To balance or not to balance

[wanderlust]

I'll be getting new tires this fall and the Firestone dealer where I got a quote today said he typically doesn't balance TT tires. What would you do?
Thanks

[norty1]

Pay to have them balanced. Have them use a lug centric balancer to make sure the rims are true.

Hub centric does not check the rim very well.

Another thing I like that can eliminate problems down the road is metal valve stems. A very inexpensive upgrade when you change tires.

[rabalin]

I would immediately find a new dealer. I used to pull a small trailer behind my motorcycle I even balanced those little 8 inch wheels and tires.

[Jagiven]

Absolutely have them put in high pressure valve stems. Discount Tire just did it without me saying anything. I have only topped my htt tires of once since having new tires put on. They were down less than a pound.

As for balancing, typically it's not done. Again discount tire just did it. They also recommend rotating every year or more often, it was included in there price for the life of the tire.

[Murff]

As the old spokesman for Godfather' Pizza used to say:


"DO IT!

Murff

[schrederman]

Without shocks, an unbalanced tire will dribble down the road. These things are already like a constant earthquake going down the road. They don't need any help shaking themselves apart...

[Seann45]

Unbalanced YOU don't feel the shaking but your trailer does.. balancing will help protect your investment

[J.Lockhart]

They are three primary enemies to every RV... sun, rain/snow, and road vibration/bounce.

Anything you can do to minimize any or all of them - to any degree - prolongs the life of your unit.


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[DocBrown]

I've had them both ways, balanced and unbalanced. I never noticed the difference. Never had any issues either way. That said all the trailers I have owned had/have Dexter Torflex axles. I'm not sure if that makes any difference or not.

Balancing certainly will not hurt anything and doesn't cost all that much more. And logically a balanced tire/wheel is better. Ever have a wheel weight fall off your car/truck? Not fun to drive!

[schrederman]

Originally Posted by J.Lockhart

They are three primary enemies to every RV... sun, rain/snow, and road vibration/bounce.

Anything you can do to minimize any or all of them - to any degree - prolongs the life of your unit.


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This is an excellent post... and totally true...

Thanks!!

[EV4D]

Originally Posted by Jagiven

Absolutely have them put in high pressure valve stems. Discount Tire just did it without me saying anything. I have only topped my htt tires of once since having new tires put on. They were down less than a pound.

As for balancing, typically it's not done. Again discount tire just did it. They also recommend rotating every year or more often, it was included in there price for the life of the tire.

And this is why I have been using Discount tire for over 25 years now. Also when you buy a new trailer you can pull into a Discount Tire and buy a warranty for the life of those tires (the same warranty as if you bought them from Discount Tire).

[Camper_bob]

+1 for balancing. There is little downside to doing so, even though it's not "typically done" for trailer tires.

Another +1 for metal valve stems. They are SOOO much easier to use, and again, the cost differential is totally worth it.

Also +1 for Discount Tire. We just had to replace one of DW's tires, and she asked if she should buy the warranty on the rest of her tires (OEM on the vehicle). I told her unequivocally, "YES". They have lost money on us with that warranty before. But I guess they made it back because it's the first place I go for tires, and I DO NOT buy cheap shoes for my vehicles. I just had new tires put on the trailer. I bought the tires from Discount Tire Direct and had them mounted at a local family owned shop that is literally 100 yards from where my trailer is stored. The nearest Discount Tire store is 20 minutes from our home.

[wanderlust]

Balance it is.
Thanks

[abarkl]

This thread reminds me of one of those; When balancing what do you use, lead, beads, powder, golf balls, etc.? Or install Centramatic balancers and don't worry about it.

Lead for me (most often). ha ha!

[norty1]

Here is a good explanation of the difference between Lug and Hub centric balancing.

Hub Centric Vs. Lug Centric | GSES

My opinion is Hub centric is better than not doing it at all. Many tire shops are not equipped to do Lug centric balancing.

[homer1959]

Originally Posted by norty1

Here is a good explanation of the difference between Lug and Hub centric balancing.

Hub Centric Vs. Lug Centric | GSES

My opinion is Hub centric is better than not doing it at all. Many tire shops are not equipped to do Lug centric balancing.

Thanks for the link, that is the proof that the conventional way with lead is not the proper way to balance a lug centric wheel.

IMHO you can make thing worse if you balance with lead since you can reposition the wheel at five different place on the hub, multiplying the unbalance by having the effect of a weight misplaced.

I would go with beads instead... or to have the wheel balanced on the trailer with the position of this wheel clearly identified or, nothing at all like millions of trailer on our road. But hey its just me :-)

[Seann45]

Originally Posted by norty1

Here is a good explanation of the difference between Lug and Hub centric balancing.

Hub Centric Vs. Lug Centric | GSES

My opinion is Hub centric is better than not doing it at all. Many tire shops are not equipped to do Lug centric balancing.

Really ROAD FORCE balancing is the best way but only 1 shop in 100 has the machine..