarded with a better ride and maybe your tires might last longer. Thanks everyone for the comments and have a great season.

[melk-man]

cool !

[prof_fate]

Originally Posted by melk-man

and Forest River also made the xlr27hfs Hyper Lite with 3500lb axles.. the are in the industry, the seller, etc.. that did not make it RIGHT that a 27xlr should come with 3500lb axles. And in fact the started putting 4400lb axles on later.
Your comparison is kinda weak prof_fate.. No offense.

I spoke with 3 shops, 2 of whom's owners have TT. NONE of them rec balance tires, looked at the one owner's TT as it was there, no weights on the rims. They charge to balance so why skip the extra money?
Plus none of my trailers have balanced tires.

It's not like I found a mixed opinion here split 50/50. The second and third opinions agreed.

[BarryD0706]

This isn't a safety issue. The only person who will be harmed by a wrong decision is you. I hope you don't have to spend that $80- you're saving on new tires or equipment. Good Luck. 'Nough said.

[prof_fate]

And the long list of issues with non-balanced tires is....what, teh trailer rides rougher? Ok...so what shook off the TT? Oh, nothing...no broken dishes, etc.
Cupped tires? The dealers/tires people I spoke with say it's not an issue either - MAYBE if you travel enough to actually wear out tires but most of us will replace tires due to age or dry rot, not cupping.

Besides, my last set I was about to lose 2 tires to running the TT body/fender well after about 400 miles of travel. Cupping wasn't seen anyway.

[melk-man]

Originally Posted by prof_fate

And the long list of issues with non-balanced tires is....what, teh trailer rides rougher? Ok...so what shook off the TT? Oh, nothing...no broken dishes, etc.
Cupped tires? The dealers/tires people I spoke with say it's not an issue either - MAYBE if you travel enough to actually wear out tires but most of us will replace tires due to age or dry rot, not cupping.

Besides, my last set I was about to lose 2 tires to running the TT body/fender well after about 400 miles of travel. Cupping wasn't seen anyway.

you do realize the trailer tire dealers you are speaking with potentially have an interest in you NOT balancing tires. They will sell you more tires sooner. And you might be speaking to the $8/hour HELP that doesn't know squat about tires. Maybe you were talking to the owner, i don't know. What i do know, is many of the trailer companies I have dealt with, and some tire guys that are "in the know" do recommend balancing trailer tires.

if you don't want to balance trailer tires, don't. that is your choice. But myself with well over 100,000 miles of towing a 10k lb trailer with multiple tires, and other with many years and more towing mileage than myself, will continue to balance trailer tires.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by prof_fate

I spoke with 3 shops, 2 of whom's owners have TT. NONE of them rec balance tires, looked at the one owner's TT as it was there, no weights on the rims. They charge to balance so why skip the extra money?
Plus none of my trailers have balanced tires.

It's not like I found a mixed opinion here split 50/50. The second and third opinions agreed.

I think you will find you are one of a very few that chose not to balance tires on trailers. I bet you do on your cars/trucks. What's the difference, if it wears tires crazy on cars/trucks, it will the do the same on a trailer. Try taking the wt off the rear wheels on your car/truck and see how you like the ride and wear.

[youroo]

After a while this is like trying to talk a Drunk into Not drinking! Youroo!!

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by prof_fate

And the long list of issues with non-balanced tires is....what, teh trailer rides rougher? Ok...so what shook off the TT? Oh, nothing...no broken dishes, etc.
Cupped tires? The dealers/tires people I spoke with say it's not an issue either - MAYBE if you travel enough to actually wear out tires but most of us will replace tires due to age or dry rot, not cupping.

Besides, my last set I was about to lose 2 tires to running the TT body/fender well after about 400 miles of travel. Cupping wasn't seen anyway.

As I said before, the one set I didn't balance cupped all 4 tires on a 3500 mile trip. Discovered the cupping @ about 2500 miles. If you don't want to balance them, DON'T. It's your $ you're throwing away, not mine. I will continue to spend $36 to balance 4 tires that cost $500+ to make the last until the age date gets them.

[PHS79]

Originally Posted by prof_fate

They charge to balance so why skip the extra money?

Around here mounting is $9/tire, mounting and balancing $9/tire. It doesn't cost anymore to have them balanced.

But that is the great thing, its your TT so you can do what you want....

[melk-man]

and to not beat the proverbial dead horse, but here is another example we can all relate too of why it's a good idea to balance trailer tires..
My Ford excursion weighs close to 7000lbs. (about what my toy hauler weighs). I have the tires rotated/blanced a couple times a year. At least 1/2 the time, i end up coming back to have at least one tire RE-balanced cause it's not quite right. And we ALL know how annoying an out of balance tire can be on our passenger vehicle. Especially a truck with big tires that sometimes take a little more weight. So, how could it possibly be good to not balance trailer tires?

[sandkreese]

Originally Posted by checca

I used Tire Balancing Products. Rv size and 6oz per tire ... had local shop break the bead and pour them in. I've always had my trailer tires balanced.

This is interesting. I read this whole thread hoping I would see opinions on Bead Balancing. What are some of your opinions on it? I only ask because I have never heard of it before.

Kinda hoping to lighten the mood of this thread also!

[checca]

Originally Posted by sandkreese

This is interesting. I read this whole thread hoping I would see opinions on Bead Balancing. What are some of your opinions on it? I only ask because I have never heard of it before.

Kinda hoping to lighten the mood of this thread also!

Well i've run the beads in my SUV (40,000 miles), utility trailer (60,000 miles) and now my travel trailer (250 miles) to great success. I highly recommend them when you have a odd vibration to solve or in the case of the trailer to balance the hub, drum, wheel and tire.

[prof_fate]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

I think you will find you are one of a very few that chose not to balance tires on trailers. I bet you do on your cars/trucks. What's the difference, if it wears tires crazy on cars/trucks, it will the do the same on a trailer. Try taking the wt off the rear wheels on your car/truck and see how you like the ride and wear.

I drive my cars 15k miles a year, my trailer 400.
I expect my car tires to last as long as possible - 50k miles perhaps. So far I've never work out a trailer tire - they 'age out' long before they wear out.

I've also towed unbalanced trailer tires on a motorcycle - never felt anything out of the ordinary.