Forum Discussion

83trekker's avatar
83trekker
Explorer
May 26, 2020

Tire Balance

So i am about to go buy some new tires for my 5th wheel, and tire shop is saying dont bother pay to have them balanced , its not necessary.

What does everybody do here? They are for 29ft 5th wheel 225-75-15
  • JIMNLIN's avatar
    JIMNLIN
    Explorer III
    May 29, 2020
    The more I think about balancing trailer wheels , and reading this thread ,the more I question the wisdom of doing so . I never balance utility trailers . And I know for a fact I’ve never had a fifth wheel balanced lug centric , always hub centric . Although none of them have been steel wheels .


    This bit from North American Trailer MFG on the issue;
    NATM clicky

    Lots of new gen tire dealers out here that don't deal with very many customers with road trailers and haven't learned from their customer base what works best for trailers that see lots of hiway miles. Most of their customers are folks like lawn service trailers or rv owners that never actually wear a tire out before they time out. When you put 50k-55k miles on a set of tires and use maybe two sets a year you soon learn about EXPERIENCED truck tire dealers vs a new guy tire shop down the street.
  • fj12ryder's avatar
    fj12ryder
    Explorer III
    May 29, 2020
    FWIW, I've always balanced my motorcycle tires, and they are always, always a little bit off. However I've talked to people that have never balanced a motorcycle tire and swear that they have never needed to. Seems to me that it would be unlikely that I'm the only person buying tires that need a little weight to be balanced.
  • cummins2014's avatar
    cummins2014
    Explorer
    May 29, 2020
    Huntindog wrote:
    It is an adaptor that holds the rim by the lug holes
    It has a center hole for attaching it to the balancing machine

    Most trailer rims need to be balanced this way as they are lug centric not hub centric
    Tire shops hate to use them if they even have them


    The more I think about balancing trailer wheels , and reading this thread ,the more I question the wisdom of doing so . I never balance utility trailers . And I know for a fact I’ve never had a fifth wheel balanced lug centric , always hub centric . Although none of them have been steel wheels .
  • Cummins12V98's avatar
    Cummins12V98
    Explorer III
    May 28, 2020
    Huntindog wrote:
    It is an adaptor that holds the rim by the lug holes
    It has a center hole for attaching it to the balancing machine

    Most trailer rims need to be balanced this way as they are lug centric not hub centric
    Tire shops hate to use them if they even have them


    Thanks!

    Makes sense!
  • Huntindog's avatar
    Huntindog
    Explorer
    May 28, 2020
    Mike134 wrote:
    The machinist in me things the argument of how to mount the tires while balancing is not relevant. I would expect the lug holes to be as accurately stamped into the rims as your steel rims from any of the auto manufacturers in relation to the center hole. The attached article maybe of interest.

    https://www.machinedesign.com/fastening-joining/article/21832042/whats-the-difference-between-lugcentric-and-hubcentric-wheels

    You can understand after reading this why it's so important to make sure you check the torque on the lug nuts.
    I would also expect that from any auto manufacturer

    But we are talking about the RV trailer industry here
    Big difference
  • Huntindog's avatar
    Huntindog
    Explorer
    May 28, 2020
    This can be the case for aftermarket auto rims as well
    For several years I fought balance issues on my 73 Blazer
    Tire shop blamed it on everything else
    When I read here about trailer rims
    A lightbulb went off
    I requested they use a lug plate
    That fixed it for good
  • time2roll's avatar
    time2roll
    Nomad
    May 28, 2020
    Cummins12V98 wrote:
    time2roll wrote:
    Not just balanced but I make them use the lug centric hold down.
    Please explain what that is???
    Most use hub centric where a cone goes in the center hole to center the wheel on the balancer. Most aluminum wheels are pretty good but many steel wheels just have a punched hole that is not perfectly centered.

    Lug centric uses an adapter that centers the wheel using the lug holes that have a taper to them and center the wheel same as it is mounted on the vehicle. This method will not have any chance of off-center based on that center hole.

    Many cars and trucks have oem wheels that use a machined center hole that fits snug on the hub and these are fine for the hub centric cone. So the shops get used to this faster method and do the same for trailers.

    google may have additional info or pictures.
  • fj12ryder's avatar
    fj12ryder
    Explorer III
    May 28, 2020
    I've seen the difference between balancing them correctly and not. I took the wheel to a place that balanced the wheel using the center hub, hub centric. Then I found out he had balanced it that way, and I took it to a place that could balance it using the lugs, lug centric. The difference was very substantial, i.e. several ounces off.

    Consider that if you try to balance a lug centric wheel where the hub is too large to be centered on the adaptor, the weight will be way off because the wheel is spinning on an eccentric, not a circle.
  • Mike134's avatar
    Mike134
    Explorer
    May 28, 2020
    The machinist in me things the argument of how to mount the tires while balancing is not relevant. I would expect the lug holes to be as accurately stamped into the rims as your steel rims from any of the auto manufacturers in relation to the center hole. The attached article maybe of interest.

    https://www.machinedesign.com/fastening-joining/article/21832042/whats-the-difference-between-lugcentric-and-hubcentric-wheels

    You can understand after reading this why it's so important to make sure you check the torque on the lug nuts.

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