Balance Trailer Tires

[Soundguy]

couldn't tell you the number.. don't know.

at the price differential, I can put on 3 sets of walmart tires and still be cheaper than the expensive ones.. and I have to think i'll get more milage out of the 3 sets of tires vs the 1 more expensive set, not even accounting for damage to a tire that may ruin it before it's treat wears out... pluss.. on a 3 set vs 1 set, that is 3x that the tires is actually back to new specs starting the wearing all over again, vs 1x and wearing till worn out.. etc. IE.. more tread for a longer period.

I think when my f350drw needs tires I'll do the same.. see how that works out.

soundguy

 

[clemsonfor]

couldn't tell you the number.. don't know.

at the price differential, I can put on 3 sets of walmart tires and still be cheaper than the expensive ones.. and I have to think i'll get more milage out of the 3 sets of tires vs the 1 more expensive set, not even accounting for damage to a tire that may ruin it before it's treat wears out... pluss.. on a 3 set vs 1 set, that is 3x that the tires is actually back to new specs starting the wearing all over again, vs 1x and wearing till worn out.. etc. IE.. more tread for a longer period.

I think when my f350drw needs tires I'll do the same.. see how that works out.

soundguy

Oh i know what you mean. Im not arguing im just telling you why i think they rode that way. I too buy economy tires and have been buying the best deal for over 10 years. Your thinking is mine exactly, as well as your 3 sets are spread out over a few years not all at once. I think of it like making payments instead of a lump sum. Also if a tire ruins on you your not out a huge amout of money. I have folks i work with that wont buy an off brand? No idea why. I have literally put hundreds of thousands of miles on no name tires in just the few years i have driven (13 years to be exact, yes im younger than 30 no need to do math).

 

[Soundguy]

yep.. in my example for instance.. a catastrophic tire failure, can at most, kill 1/3 of your investment, vs all of it. .. and have say.. a tire that lasts 1 yr and having 3 in a row vs a tire lasting 3 ys. you have the benefit of 'new' tread at each 3rd of it's lifetime.

I do the same with tractor tires. I buy the best deal. I have some no name new ones.. that, if they last the 40-50 ys the originals did, will surely outlast me.. and someone else can then change them..

 

[orezok]

I grew up working in my Dad's service stations in the days when a bubble balance was all there was. Later, the spin balance machines that spun the tire and wheel ON THE CAR (how many remember those machines?). And then we got the computer spin balance machines. And like most folks, I guess, I prefer the computer spin balance. After all, it's the newest and best, right?

Back in the 60's I worked part time at a service station while in college. The owner got this new on car tire balancer and said "...let me show you how it's done"

The car on the rack was a fairly new Corvette. His standard procedure for rear tires was to raise the car on the lift, place one of those old wooden soda crates under one tire, put it in 4th, bump up the throttle and lower it down so the second one would spin. He figured it saved time to move teh rears to the front to balance.

Went through his usual routine and when he lowered the car down he got his first experience with posi-traction.

I'll never forget the look on his face as he said "can you run across the street and get that crate?"

 

[Bird]

Went through his usual routine and when he lowered the car down he got his first experience with posi-traction.

I'll never forget the look on his face as he said "can you run across the street and get that crate?"

:laughing:Yep, I can just imagine that. A lot of cars in the fifties had axles just the right height for pranksters. You jack up the back end of the car and put one of those crates under the axle, then did the same to other side. A lot of cars were just the right height for the owner to not notice anything until he got in the car to go and just spun his tires.

Incidentally, in the mid-50s we gave 80 cents a case for soda pop, sold those drinks for a nickle each or $1.20 and of course there was a 50 cent deposit; i.e., 2 cents for each bottle and 2 cents for the case or crate.

 

[kenmac]

I just mounted 4 trailer tires (8 ply) on my trailer. Used my bubble balancer to balance them

 

[Heavyduty]

I put a set of Michelin XPS Ribs on my dump trailer 235/75/16. High dollar but was fed up with chinese trailer tire failures..
Anyway asked the dealer to balance them, went to pick them up and they weren't. They said naaah...trailer tires don't need it.
I insisted and was amazed at how much weight it took! I figure it is mostly the cheap trailer rims as my experience is Michelins usually take very little weight on my powered vehicles...
Picked up one of those HF bubble balancers a few weeks back on sale...gonna check my multitude of other trailer tires as I get time..if any are a little off they'll get balanced by me, if a lot off I'll have them spin balanced.

I just bought 4 of the XP$'s myself. Yes, they do cost a arm and a leg but I never have problems with them. I just check the air psi before I leave. The sidewalls cracked real bad on my old ones, so I changed them out. They also had to put alot weight on one of my trailer rims.

 

[sandman2234]

I know this will draw some heat from the old timers that live by it, but with a bubble balancer you can actually balance a square box. As far as computer balance, in most cases it is fine, but I had a 68 Dodge Charger (ok, several of them, lol)and the owner had a set of chrome wheels his son gave him, but wouldn't fit due to the rim hitting the drum balance weight. So they took a chiesel and removed it. From that day forward, spin balance ON THE CAR was required. I bought the car from him and he told me about it, so I didn't have to learn the hard way that balance off the car "can have" other things that might affect it.
David from jax

 

[Bird]

David, I think the possibility of a brake drum being out of balance was the big selling point for the "on the car" balancers when they first hit the market. And yes, I've seen brake drums out of balance; don't recall seeing a rotor out of balance. And I assume "on the car" balancers are still used somewhere, but I haven't seen one in years.

 

[sklunk]

funny you mention this.

my wife has a yukon. had expensive tires on it always.. was riding so bad thought it needed an alignment.. decided that tires were wore enought that I would put new tires on before alignment.. money was a tad short so called around.. walmart had the best deal for 4 tires installed.. got 4 pretty cheap tires... leaving walmart hading to alignment place i called them and cancelled. truck rode like it was on rails.. the 4 65$ tires rode better than the 200$ tires it had on it.

soundguy

That will also happen if you don't keep your tires and wheels rotated. The tires will wear differently and will produce different vibrations at each tire. Not rotating will also cause some of your tires to wear out before the other ones. Most people ignore rotations but they should be done every 5000 miles, and most shops will provide free rotation for the life of the tires if you bought the tires from them. Follow the directions in your owner's manual to show you which positions get switched (usually back goes to front, and front goes to back and gets crossed). Even the new "directional" tires should be rotated (swapping front and rear on the same side of the vehicle).

Of course, that's for vehicles that drive on the road every day. I don't think too many people bother with rotating the wheels and tires on their trailers (probably not needed).