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Dutch Star Don · 02-28-2018, 08:35 PM

Beads work well and have so for years. My first DP had all the tires spun balance when we bought it new. We later replaced the front two tires and they added beads. The beads worked well. After that I discovered Centramatics and now use them exclusively. I have them on all three axles of my coach.

You'll really like the Centramatics as they are always balancing, no matter what the conditions. The other advantage is that they also balance the entire assembly, hub, brakes, rim and tire.

If you do purchase them, Florida Shores, mentioned above, is the cheapest place t buy them and they arrive in just a few days. Even though you may install Centramatics on your coach, the new tires should be balanced to make sure they don't have an issue, like an out of round tire or one that takes excessive weight. A GOOD tire installer will rotate the tire on the rim if a particular tire takes excessive weight, to try and reduce what it needs.

dons2346 · 02-28-2018, 09:01 PM

DS Don says to have the tires balanced to insure that a out of round situation isn't present. Problem is that a our of round condition might not show itself until the tire is at highway speeds. The tire balancing systems used do not spin the tire/wheel assembly fast enough (60-70 MPH)to bring an out of round condition to light

FL420 · 02-28-2018, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dons2346

DS Don says to have the tires balanced to insure that a out of round situation isn't present. Problem is that a our of round condition might not show itself until the tire is at highway speeds. The tire balancing systems used do not spin the tire/wheel assembly fast enough (60-70 MPH)to bring an out of round condition to light

Out of round tires due to manufacturing defects are fairly rare. I think more out of round conditions are due to mis-mounting by the installer. If the bead is not seated evenly around the rim because the installer didn't seat the bead with the tire horizontal with the wheel and tire elevated off the ground on a wheel frame or even a 5 gallon bucket the bead can seat unevenly on the rim.

Out of round tires or mis-mounted tires should be checked using a dial indicator against the tire while it rotates on the balancer. A rough check can be made while firmly holding a straight edge lightly against the tread of the tire while it spins and closely watching for gaps to come and go as the tire spins.

You should also check the GG rings are a constant distance from the rim around the circumference of the rim with the tire elevated and horizontal like it should be when the bead is seated. GG rings are the two raised parallel molded rings all around the tire just above the rim.

19jcm79 · 02-28-2018, 11:26 PM

I’m installing Michelin XZA2’s on my 2002 Kountry Star DP this spring, using the FMCA discount. I’m having all 6 of mine spin balanced.

chunker · 03-01-2018, 03:23 AM

Centamatics installed almost 3 years and 40K miles ago and working great. The front suspension is IFS so the traditional mounting of under the wheel wouldn't work and they have a polished stainless version that mounts on the lugs. The rears are between the duallys.

They cost more than beads but quality usually does cost more. Absolutely no abnormal wear on any tires.

Would do it again if needed.

dons2346 · 03-01-2018, 07:44 PM

"Out of round tires due to manufacturing defects are fairly rare. I think more out of round conditions are due to mis-mounting by the installer. If the bead is not seated evenly around the rim because the installer didn't seat the bead with the tire horizontal with the wheel and tire elevated off the ground on a wheel frame or even a 5 gallon bucket the bead can seat unevenly on the rim."

I speak from experience here. The tire in question was dismounted, rotated, re balanced and still I had a vibration that began at 62MPH. It again was dismounted, rotated and again re balanced with the same results. Not until the tire was spun up to the equivalent of 62MPH did the out of round condition became apparent.

Unless the spin balance is done where the assembly is spun up to highway speeds can you determine a out of round condition. In my case it took a different tire to cure the problem.

Dutch Star Don · 03-01-2018, 08:11 PM

Okay, you took my statement literally.....I'll change it to state, have them spun balance to check for ISSUES and to make sure they don't need more weight than they typically should. The Centramatics do a better job when the tire is close to balanced.