Community Forums

Grey Ghost I · 08-21-2015, 12:53 PM

Have any of you used either the steel or zinc coated bb's for tire balancing? Seems to me that they would work as well as Dyna beads, and a lot better than some kind of powder. I have heard all the arguments about other methods, so please only remark if you have knowledge of bbs. Thank you.

gruelens · 08-21-2015, 01:30 PM

They use ceramic beads because they do not rust and have little friction on the inside of the tire.

Todd157k · 08-21-2015, 01:49 PM

The metal bb's would get hot and tear up the inside of the tire. Not a good idea.

SilverBob · 08-21-2015, 10:29 PM

I've been using Crossman BBs in my 37" off road truck tires for about 5 years, now. I started with Dyna Beads, which worked just fine. My problems started when I'd punch a tire in the desert, and lose all my beads in the sand. My tires take 11 ounces of beads per tire. That gets expensive when you're repairing one every time out! 11 ounces of BBs can be had for a buck or two. Since it gets well below freezing here in the winter, I also put about a cup of anti-freeze inside each tire. That's is a trick I got from my dad, who was an OTR truck driver for 16 years back in the 60s and 70s. It works just fine for my application.

I don't know where the other posters get their info, but once you're moving, the BBs stay put on the inside of the tire carcass, so there's no friction to worry about. The copper plating wears off the BBs in a couple months, but I've never seen any rust. Of course, I drive in the deserts of Nevada and California, so your mileage may vary.

That said, I don't use BBs in my motorhome tires. That's a completely different application, as far as I'm concerned. I expect and prepare for tire failure on my off-road truck, but I'd just as soon not worry about it on the highway! I use only air inside my tires, and Centramatics for balancing.

MSHappyCampers · 08-22-2015, 10:06 AM

I use the Crosman Airsoft High Impact 6mm seamless BB's from Wal-Mart. I started doing this on a recommendation from a guy that owned a trucking company that had been using them for several years. Seems to be working fine so far! I bought them in containers of 5000 and weighed out 12 oz per tire. I could get about 2 1/2 tires per container. The containers were about $15 each.