Balancing trailer tires?

Yea/nay? Also, what's the thought on adding shocks to a trailer? Worthwhile? Trailer is a tandem axle car trailer, maybe 4k max loaded.

I didn't know anyone would consider not balancing a trailer tire. If the trailer is oscillating up and down when it's load, shocks would help that.

I'd balance any tire that was going to be travelling at highway speed. The extra vibration of an unbalanced tire will lead to premature wear of any other part it touches.

As to the shock....it wasn't a factory item so maybe they felt it wasn't needed.

I had some trailer tires mounted at Tire Kingdom recently and they were surprised when I said, "yes, I want them balanced." I was a little peeved when they looked at me like I was retarded. It would be ridiculous to think trailer tires don't also need to be balanced. I want my trailer to roll smoothly, thanks.

Balancing , yes.

the stiff springs and short suspension travel might preclude the help of shocks.

Most people do not balance trailer tirea. I do because I have a balancer

Opti wrote: Most people do not balance trailer tirea. I do because I have a balancer

Any idea why they would think it isn't needed? It baffles me.

Lof8 wrote:

Opti wrote: Most people do not balance trailer tirea. I do because I have a balancer

Any idea why they would think it isn't needed? It baffles me.

Probably because trailers are some of the most used and neglected things on the road. Seems like everyone I know who has a trailer is surprised that tires blow "all the time" and wheel bearing start smoking. Until I realize that they've never even checked either. I've already taught my son to check the bearings for heat every time we stop with ours.

I've thought about shocks for mine several times. Besides that it might not be easy to install, about the only time I could see it benefiting is going over bigger bumps and potholes. Since 99% of my driving is smooth freeway, I haven't pulled the trigger on it.

-Rob

We balance our trailer tires. We have had tire issues and springs break far far from home...and we keep up on the maintenance! We just had our first axle bearing issue on the trailer and it has passed 98,000 miles and traveled thru 23 states to date. The suspension parts last a lot longer with balanced tires. We also buy E Load Range tires.

I don't. I've never had a problem with vibration, tire wear, or bouncing. I guess if it became a problem I'd look into it, but until then, no balancing for me.

My utility trailer tires aren't balanced but they are 31x10.5 take offs from my truck. They are old but never run at full pressure, rarely see highway speeds, and have a load range that is more than double the spring rating so they aren't really tested. For that trailer I use the tire pressure as a shock absorber as most road bumps never translate to the springs.

For my car hauler the tires are near new, balanced, and checked often as it does see highway use and big loads. I have wondered if shock absorbers would help anything but wasn't sure where you would even put them on a tandem axel trailer

People don't do it because they don't see a benefit. It really doesn't cause vibration you can FEEL in most cases.

I take good care of my trailer and I still have bearing/tire issues all the time. It gets used alot and I've comes to terms with needing a bearing tire or wiring work everytime I hook it up

I have thought about this.. one of my thoughts was to change the axles on my boat trailer to allow me to fit the same bolt pattern as my Disco so I only have to carry one spare.. then came the thought of using castoff tyres from the disco on the trailer.

My disco is pretty easy on it's tyres. Solid axles front and rear and good alignment keep them from wearing funny. I am sure they will dry rot out first before wearing out, so I thought it would be nice to rotate from SUV to trailer

Why wouldn't you? The guy that sells and mounts the tires just does it anyway.

People don't balance them often because you usually cant feel the bad vibes all the way up in the driver's seat of the tow vehicle, but that doesn't mean they aren't gyrating like crazy back there. As mentioned, your trailer suspension will last longer it it's not being subjected to a constant up and down even while on flat roads.

I was asking mainly because when testing my 'newsed' trailer with a full load, I could feel vibration at steady speed. The trailer tracks well, doesn't sway or anything stupid and is light enough that I no longer need to put helper springs on the Xterra every time I tow something. It looks like I will be balancing the tires.

On shocks, I spent a fair amount of time on travel trailer sites and it seems a lot of them add shocks because it helps the stuff in the trailer live, also some people have experienced frame breakage! My trailer is not a factory built so I am going to have to adapt some shocks, for those considering a DIY like mine Monroes' 33033 is 9.375 collapsed/14.375 extended, that's eye center to eye center. The 33121 is 10.125/14.625 respectively. They can be had from Rock Auto for about $17 each.

mad_machine wrote: I have thought about this.. one of my thoughts was to change the axles on my boat trailer to allow me to fit the same bolt pattern as my Disco so I only have to carry one spare..

That's a really good idea...

I have them balanced on my car hauler, as before I did I could see the trailer fenders shaking from the vibrations, though I couldn't feel it in the Suburban. It even cracked a weld on the fender, so when I re-welded that point, I have them balanced (and then the replacement set after that), and no more visible fender shaking or other issues.

Vigo wrote: People don't balance them often because you usually cant feel the bad vibes all the way up in the driver's seat of the tow vehicle, but that doesn't mean they aren't gyrating like crazy back there. As mentioned, your trailer suspension will last longer it it's not being subjected to a constant up and down even while on flat roads.

well.. here is a question. Does the out of balance also affect how long the tyres themselves last? I can't see how vibrating up and down for hundreds or thousands of miles can't be good for the bonding of the rubber or the bead where it meets the rim

well,

i always do, but my cargo trailer does not as i bought it used. i am going to get new tires for it soon, and it came with unbalanced wheels. one tire has almost corded on the outside edge about 30% of the way around.

that side also had broken all the way through the leaf spring pack to the point that one pothole sent the main leaf over the edge. maybe coincidence, maybe not.

I have never balanced a trailer tire in my life, and I have towed trailers for more miles than I can even estimate.

The idea behind balancing and tire wear is valid... for a car. 90% of trailer tires will either explode, dry rot, or otherwise fail long before any wear will kill it.

The resemblance between vehicle tires and trailer tires pretty much ends with "they're both round and rubber." Their purposes are vastly different, and their construction is as well. A vehicle tire is designed to provide ride comfort, low noise, adequate weight handling, lateral traction, handle the deflection of things like acceleration torque, provide braking torque, look good, and have good treadwear.

A trailer tire is designed to hold a crapload of weight and hold air.

A vehicle weighs 3000 lbs with a GVWR of 4000. A trailer weighs 2000 lbs with a GVWR of 10,000. Shocks are for cars. Balanced tires are for cars.

If a tire shop offers free balancing, it can't hurt. Otherwise, balancing tires for a trailer is like painting the toenails on a cat; unnecessary decoration. Putting shocks on a trailer is also pointless. If you select a damping rate that helps when its empty, it will do nothing when loaded. If you select a damping rate that helps when its loaded, you will basically have a solid suspension when its empty... even more solid than normal.

Its one thing to select a damping rate when your vehicle is 3000 empty and 4000 loaded. There is no such thing as a proper damping rate when your trailer has an 8000-lb difference between loaded and unloaded.

That is why trailer manufacturers don't equip trailers with shocks, nor do they balance tires for trailers. It is such a vastly different application that it is not something you can really compare.

Most people can't be bothered to run proper trailer tires, why balance them when they're not even correct for the application?

We never balance the tires on our triple-axle, enclosed car hauler and it doesn't have shocks either. Never noticed a vibration. We have cameras in the trailer so we can keep an eye on the cargo at all times. Never noticed anything shaking or gyrating at all.

We usually chew through a set of tires every two years. The middle tires seem to get the most wear and the rear tires get the most punctures.

unevolved wrote:

mad_machine wrote: I have thought about this.. one of my thoughts was to change the axles on my boat trailer to allow me to fit the same bolt pattern as my Disco so I only have to carry one spare..

That's a really good idea...

I dont know man, i have frequently considered replacing one full size spare with two skinnier ones in the same space, and space isnt even MUCH of a concern when towing a trailer. Less spares doesn't seem like something to strive towards to me.

well.. here is a question. Does the out of balance also affect how long the tyres themselves last? I can't see how vibrating up and down for hundreds or thousands of miles can't be good for the bonding of the rubber or the bead where it meets the rim

Structurally i dont think it's an issue. It will cause cupping of the tire tread, but that just causes a noise that you wouldnt hear in the tow vehicle anyway. I also agree with Curtis that most tires will die for stupid reasons well before they die from tread wear, normal or otherwise.

here is a question for Curtis... exactly why do trailer tyres just "explode"? Seems there has to be a logical reason

In reply to mad_machine:

I say it's heat and age. If you are putting heat into them faster than they can reject it, boom. Heat comes from load and speed. Age is just that. 7 years is the rule of thumb.

I do tow heavy at times, but seldom do I tow fast. In 30 years of towing, I've lost 2 tires from age and one set of bearings.

I average 5K-10K miles a year with a trailer behind me, so my failure rate isn't too bad, and I'm one of those guys that doesn't balance anything. Nor do I pack bearings every year. I check the load, tire temps and bearing temps in the first 50 miles of a trip. Check again every 100 miles or so, and that's it. I've never lost a load, I seldom have trailer failures. Three trips out of thousands.

If a tire is running warmer than the others, I figure out why. Usually it's low pressure. I use the trailer enough I don't check tire pressures every trip. If a bearing is running warmer than the others, I inspect and repack or replace all the bearings before it leaves the yard again.