Trailer tires

[MC1]

Originally Posted by Night Sailor

I took the tires back to be balanced, and they balanced them using the hub, not the lugs.

I challenged the manager on the issue

Nice work NS! It's good to see you are aware of the proper procedures and are not letting the service providers take advantage.

A few years ago I had OK tire in Burlington install 4 new Michelins and do a wheel alignment. When I got the car back I noticed the steering wheel was off center. WTH.... I took the car back and confronted the alignment tech about it. He said there was nothing wrong with that and that I was the 1st one that ever complained about such a thing. What a crock! I insisted he fix it which he did, explained the issue to the manager, and never went back to that store.

[frank_a]

I never even thought of whether to balance trailer tires or not. I always do, and sometimes do it again the next year. It's easy and cheap to do. Why would trailer tires be any different from car tires in terms of maintenance?

Frank

[Dsironi]

Should I assume that the factory balanced the wheels on my Scamp? The tires look good for wear. I put 10,000 miles on them since it left the factory last year.

[frank_a]

Originally Posted by Dsironi

Should I assume that the factory balanced the wheels on my Scamp? The tires look good for wear. I put 10,000 miles on them since it left the factory last year.

If it was me, I would take them in to my favorite garage and get them balanced. I balance my truck tires every 6,000 miles!

Frank

[J Mac]

I can't believe ANY reputable tire shop would sell unbalanced tires on rims.

[Jared J]

Every shop I've been to, it's common practice not to balance trailer tires. It's probably different for campers, but regular trailers almost never have balanced tires, even from the factory.

[Raz]

Originally Posted by Dsironi

Should I assume that the factory balanced the wheels on my Scamp? The tires look good for wear. I put 10,000 miles on them since it left the factory last year.

Just look for weights on the rim. I had mine balanced today when I had new tires installed. The weights were installed on the inside edge. Don't be surprised if they are not. I've bought two new trailers and neither came with balanced tires. Raz

[sokhapkin]

Trailer tires are designed for speeds up to 65MPH. I don't think a precious tire balancing is very important at such speeds.

I usually tow Scamp 16' at 60MPH.

[Spanke]

Originally Posted by sokhapkin

Trailer tires are designed for speeds up to 65MPH. I don't think a precious tire balancing is very important at such speeds.

I usually tow Scamp 16' at 60MPH.

I disagree, I've have felt out of balance car tires at speeds much less than 60mph.

I figure that the minimal cost of balancing trailer tires has to make the trailer ride better.

Although, I may have to ride in my trailer while it is being towed at 60mph to actually find out if my hypothesis is correct!

Spanke

[Night Sailor]

They look pretty good. The extra few inches of space gained by the new springs will be helpful.

I will feel confident enough to take a long trip with these new tires and bearings.

Still to do, fill the bearing buddies with the same grease used to pack the bearings, and splice I the wiring to the tail lights.

I spent a whole day picking up 32" hitch extension in Massachusetts. Saved a $100 by buying on eBay ad picking it up. Probably not worth it except I saw someplace new that I'd enjoy exploring. Erving, Mass. I will be able to tow with no loss in capacity using this hitch extension --not needed but reassuring.

[Jared J]

Originally Posted by sokhapkin

Trailer tires are designed for speeds up to 65MPH. I don't think a precious tire balancing is very important at such speeds.

I usually tow Scamp 16' at 60MPH.

They are LOAD RATED at 65mph, not necessarily LIMITED to 65 mph. Contact the tire manufacturer for info. Mine are good up to 85 mph. Tow at whatever speed you're comfortable with.

Balancing can very much be an issue at 60 mph.

[Glenn Baglo]

What is the definition of Load Rated at 65?
What does it mean in the real world?

[Jared J]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

What is the definition of Load Rated at 65?
What does it mean in the real world?

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=60303

[Raz]

As I said earlier, I just replaced the tires on my trailer. Despite the trailer being a 2010, the tires are dated 2007. They have about 30 k miles on them and I was planning to replace them at the end of last season when one was punctured by a sharp rock. Pictured are the two tires. One appears to have good tread while the other has definite wear on one side. Whether this is due to the tires being unbalanced or not I don't know. Raz

[MC1]

Originally Posted by Jared J

Trailer tire max speed. - Fiberglass RV

No reflection on Jared as he just supplied the link but......

That link/info puts a cold chill up my back for a number of reasons.

Towing any trailer no mater how good it may feel at speeds above 60MPH is elevating the "towing risk level".

One of the tire companies promoting the idea of towing at high speeds (Goodyear ) has one of the poorest performing, most problematic, lowest quality, ST tire made (Marathon).

Just last year a vehicle towing a small trailer went by us in the passing lane doing at least 70 MPH. I said to the DH that we will see him again up the road in a few minutes. Sure enough not far ahead we saw rubber pieces all over the road and the same guy was on the side of the road scratching his head wondering why the trailer tire had exploded.

It's not rocket science. Why are folks not getting this????

[Jared J]

Driving a vehicle over 20 mph is elevating the risk level...

My car trailer eats tires, no matter the speed. They wear perfectly even, just go boom. I've checked the pressure while filling gas and had them explode five minutes later. Speed is only one of many factors why tires go.

Speed is relative to the safety margin left in the tire. Mine on the scamp aren't even at 80% capacity @ 85 mph. I've seen popups that aren't within the tire rating sitting still. That popup at 50mph is more dangerous than mine at 80 mph.

I haven't had a problem on the scamp, but one tire is almost rated for the whole camper. I think I'll start rotating the scamp tires to the car trailer every 3 years or so, I don't care if they go boom on the car trailer as they age.

As for towing speed, each to their own.

[J Mac]

Why would anybody choose to NOT balance their trailer tires when replacing them. The cost is very minimal in my opinion.

[Dsironi]

What I learned. After about 10,000 miles on my 2013 Scamp, the trailer tires were not balanced. They were not far off (1.25 oz). The bearings were ready to be cleaned. Had them replaced. Glad I watched the messy process for when I do it next year.

[greendragon]

I think if you are buying new tires and having them put on rims they should be balanced. if they do not go somewhere else to buy tires.

[captsteve2002]

I buy all of my tires at Discount Tires and have never had to ask them to balance my trailer tires, they do it as part of the installing of the new tires. I have gotten good service from the tires I have purchased from them, and will continue to use them in the future for both my truck and trailer tires.