Balancing Trailer Tires....

[CSH Kucinski]

Marty,

I wish I could tell you, I honestly don't know because I don't personally do it. I have been taking it to the same camper/trailer dealer for all of these years and he takes care of it for me. I bought my boat in March of 2009, I trailer it and because of the job and kids I did not use the boat much, only 105 hours on the main motor. I'm only telling you this because the tires on the trailer shown in these pictures are the originals and they still have a lot of tread on them. Maintaining the trailer, wheels, bearings etc... in the way I do has made a big difference, no doubt!

[egladding]

Has anyone tried Dynabeads in their tires?
http://www.innovativebalancing.com/

[3M TA3]

This topic seems to come up often and about 2 years ago it motivated me to visit my local marina. I examined at least a dozen new trailers with boats on them and not a single one had any type of weight on the wheels for balancing. Not one.

[Bobby Winds]

Originally Posted by 3M TA3

This topic seems to come up often and about 2 years ago it motivated me to visit my local marina. I examined at least a dozen new trailers with boats on them and not a single one had any type of weight on the wheels for balancing. Not one.

Why would they, they are in the business to sell them not balance them. It would cost more to have them balanced and they they might not as much on each trailer sold.

Now go to your local car dealer and see if you can find "one" tire on any new car/truck that doesn't have their tires balanced. And remember THESE vehicles are test driven before purchasing them where boat trailer are not.

It only makes sense to balance all the tires you use on the road.

[gregk9]

If it goes round and round - balance it!

[Hanr3]

Pretty obvious some haven't read any of the information provided in this thread.
Trailer tires are NOT car tires.

[REW]

Hanr3

It is true that trailer tires are not car tires unless one puts car tires on their trailer.

Then, in this case, the trailer tires would be car tires.

The key thing with trailer tires is that the maximum weight rating on the tire be equal to the maximum load on the trailer plus 15%.

Do what ever you wish with both trailers, tires, and whether to balance and align them or not.

It is always up to the owner to do what makes sense to the owner.

Be safe

[Marty59]

Originally Posted by REW

Hanr3
It is always up to the owner to do what makes sense to the owner.

Be safe

What makes sense is following the Manufactures recommendation!!!!
From Carlise tire:
http://www.carlstargroup.com/cms_fil..._Practices.pdf

Use the Right Tire
Trailer tire requirements differ greatly from automotive or light truck
tires. Trailer tires are designated “ST” for Special Trailer tires.
Automotive tires are designated “P” for Passenger or “LT” for Light
Truck and are not designed for trailer use. Passenger or truck tires,
with their more flexible sidewalls, can result in trailer sway problems.
The stiffer, heavy duty sidewalls of ST tires are designed to control
and reduce sway problems. Trailer sway is dangerous at higher
speeds, with top heavy loads or on vehicles with inadequate
tongue weight.
– Trailer tires are designed for use on trailer axle positions only.
– Do not use P Passenger or LT Light Truck automotive tires
on trailers.
– Do not use ST trailer tires on passenger cars or light trucks.
– An "LT" designation, when shown on a trailer tire size specifies load
range only, it is not designed for use on light trucks.
The ST Difference
The construction, design, materials and testing used in ST Special
Trailer tires meet the higher load requirements, duty cycles and
special demands of trailering.
– Polyester cords in an ST tire are bigger than in a comparable P or
LT tire.
– Steel cords used in ST tires have a larger diameter and greater
tensile strength to meet additional load requirements.
– ST tire rubber compounds contain chemicals to resist weather and
ozone cracking, particularly conditions resulting from extended
storage and the unusual duty cycles of trailer tires.
– The slightly shallower tread depth of a trailer tire reduces sway and
rides cooler, which adds to tire longevity.
– ST tires feature stiffer sidewalls, especially in the lower
section which:
– Reduces sidewall flexing causing the trailer to track straighter.
– Diminishes the risk of trailer sway.
– Lessens the risk of sidewall puncture and blowout.
– ST tires generally offer approximately 10% percent more load
capacity than a similar LT tire and nearly 40% more than a P
passenger tire.

Discuss specific trailer uses to select the ST tire that is load rated for
the situation.
– All tires must be identical in size for the tires to properly manage the
weight of the trailer.
– The combined capacity of the tires must equal or exceed the Gross
Vehicle Weight (GVW) of the axle.
– The combined capacity of all of the tires should exceed the loaded
trailer weight by 20 percent.
– If a tire fails on a tandem axle trailer, replace both tires on that side.
– If the tires are replaced with tires of a larger diameter, the tongue
height may need to be adjusted.


Marty

[CSH Kucinski]

Originally Posted by 3M TA3

This topic seems to come up often and about 2 years ago it motivated me to visit my local marina. I examined at least a dozen new trailers with boats on them and not a single one had any type of weight on the wheels for balancing. Not one.

3M TA3,

When I originally looked at my tires I did not see any weights on them either so I asked myself the question, how can these tires be balanced? Well with the style of chrome wheel that I have on my trailer all weights are on the inside. A combination of the style like what you would see on your vehicle and the kind of weights that have a two sided tape on them and these are attached to the inside of the wheel. Not saying this is the case with what you looked at but this is what I experienced. As I said earlier, for the small price to pay it is worth it IMHO to rotate and balance my tires every spring when I get the trailer inspected here in NYS.

[Bobby Winds]

Originally Posted by CSH Kucinski

3M TA3,

When I originally looked at my tires I did not see any weights on them either so I asked myself the question, how can these tires be balanced? Well with the style of chrome wheel that I have on my trailer all weights are on the inside. A combination of the style like what you would see on your vehicle and the kind of weights that have a two sided tape on them and these are attached to the inside of the wheel. Not saying this is the case with what you looked at but this is what I experienced. As I said earlier, for the small price to pay it is worth it IMHO to rotate and balance my tires every spring when I get the trailer inspected here in NYS.

Trailer "Inspected" .......LOL............I gave that up about 25 years ago and haven't looked back . . . .