Should I Balance My New Tires?

Yes.

Never have in 30 years, don't plan to start. Have detected no problems with bearings, brakes, etc., no blowouts ever.

I balance my own. I also mount my own tires and if the have a factory balance dot in the sidewall (most do, some don't), that dot locates on the point where the valve stem exits the rim. I use adhesive weights as well.

Good info Jim!! It's been a long time since watching a tire being spin balanced on my car. I didn't know this was still even available, but would sure be a proper balance for trailer tires/wheels, if you could find a shop that would do it.

Jerry

The reason we balance tires on our trucks is a soft suspension with 70"+ long springs on the rear and soft riding coils on the front.

Trailer leaf spring suspension has 26"-28" long very short spring length with little compression/rebound stroke which makes one hell of a damper. Trailer hubs don't come balanced like our automotive hubs so balancing the tire off the hub may make things worse.

One of my truck tire dealers will not balance a tire, used in a trailer position, on a machine but if asked to do so will balance a tire on a trailer only with the old spin the tire/wheel/hub assy on the trailer....then match marks them. That way when the wheels are removed for bearing/brake service they stay clocked in balance position. Soft riding torsion type suspensions with their long compression/rebound can benefit from this type spin balance if needed.

I ran my 1st set of 16" LT E for 55k+ miles..... 51k+ miles on the second set and now 13k on the 3rd set no odd wear patterns or nothing shook loose inside the trailer or worn out bearings/etc.
Now I have had tires jump up and down at speed which was caused by severe flat spotting (brake lockup). I replace the tire.

Yes.
Anything that spins should be balanced.

The cheapest and easiest time is when it's new.

Yes. No good reason not to.

And if you are buying "truck size" tires for a self-propelled, you should get them at a place that is equipped and experienced in handling tires that size.

Tvov wrote:
As I told the guy at the tire shop, my trailer is going just as fast as my truck on the highway, so I want the tires balanced.

X2!
What would you answer if he asked that question about the TV? I made Discount tire dynamically balance my 5er tire instead of statically (weights both inside and outside of rim).

Yes , for the cost it is a no brainer to me...They are round, and rolling down the road with you...