I just bought some new tires for our starcraft trailer and want to get them mounted on the wheels. Do trailer tires need to be Balanced? I don't think so but I am not sure. 5.30x12
Yes...
Quote from: dkutzI just bought some new tires for our starcraft trailer and want to get them mounted on the wheels. Do trailer tires need to be Balanced? I don't think so but I am not sure. 5.30x12
It's best to have them "Spin-ballanced" while on the trailer.
And the reason for "spin balancing on the trailer" is that most small RV towable wheels are NOT manufacturered using the center hole so it is rarely concentric with the bead area that carries the tire. Most tire balancing machines use the center hole to locate the wheel/tire for balancing. So you either need to spin balance then on the trailer OR find a tire store that has what's called a "lug centric" adapter which bolts to the wheel lug nut locations and then IT centers itself on the machine for proper balancing.
Just balancing them on a machine using the center hole will result in wheel/tire that is more out of balance than if you did nothing.
Quote from: dkutzI just bought some new tires for our starcraft trailer and want to get them mounted on the wheels. Do trailer tires need to be Balanced? I don't think so but I am not sure. 5.30x12
My '99 model Starcraft sports the 5.30 X 12" tires, too. As best I can account for right now (and can remember), the trailer is on it's 4th set of tires; the camper has been down lots of road. I've never had any tire balancing done on any of them, or seen the need for it; and I keep a close watch on those tires, pressure wise, how they are wearing and making certain they haven't picked-up any thing that's still stuck into them.
Fly
Fly's reply jogged mt slightly senile memory a bit. The smaller the tire diameter the less likely it will be to need balancing. A larger diameter means a smaller amount of out of balance weight has a greater effect.
SO the final answer is I don't need them balanced? The wheels on there now do not have weights on them, so I assume they were not balanced, and I think they are still the factory tires....
Quote from: dkutzSO the final answer is I don't need them balanced? The wheels on there now do not have weights on them, so I assume they were not balanced, and I think they are still the factory tires....
Interesting conclusion :confused:
well its seems the consensous was not to balance. And I don't see the wheels I have on there balanced. maybe I will call a tire store next week and figure it out.
Quote from: dkutzwell its seems the consensous was not to balance. And I don't see the wheels I have on there balanced. maybe I will call a tire store next week and figure it out.
Let me ask you a question ... what conditions make you think the tires need balancing? Were the previous tires wearing uneven? And, could I ask ... what brand of tires did you buy?
Fly
They are wearing even. I just didn't know if it was normal practice to balance the tires when they are replaced.
Im sure you posted your question looking for opinions ~ mine would be that as for my experience with the 5.30 X 12" tires and my Starcraft, not to balance them, especially if the old tires had been wearing even.
Now, I'm sure you'll get opinions to do so as this would be part of their regular maintenance schedule. I suppose in the end this will just have to be one of those "decisions" you'll have to make for you & your camper and your particular conditions.
Fly
Every single tire is different and NO tire is in perfect balance from the manufacturer. Some trailer tires may be 3oz (or more) out of balance. Just because your old tires didn't bounce, doesn't mean that the new ones won't. Out of balance tires can be very hard on your entire trailer. It can weaken welds, damage wheel bearings, wear out springs & bushings, loosen interior cabinetry and generally degrade the integrity of the trailer over time.
Seldom, is the bare wheel itself very far out of balance. Besides, if the wheel is out of balance, it may not make a big difference anyway because is is not far enough from the center to have a significant effect. The big thing on the wheels is that the holes may not be perfectly centered and that can also be corrected by "Spin-balancing".
You may want to just try it out before you do the balancing. Tow for 10-15 minutes at 55, then 60, 65 etc. If you notice any bouncing at all (at a particular speed), you may want to balance. Over-time, you may want to check for "cupping".
Cupping is caused be the tire bouncing and continually landing on the "Heavy spot" in the tire. If you see cupping, you may want to have them balanced.
OOPS! Posted this in the wrong place a minute ago.
The smaller the tire, the less need for balancing. Still, I balance mine by simply jacking up the wheel, and do a "static balance" right on the hub. Do this before packing the wheel bearings as fresh grease will inhibit free rotation to a small degree and produce a false position for the weights.
I used to own a tire store that sold a lot of Rv trailer tires and we
started to balance all of them, We found out that 1oz out of balance
is the same as 70lbs at 60mph. So remember that if the steering wheel
in you 3500lb car shakes at 60 because you dont have the proper balance on your front tires and if you notice that your passanger seat
is shaking it means the rear are out of balance. so now think about the trailer and all the stuff that would shake inside. So for the 20 bucks that it might cost to be sure, to me its a no brainer
Quote from: MurrayI used to own a tire store that sold a lot of Rv trailer tires and we
started to balance all of them, We found out that 1oz out of balance
is the same as 70lbs at 60mph. So remember that if the steering wheel
in you 3500lb car shakes at 60 because you dont have the proper balance on your front tires and if you notice that your passanger seat
is shaking it means the rear are out of balance. so now think about the trailer and all the stuff that would shake inside. So for the 20 bucks that it might cost to be sure, to me its a no brainer
Murray
WELCOME TO PUT!!!!
Murray, I'm still not sure on the right way to balance. Most tire stores take the wheel off and balance it fron the center not on the lugs. I dont know any shop that can balance it while the wheel is on the trailer. I live in southern california I have a 2000 jayco on the original tires, I also want to replace mine and want to do it right. Last year I had the breaks converted to electric and I asked the shop to inspect and or replace the tires, they said they were fine. The Tread is ok but they are seven years old and have what looks like cracks on the side walls, Do I go to a regular tire store or dose it need to be a RV shop? Thanks for your thoughts. Toby.
Quote from: TobyThe Tread is ok but they are seven years old and have what looks like cracks on the side walls, Do I go to a regular tire store or dose it need to be a RV shop? Thanks for your thoughts. Toby.
If they were my tires I'd be replacing them A.S.A.P.!
Regular tire stores can get the trailer tires as easily as any RV shop; they will all get them probably from the same tire distrubutor in your area anyway.
By the way, what size tires are on your Jayco?
Fly
Fly, my tires are goodyear marathon st175/80r13. I'm sure they are the originals. I bought my pu two years ago from the original owner. This has been an expensive week for us, I just ordered from RV work shop a new shademaker supreme awning and screen room. Also looking at the BAL Levelers, I had now idea there was such a product all this time I have been leveling using pices of wood and trying to guess what side of the pop up to sleep on. I still have a lot to learn this is a great resource my jayco dealer out here is Richardsons Rv in Riverside CA and they were less than helpfull when it comes to maintance when I called on advice to service the lift system there service department said nobody touches it untill it breaks then they buy a new one they seemed shocked that I was trying to do preventive maintance. Toby.
Great info!
In preparation for my upcoming trip to the south rim of the Grand Canyon (665mi/10.5hrs each way) I installed new metal valve stems and balanced all 3 tires on my '87 Starcraft Nova.
I called tech support at Starcraft RV and spoke to Brian. Here's what he said:
1) There's no need to balance the wheels on a trailer, that most people don't, and that most people don't even balance the wheels on the rear axle of their pickup truck because it's not a steering axle.
2) It doesn't matter whether the wheels are balanced using lugnut centric or center opening centric mounting of the wheel on the balancer.
I mounted the wheels using the center opening, spun them by hand and placed a fixed mounted rod at the edge of the rim with the tire removed the first time. There was no noticeable out-of-round created by having them mounted on just the center opening.
So, I balanced them like that. Guess I'll take it for a test drive and maybe have the wife follow and let me know if either are hopping.
Back from a short test drive. Had my wife follow and watch the tires. They weren't bouncing at speeds up to 65mph, so I guess they'll do just fine.
Here's something to consider....it was mentioned that a smaller diameter tire doesn't need balancing as much because the effect of being out of balance is less. That is true, until you have to also factor in the fact that smaller diameter tires are spinning much faster at 65 mph than a car or truck tire. The extra speed adds back in the effect of being out-of-balance.
I had my new tires balanced just last month. They added a 1 oz. weight to each one. Don't know if they needed it, but they added them!
I'm not advocating that you get your tires balanced. But don't think that the smaller diameter alone means it is not needed. That effect is somewhat negated by higher rpms.
Just back from 1,200mi to and from the south rim of the Grand Canyon. We did 2 6+hr days getting there and one 12hr day getting home. Air temps going across the CA and AZ deserts were over 100*F and the tire temps were peaking in the 140*F range at the tread.
Had no tire issues towing at 65-70mph the entire way. Whether that was due to balancing them, I don't know, but it was cheap insurance either way.