Mount trailer tires yourself at home?

KMLsquared wrote:
...I read a bunch about balancing trailer tire and came to the conclusion most are not...

Yes, most equipment trailers that travel mostly local, lower speed roads don't "need" to have tires balanced.

But... for my camper, which I tow on highways / interstates at the appropriate speed, I want them balanced. And it is usually very inexpensive, especially when included in a package price of buying new tires.

It's a little harder than mounting a bicycle tire. Then you need to hit it with lots of air pressure/volume to seat the beads. That's the most likely time you'll get hurt.........

I would never even think of attempting to mount any sort of car, truck or trailer tire at home, unless I had a tire machine.

I don't even do my motorcycle tires...

The $39 tire machine I bought from Harbor Freight many years ago has saved me many hundreds of dollars over the years. I haven't paid a tire shop to mount tires for about 20 years. For balancing trailer tires I mount the wheel/tire on the hub then find the heavy spot and add weight to the opposite inside until it rotates without stopping in the same position every time.

My local tire shop charges $20 to unmount/mount/balance a tire;
At that price, it's not worth doing it myself.

Years ago yes but especially not now! My son has a automotive shop next door to me. I get a really good discount. ??

I watched three young men at Discount Tire wrestle with mounting the G rated tires for my rig to the point of exhaustion with a tire mount machine. Why would I want that kind of exercise at my age.

If they were Chinese tires that ate as flexable as rubber bands, maybe.

Tried once or twice as a teenager. Money would have to be really tight if not nonexistent for me to try it again.

I looked into Tirerack.com once and there just wasn't enough of a savings for me to go that route. Once I considered the mounting and balancing price and added in the hassle of loading the tires into the car; It's much easier to go to Discount Tire and have them order and then install them for me.

When I was a teenager I would mount/dismount tires on the rims using a couple tire irons and a rubber mallet.

Then I realized shops have machines that do it quick and cheap. :S
Unless it's an emergency, don't waste your time.

I did mine myself. Ordered from tire rack. Used my sprint car bead breaker to bust the bead and then 2 tire irons to swap tires and then aired them up. It was a tiny sweat buster but it only took an hour for all four and I didn't have to take the trailer anywhere. I read a bunch about balancing trailer tire and came to the conclusion most are not. I was a mid-30 something with little money and little brains.