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Old 04-21-2014, 12:00 PM   #1
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Trailer tires

I just picked up some new trailer tires and found they were not balanced. Is this common practice?
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Old 04-21-2014, 12:19 PM   #2
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I was told at the tire place that they don't balance trailer tires the first time I bought replacements. This time around I'm going to ask to have them balanced and see if there is any difference. Raz
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Old 04-21-2014, 01:20 PM   #3
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Never heard of that

I have towed trailers for more years than I care to count and any time I purchased new, the dealer always balanced them once installed on the rim. Can't imagine the damage an out of balance tire could cause to trailer and cargo. BTW, my current dealer won't include warranties with any tire not properly balanced.

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I was told at the tire place that they don't balance trailer tires the first time I bought replacements. This time around I'm going to ask to have them balanced and see if there is any difference. Raz
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Old 04-21-2014, 01:36 PM   #4
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I am told it is common practice to NOT balance trailer tires. I just pay extra for them to do it.
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Old 04-21-2014, 02:02 PM   #5
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I just picked up some new trailer tires and found they were not balanced. Is this common practice?
Why would/How could "New Trailer Tires" be balanced anyway. They can't be balanced until they are mounted on rims.

FWIW: Just today I bought a pair of new 4.80 x 12" trailer tires, already mounted on new rims, and they both had balancing weights on them already.



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Old 04-21-2014, 02:38 PM   #6
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I was told at the tire place that they don't balance trailer tires the first time I bought replacements. This time around I'm going to ask to have them balanced and see if there is any difference. Raz
There is a lot of bad information out there when it comes to towing and trailers. Trailer tires should always be balanced.
It reduces wear and tear and stress on the trailer axles, mounting hardware, the trailer structure and contents.
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Old 04-21-2014, 03:23 PM   #7
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Eastern Marine sells rim with mounted tire. They do not balance. So first time out with new rims and tires it ain't 1 stop shopping. I take mine to Pep Boys on the right coast and would do the same with new rubber alone although I might mount them myself. Don't allow the level of support or nonsupport of these discount ops make you lazy. You'll pound them to death without wheel weights. Get them balanced!

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Old 04-21-2014, 03:38 PM   #8
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Considering how badly some cars I have driven vibrated after losing a wheel weight or getting snow packed in a rim I would always balance the trailer tires.

In the car I can feel the vibration and know how bad it is. if same amount of out of balance was back under the trailer it would be much harder to know.
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Old 04-21-2014, 04:17 PM   #9
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Balanced tires means your stuff doesn't fly around in the trailer nearly as much (less spills in the fridge) and fewer screws back out of whatever they are holding in place............

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Old 04-21-2014, 04:26 PM   #10
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I am told it is common practice to NOT balance trailer tires. I just pay extra for them to do it.
Ditto, I had to tell them to balance them.
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Old 04-22-2014, 01:06 AM   #11
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I called them up ad was told they don't normally balance trailer tires. I responded, "you can't or won't?" And they backed down and agreed to balance them.
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Old 04-22-2014, 08:45 AM   #12
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My local tire shop has always balanced the trailer tires for me. Never a question.
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Old 04-22-2014, 06:26 PM   #13
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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 and he told me this is the way they balance tires. I told him it was not the way trailer tires are balanced. After first telling me this was the only way, he backed down and had his guy do it properly with a five pronged thingambob and he added a significant amount of weight, on both sides of the rim. Two wheel weights per tire. I hope that does it. Frankly I don't trust the tire shop much.

In any event, I now have two new tires Load Range D tires, two new springs--raising it up more than 2", two new hubs with new bearings, races and seals, new submersible LED tail-lights--which still need to be wired up, two guide boards. Once the wiring is done I can try to register it. This trailer was never registered in any state ever--I checked before buying this boat.

It may present some difficulty with registration--I went through this process once before and I had to go through the DMV Commissioner's office and they made an appointment with a nice police lieutenant who took care of me. The typical government working can't understand how to make an exception.

I plan to bring an envelope with all my receipts to show this trailer was not worth much when I started this process. I will haul it down there on a bigger trailer to avoid temporary tag fees.
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Old 04-22-2014, 08:16 PM   #14
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If your wheels are mounted "Hub Centric", this is, fit snugly on the center hub, they should be balanced from the hub. If they at "Lug Centric" the adapter is usually used. On the three trailers in my driveway, only one is hub centric.

However, that sounds like a lot of weight to have to add for any tire.

BTW: Please tell us how you got a 50 state registration/title search done.



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Old 04-22-2014, 08:31 PM   #15
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They are not hub centric--they are a bit loose. They put a single weight on with the hub balance. Frankly I didn't trust they were doing a serious job. My wheels are hot dip galvanized and I would think the coating would tend to throw off the balance a bit. These are beefy 8 ply tires too.

They added two small weights to each wheel.
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Old 04-22-2014, 08:32 PM   #16
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The fifty state search is a standard Car Fax type search.
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Old 04-22-2014, 10:41 PM   #17
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Not showing up in CarFax is no proof of never being registered. Even with 17 digit VIN, some states stop reporting on trailers after a given age or period of non-registration.

I doubt if your DMV will have any interest in a blank CarFax report, CA doesn't...



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Old 04-22-2014, 11:49 PM   #18
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It's common to not balance trailer tires. I have it done on mine.
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Old 04-22-2014, 11:53 PM   #19
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I have it done on mine.
Trying to wrap my head around this. You mean you have not done it on yours?

Well, at least it's a diversion from "can I tow".

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Old 04-23-2014, 12:19 AM   #20
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No, I mean I have it done on mine.
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