Trailer wheel balancing

Yes. Another lesson learned a long time ago. I don't do it because I like donating an extra $30 to the tire shop or because the wheel weights look cool.
Imo it falls somewhere between highly reccomended and necessity.

wilber1 wrote:
Not sure why anyone would want travel down the road with four out of balance gyroscopes spinning away in their vehicle at 700 RPM.

Maybe they combine to cancel out vibration or positively effect the suspension? :B

Not sure why anyone would want travel down the road with four out of balance gyroscopes spinning away in their vehicle at 700 RPM.

Yes. Just because I can't feel it doesn't mean it isn't shaking the **** out my trailer.

My local independent dealer does balancing on every tire he installs. It is part of his standard mounting package, which also includes inspection of the entire wheel, brake, and suspension assembly.

So I do not have to ask to balance, it is done anyway whether I ask or not. As he puts it "I want you to keep coming back. Just less often."

He has my loyalty.

I balance mine, it makes me "feel good" and it can't hurt so why not. And it sure won't break the bank even with a triple axle. I've seen weights on semi trailer tires so I figure what the heck.

I recently took one tire back to the dealer because it is cupping and told the guy that it appears to have thrown it's weights. They rebalanced it and called to say it was ready. It the time I dropped it off I did not tell them it was on a trailer. They are LT truck tires. When I picked it up they said the cupping was because of the lack of balance. I mentioned now it was on a trailer. He said"we never balance trailer tires" Asked why "nobody rides in the trailer so any vibration is unnoticed"So I have 3 tires that are wearing well and 1 because lack of balancing is cupped. And around here mounting and balancing is included in the price. So I belive in using that service and extending the life of my tires.

fireman41 wrote:

LarryJM wrote:

thecdnmole wrote:
Does anyone get their tire/wheels balanced when putting new tires on? Generally on trailers I have not seen this done, but it would make sense so it makes for a smoother ride in RV. Thanks in advance for your responses!

IMO balancing TT tires is a waste of $$ since it is not occupied vehicle so NVH is a non issue.

Larry

It's not really about the ride it about doing any little thing that you can do to help increase the life of our camper.

Like this spring I put the Dexter ez flex equalizer and wet bolt kit on my camper this spring. I didn't do it to make it tow better I did to help and try to reduce the amount of shock the camper has to take and hopefully make it last longer. I also had my new tires balanced.

Still don't see the value of balancing the tires on a TT. Unlike most here I have a onboard video monitor inside my trailer that I can monitor what goes on from the cab of my Van when towing. During the holiday season we have a small X-mas tree with ornaments that I clamp to my dinette table when traveling and you would be surprised how little movement there is in the ornaments when driving. Thus based on real world data I can see no way that balancing your tires will do anything for the life expectancy of your trailer ... its just not there.

Disclaimer my last trailer I had for over 25 years and towing it in excess of 100K miles on unbalanced tires and experienced no issues that could even remotely be attributed to tire balancing. My current trailer has the Tor-Flex axles.

This tire balancing along to maybe a lesser extent shocks on a trailer are IMO mostly a "feel good" issue with little to no real documented and verifiable benefits outside of the wishful thinking of those that have spent the $$$ on those items.

This thread is no different with the "better ride", "less shock", etc. WAGS along with an overdose of "hope" as you expressed in your post on what balancing tires provide in a trailer. My facts and experience have proven to me there is no real benefit to do this other than the "feel good" one.

Of course it's you money to spend wisely or waste as you want.

Larry

LarryJM wrote:

thecdnmole wrote:
Does anyone get their tire/wheels balanced when putting new tires on? Generally on trailers I have not seen this done, but it would make sense so it makes for a smoother ride in RV. Thanks in advance for your responses!

IMO balancing TT tires is a waste of $$ since it is not occupied vehicle so NVH is a non issue.

Larry

It's not really about the ride it about doing any little thing that you can do to help increase the life of our camper.

Like this spring I put the Dexter ez flex equalizer and wet bolt kit on my camper this spring. I didn't do it to make it tow better I did to help and try to reduce the amount of shock the camper has to take and hopefully make it last longer. I also had my new tires balanced.

Now minisplits in Mexico come with built in inverters and regular units. I found a 3/4 ton at 850 watts, big enough to cool my unit and throw out that piece of trash they call a roof air. The hole will now become a fantastic fan.

Picked up a super efficient minisplit, one ton, from HEB online here in Mexico for $200 u.s. w/ heat pump. Install was $50. Inverter units are more expensive.

The unit I want will run well on my Honda 2000.

Why are minisplits so expensive in the U.S.?