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Modersical · 07-08-2017, 11:46 AM

The stock aluminum wheels on my Keystone are Jansien (or Jansen?)and have deep narrow recessed area for valve stem. So need to settle for the high pressure pop-in rubber ones.

Balancing . . . I walked down the street to eat lunch, and returned just as the eldest tire technician in a gang of a dozen workers was tightening up last of the lug nuts. I had asked a few questions before I left, and was feeling like he had a wealth of knowledge and experience, and was lucky to have drawn him.

I noticed there were no visible weights, and asked if Trailer tires were balanced like car tires? He said, "hmmm, the answer to your question is yes, trailer and car tires are balanced the same, but trailer tires don't get balanced. They ain't gonna ride any better, balanced or not. They are gonna ride like they ride."

I was surprised at this. I figured they would at least ride and wear more smoothly!

Does anybody have their trailer tires balanced?

monkey · 07-08-2017, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Modersical

The stock aluminum wheels on my Keystone are Jansien (or Jansen?)and have deep narrow recessed area for valve stem. So need to settle for the high pressure pop-in rubber ones.

Balancing . . . I walked down the street to eat lunch, and returned just as the eldest tire technician in a gang of a dozen workers was tightening up last of the lug nuts. I had asked a few questions before I left, and was feeling like he had a wealth of knowledge and experience, and was lucky to have drawn him.

I noticed there were no visible weights, and asked if Trailer tires were balanced like car tires? He said, "hmmm, the answer to your question is yes, trailer and car tires are balanced the same, but trailer tires don't get balanced. They ain't gonna ride any better, balanced or not. They are gonna ride like they ride."

I was surprised at this. I figured they would at least ride and wear more smoothly!

Does anybody have their trailer tires balanced?

Yes,,, I made sure our tires/wheels were balanced... (The new Maxxis tires that replaced the china bombs on our 2016 Keystone rv) They used (by my request) the stick on weights that go on the inside of the wheel, since they are nice looking alloy wheels... From the factory, no, they were not balanced. In my world, its a fact everything wears better when it is balanced...

Monkey

monkey · 07-08-2017, 01:00 PM

I might add we also had the high pressure rubber/metal valve stems installed at the same time, going from D tires to E rated tires...

IC2 · 07-08-2017, 03:58 PM

Yes, they need to be balanced!!! My installer said the same. I insisted, especially since it was part of the cost of installing the new tires. One of the tires was so far out he needed to break it down and reposition it on the wheel to get it within reason. It has 3-4 ounces of hidden stick on weights while the others are 1-2. As far as the TPMS, tires were balance with them installed and 15K on those tires later, still doing just fine on the HP stems.

Good luck with the new tires. I'm trying to keep an open mind even though they have so little tread depth and my bias against Goodyear tires

Modersical · 07-08-2017, 05:57 PM

Well, what is done is done, and not done, and I am down the road now. My last two sets of tires on my Goldwing, including car tire on the rear, I used Bumper to Bumper tire sealer fluid to balance tires. Similar product as green slime, but white with a particulant in it. Some folks use Dyna Beads for balancing, but I have gotten excellent, smooth results from the sealant fluids at speeds too fast for prudent people. Sooo, what do you think of that?

timetogo · 07-08-2017, 06:04 PM

I've had balanced and not on several trailers. I can't tell the difference. Never felt the need to add any fluid or beads.

SkiSmuggs · 07-09-2017, 03:44 AM

I did't have them balanced on my previous TT, but we put so many miles on the fiver, that I have them balanced. Can I tell whether they are balanced or not? Who knows, but with all the stick on weights used, I feel I did the right thing. I think I put 3-5000 miles the first year on the Tow Max before replacing with the Maxxis M8008 and I put over 20,000 on them before a center bulge developed after heat damage from a failed bearing.
I use the high pressure rubber valve stems with my TPMS sensors and they have been doing fine.