ratfink11,
Definately have them balanced, it is just as important as balancing your car or truck tires.
Some tire dealers have the mindset that trailer tires don't need balanced because there is nobody riding in the trailer to feel the vibration, and the occupants of the tow vehicle will never feel it unless it is extremely bad. What they (and many trailer owners) don't take into consideration, is the damage that out of balance tires can cause to the trailer and it's contents.
As others have already posted, there are many methods available when it comes to balancing tires. Light truck and passenger wheels are built to pretty close tolerances, as are most alloy trailer wheels. These wheels can usually be balanced by the hub-centric method, meaning the pilot (hub) hole is used to center the wheel and tire assembly on the balance machine. The stamped steel (and occasionally the alloy) trailer wheels aren't always true enough to use the hub-centric method though. In that situation the lug-centric method is the only way to get the assembly balanced, using a conventional spin balance machine. An adapter is used on the machine that has lug studs which protrude through the lug holes in the wheel, then the wheel is held in place by lug nuts. This method is absolutely the best way to balance most wheels, but it is considerably more time consuming so most tire shops (including mine) use the hub-centric method on everything they can.
As to adhesive backed (stick-on) weights? Some of the new alloy wheels (even on passenger, and light trucks) have nothing to hold a conventional clip on weight in place. The centrifugal force of the wheel spinning will send the weight flying off in some unknown direction right away. The only way to balance these type wheels with lead weights, is to use the adhesive backed ones. They are stuck to the inside of the wheel as far inboard, and as far outboard as the wheel will allow. The centrifugal force actually helps this type of weight to stay in place, and the adhesive used is extremely sticky.
Now to the issue of Equal. The stuff is effective and does no damage to the inside of the tire. The problems arise when you have a flat repaired and the tire tech takes his handy dandy blow nozzle and blows all of your pretty powder into the atmosphere so he can buff and patch the tire. Chances are he won't have the packets of Equal (not many do) to replace what he has sent into the air for his co-workers to inhale.
Quote:
quote:By bigmurf
These will take care of the problem. http://www.centramatic.com/Home.aspx
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CENTRAMATIC - I like these. I sell lots of them, mostly to big trucks and occasionally a motor home. They are basically a thin steel dish with a hollow ring around the outside, which holds many small metal balls (about half the size of a BB), and some oil to keep everything functioning properly. The dish, which has holes in it for the lug studs, goes on the hub before the wheel. When the wheel is mounted it holds the Centramatic balancer in place. These balancers have a five year unconditional warranty and Centramatic stands behind it.