Wheel Balance

[ratfink11]

Having G-614`s installed on my 3400. Dealer says they normally do not balance trailer tires. He said I could use "Equal" inside the tires if I wanted to. What have you done regarding balancing new tires?

[ols1932]

I'd get my tires from someone else. For a rubber-tired wagon like we used to have on the farm, of course you don't need to balance the tires. But for our use with these things speeding down the highway, by all means balance the tires. It will take out a lot of bouncing when you have four tires that are balanced versus not balanced.

Sounds to me like your dealer has not put many tires on RVs.

Orv

[NCFischers]

I agree with Orv. If unbalanced tires will bounce on a car or truck at highway speeds, why wouldn't trailer tires bounce? I'd question his judgement if he doesn't understand this.

[skypilot]

Most definitely - get them balanced. Also, since your dealer seems a bit out of touch with trailer tires/wheels, make sure he balances them lug-centric. Hub centric doesn't work well for many of our trailer wheels.....

[kdeiss]

My RV Tech and the tire dealer next door said no need to balance. I did have it done though.

[sreigle]

I had ours balanced. It's a whole lot cheaper than tires and if it turns out to be unnecessary then I just wasted a little money. But if it prolongs the life of the tires then it's cheap insurance. If we were weekends/vacationers I might not do it because the tires would probably have to be replaced for age before the tread was worn out anyhow. But we put on enough miles I think it's worth the cost to balance the tires. Your mileage may differ.

[PapaBeav]

Balancing is a no brainer, "get er done"

[8e3k0]

Balancing is a yes, but if you have good quality tires and wheels they will take little to no weights. I have seen situations where a new tire was so badly out of balance no amount of weights would solve the problem. Result was warranty and a discarded tire.

[richfaa]

Our local tire guy and friend at home pulls a camper (in fact it is our previous camper)..His tires are balanced. So Were mine. We now have the Mor Ryde IS system that balance just like auto tires so they are balanced.

[TLightning]

Had my new tires balanced.

[mail2us]

Getting new tires installed only adds 5 mins per tire to have them balanced and steel stems.

[DonandJudy_12]

We have all our wheels balanced- We have service contracts with all our tires that provide free flat repair, road hazard protection,free tire rotation and free balancing at my discrection for the safe life of each tire- The cost per tire is approximately $10.00 We normally have our tires rebalanced twice each year- Not all tire companies offer this coverage on trailer tires so shop around- That is something we MOCers excell at- Good luck, relax and enjoy!!! Don

[ratfink11]

Thanks for the responses. I will insist the dealer balance them. They suggested "Equal" for balancing, but I do not want that "in" my tires. Having the X-Factor from Morryde installed and a wet bolt kit also installed so I am spending quite a bit of money with him. Whats a few bucks more?

[sreigle]

Ratfink11, be sure to tell them they must balance using a lug centric adapter that holds the wheel to the balancer by the lug holes. Unlike car and truck wheels, trailer rims cannot be properly centered using the large center hole. If they use that hole and can "balance" it at all on the balancer, it likely will be way out of balance on the rig. They may even tell you, if they use the center hole, that the rim and/or the tire are out of round. Not so. Just tell them to use a lug centric adapter. Most places of any size with a balancer will have the adapter.

[TLightning]

quote:Originally posted by sreigle

Ratfink11, be sure to tell them they must balance using a lug centric adapter that holds the wheel to the balancer by the lug holes. Most places of any size with a balancer will have the adapter.

I was very surprised by the number of tire "professionals" (dealers) who never heard of the lug centric adaptor.

[DonandJudy_12]

In the old days, all modern balancers used lug nuts to center the tire/wheel assembly in place- The current method is supposed to be faster and the balancer machinery is cheaper to build- Techs who have used both seem to prefer the bolt on method- They say they have fewer comebacks- All we can do as consumers is shop around for dealers who will do what you want- I know they're out there- Good luck and report back- Inquiring minds etc etc- Don

[exav8tr]

Beaudry RV in Tucson had no idea about "lug-centric" balancing either. I had them static balanced and will have them done proper when I move in the the next month or two. I had the 614's installed also. I got them from Sam's club for $215.73 each.
Beaudry said Sam's club sells "Blems" and that Goodyear makes them especially for Sam's Club. That is why they charge $359.00 per tire. The service writer was an idiot. He said I could not get them any cheaper thru Goodyear. I informed him that Wingfoot Commercial Tire Center (Goodyear) in Tucson was charging $247.00 per tire. He then admitted that they got them thru a third party. What A Joke!!!!!

The lesson here, is Never buy tires from an RV dealer! They are just out to bilk us RVers.......

[sreigle]

I've used Discount Tire in Santa Fe, NM and another Discount Tire in Texas City, TX. I used them to mount and balance the replacement tires sent to me by Tireco (both times). They knew about and used the lug centric adapter. So Discount Tire might be an option for you.

[Emmel]

Steve, at the rally this year, didn't the guy from Tireco say the newer rims were hub/bolt concentric? They used to be way off, but the safety people made the wheel manufacturers use more stringent calibrations. The aluminum wheels are machined and not stamped like the steel ones. In the aircraft industry, they have to be within .0015 concentric and the auto should be somewhere around .005. You can check each hole in relation to the hub with a set of verniers.
Sound like too much trouble, balance them by the lugs.

[Leaseit]

Phil, Glad to hear you got the new tires and at a good price. Did you compare them one on one ( Old with New 614) and see a differance?


Randy