Balancing trailer tires

[MFWD]

Hello,
This is probably a dumb question, but do tires on an aluminum 5.5' x 10' utility trailer need to be balanced ? I just bought one from Tractor Supply a few months ago and have only used it a few times, but the other day when I was pulling it, it seemed to be hopping and not running real smoothly.


MFWD

 

[Morning Wood]

No brainer. Do it

 

[radioman]

Him.... Are you sure the wheels spins ok? I'd lack it up and spin each tire to make sure no noise from bearings. Make sure the tire has no visable bulge and not out of round. Is there any flat spot on tire from over braking?

 

[KennyG]

Balancing is clearly good. However, perfect balancing won't keep my trailer from bouncing when it's empty. Every little bump in our terrible roads makes it bounce. If it's OK loaded, balancing may not help.

 

[3Ts]

There are also no shock absorbers on trailers to help control bounce.

 

[CobyRupert]

Do you think the OP is talking about the bounce an empty trailer gets from going over a bump when it's empty, caused by a stiff suspension and thinks it's being caused by an unbalanced tire?
Perhaps.
I assume he's asking about balancing a tire because of the bounce, wobble, vibration, that one gets on a smooth road that's typical from being unbalanced.....or having flat spots or bad bearing, etc..

 

[Lineman North Florida]

I have a 20' equipment trailer that pulls so much smoother when empty with balanced tires and I have several gooseneck trailers that it doesn't seem to matter one way or the other, but if it was mine and it was a bumper pull trailer I would have them balanced and see what happens.

 

[YLee Kioti]

Same question about RV tires......get them balanced.
Unseen forces at work that help reduce stress to the belts in the tires and help with longevity of equipment overall. Also when getting flats repaired just remind the repair guy about the weights so he marks tire and keeps it in balance. (well as close as possible anyways).

Did TT tires when the GY Endurance tires got mounted and the 20' utility tires as well. My anecdotes my be placebo effects, don't know but an empty 2800 pound 20 foot utility trailer tows much better when empty.
Just a very good low cost investment.

 

[kennyd]

I run DynaBeads in my trailer and motorcycle tires, works for me even though many will argue they don’t and it’s junk science...


DynaBeads Tire Balancing Beads

 

[Redbug]

I have Centramatic Wheel Balancers on my utility trailer and heavy camper.
Wheel Balancers for many trucks, buses, trailers, and motorcycles from Centramatic

 

[deserteagle71]

I have a heavy 18' trailer with two 7,000 lb axles under it - some really heavy 10 ply tires (on 8-bolt wheels) mounted up. The trailer hopped all over the road at certain speeds until I had the tires balanced - took a lot of weight for a couple of the tires. Pretty smooth now.

 

[herm0016]

we put up a Bat House Buying Guide – Bat Conservation and Management, Inc. 4 chamber premium bat house early this spring. Have not seen one in it yet. we had quite a few flying around our large apple tree last year so we still have hope. followed there instructions on the post and the direction.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

we put up a Bat House Buying Guide – Bat Conservation and Management, Inc. 4 chamber premium bat house early this spring. Have not seen one in it yet. we had quite a few flying around our large apple tree last year so we still have hope. followed there instructions on the post and the direction.

What has that got to do with balancing trailer tires?

 

[hawkeye08]

we put up a Bat House Buying Guide – Bat Conservation and Management, Inc. 4 chamber premium bat house early this spring. Have not seen one in it yet. we had quite a few flying around our large apple tree last year so we still have hope. followed there instructions on the post and the direction.

Guessing this comment was for the other thread on bat houses...

 

[GeneralSnafu]

we put up a Bat House Buying Guide Bat Conservation and Management, Inc. 4 chamber premium bat house early this spring. Have not seen one in it yet. we had quite a few flying around our large apple tree last year so we still have hope. followed there instructions on the post and the direction.

WTF? What kind of tires were on those bats? You'll find, they will fly much smoother once you balance their tires. If you decide to go ahead and balance them, please, let us know how it works out for you.

 

[Copperhead]

I run DynaBeads in my trailer and motorcycle tires, works for me even though many will argue they don稚 and it痴 junk science...


DynaBeads Tire Balancing Beads

Can't speak to all applications, but balancing beads are not junk science. I use them in my wide based semi truck drive tires. I average about 425,000 miles out of a set of them. On my third set and have 986,000 miles on the truck. Those big tires get 16 oz of CounterAct brand balancing beads in each tire. They are 445/55R22.5 tires.

I am toying with using them in the tires of a new enclosed cargo trailer I just bought. Glad it was brought up or I might have overlooked using them.

 

[Monster5601]

Can't speak to all applications, but balancing beads are not junk science. I use them in my wide based semi truck drive tires. I average about 425,000 miles out of a set of them.

How many miles would you get out of those tires if you did not use balancing beads?

 

[Copperhead]

How many miles would you get out of those tires if you did not use balancing beads?

Not really sure, but I highly doubt would be any more if they were just balanced the traditional way. Those are some very large tires and one thing about the beads is that they provide constant balancing as the tire wears and changes over time. No need to spin them up and balance them periodically.

And that is probably the main reason I use the beads. Once they are in the tire, no need to mess with the tires again except to rotate them. Saves the cost of spinning them up initially and periodically. Basically plug, play, and forget.

But the nice even waar across the tread on all tires over the life of them speaks well of using the beads. They are a very cost effective alternative to traditional balancing.

 

[FTG-05]

I run DynaBeads in my trailer and motorcycle tires, works for me even though many will argue they don’t and it’s junk science...


DynaBeads Tire Balancing Beads

Cheaper version: Antifreeze. Don't even have to take the tire/wheel off the vehicle or the tire off the wheel. I have it in all my tires: F-350, Pathfinder, Avalon, trailers.

 

[FTG-05]

I have Centramatic Wheel Balancers on my utility trailer and heavy camper.
Wheel Balancers for many trucks, buses, trailers, and motorcycles from Centramatic

I have a set of those on my F-350. Worst $200 I ever spent. Anitfreeze works just as well and is easier to install.

Every once in a while, I'll get a horrible shimmy or vibration out of my front tires. Can barely drive over 40 mph or so. Get to the store or whatever, let it sit for a while, get back in it and no vibration no shimmy, smooth as a babies butt. Only thing it could be is the dampening media clumping up or not flowing like it should.