Wheel balancing weight

[etracer68]

Re: Wheel balancing weight

Tires should always be balanced. Even when I rotate my tires on my truck, i have them rebalanced. As a tire rotates in one direction for a while, the belts will shift somewhat. I also always keep them on the same side, so they always rotate the same direction ( no matter what the maker of the tire says). I have got alot more miles out of them that way.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Wheel balancing weight

I spoke to the manf. Marine Master Trailers. They said that they have found out that their trailer doesn't require balance unless it carries a real heavy load. Balancing doesn't do anything for a load less than 10k lbs so they quit doing it. My boat weights less then 2k lbs. It must be true because my trailer tows like a dream. Learn something everyday.

it is actually the OPPOSITE of that. The less weight on the trailer, the more critical balance is. I've seen it personally, as well as someone else posted on here, but take an empty 5x8 utility trailer (4x8 in my case) Unbalanced wheels on that without a load will actually cause the wheel to leave the pavement visibly. Put 2000 pounds of load on the trailer and you won't notice the unbalanced tire at all.

Think of it as a physics problem. An unbalanced tire will generate X pounds of force as it swings around. The more mass you have to counteract that force, the less impact it will have on the system. Just to toss out a number, my 4x8 out of balance tire might have 150 pounds of force, enough to cause the trailer to lift when empty. But 150 pounds doesn't do much against 2000 pounds of cargo.

 

[18WCmerc]

Re: Wheel balancing weight

I have only seen ONE tire in my entire life that didnt take at least a .25 oz weight. balance your trailer tires or expect premature bearing failure. just because your tire and wheel are new doesnt mean that they were precision machined at NASA for the next mission.

 

[18WCmerc]

Re: Wheel balancing weight

oh yeah, at least pop the bead off and put some calcium or some BB's, that will help too.

 

[gonefishie]

Re: Wheel balancing weight

So looks like the consensus is to balance. I'm going ask them to provide documentations to support their reason for not doing it. I would think a reputable company that makes quality products doesn't have a problem doing that. Will keep y'all posted. In the mean time, those babies are going to the shop.

 

[jaxnjil]

Re: Wheel balancing weight

just for the record; we bought a new trailer from metal craft, in salt lake city. (i also checked with load rite built in so cal, there trailer would have came with all 7 tires balanced)

it came with what ever is close to the old 7:50 x 16.5.(its in storage at the lake and i don't remember what the size is)

all 9 of those tires were balanced

 

[jaxnjil]

Re: Wheel balancing weight

So looks like the consensus is to balance. I'm going ask them to provide documentations to support their reason for not doing it. I would think a reputable company that makes quality products doesn't have a problem doing that. Will keep y'all posted. In the mean time, those babies are going to the shop.

if yours is working for you; i wouldn't change or worry about it. maybe consider balancing the next time you get new trailer tires.
you did say above that your trailer towed pretty well as is now.

there are several variables at work here. speed you tow, how far you tow, and how often you tow.

 

[jeeperman]

Re: Wheel balancing weight

So looks like the consensus is to balance. I'm going ask them to provide documentations to support their reason for not doing it. I would think a reputable company that makes quality products doesn't have a problem doing that. Will keep y'all posted. In the mean time, those babies are going to the shop.

One reason the company might have stopped balancing the tires is due to sales.
If your shopping trailers and 9 builders do not balance tires but one does........
Do shoppers think it is because that one company is smarter or because that one company is using out-of-balance tires?

 

[mike343]

Re: Wheel balancing weight

Well, I tow roughly 6000lbs with a 6000lb Tahoe. The Tahoe tires are larger in diameter and are always balanced. The trailer tires turn faster--less diameter--why should they not be balanced. Truck suspension is much softer--springs and shocks--than trailer. It's only a few bucks to prevent the boat from being shaken.

 

[rallyart]

Re: Wheel balancing weight

Rotating masses should be balanced. If they are not the vibration wears surfaces, stresses components, damages bearings, vibrates bolts loose, etc.
It does not matter if it's a tire, a crank shaft, a prop, or a yoyo.
The fact that you don't feel the vibration does not make the damage go away.
Take one blade off your prop and let someone else drive your boat. You won't feel any vibration. But your life would be better and cheaper if it was balanced.
When I mount tires on trailer wheels, I make sure they are balanced before they get installed on the trailer.

 

[Cannondale]

Re: Wheel balancing weight

And remember, you're not just balancing the tire, you're balancing the wheel, too. And there's not such thing as a perfectly balanced tire or wheel from the factory....there's always a heavy or light spot due to differences in metal thicknesses, weld lengths and widths, etc., and not to forget the wheel won't truly be perfectly round

And this doesn't include the weight of the valve stem....a chronically overlooked item that seems rather insiginficant but adds mass to the overall rotating mass of a rolling tire/wheel combination.

Ever notice that tires have a red or yellow dot on the sidewall when you buy them new? The yellow dot, for the majority of the tire industry, indicates the lightest spot on the tire and should be the point that's placed opposite the valve stem. (Red spots typically are used to indicate the point of maximum radial force....usually the overlap of the belts within the tread and the tallest point, or most out of round point, of the tire.)

So, spinning an out of balance tire on a trailer (which probably has tires not built to quite the standards of good car/truck tires) will put stress, as noted above, on the axle, bearings, springs, trailer itself, and will transfer the imbalance and vibrations into the boat, all its mounting bolts (such as the engine mounts), and every other part attached/bolted to the trailer/boat.

In my mind, balancing is cheap insurance for prevention of one potential problem area.

 

[dlngr]

Re: Wheel balancing weight

Rotating masses should be balanced. If they are not the vibration wears surfaces, stresses components, damages bearings, vibrates bolts loose, etc.
It does not matter if it's a tire, a crank shaft, a prop, or a yoyo.
The fact that you don't feel the vibration does not make the damage go away.
Take one blade off your prop and let someone else drive your boat. You won't feel any vibration. But your life would be better and cheaper if it was balanced.
When I mount tires on trailer wheels, I make sure they are balanced before they get installed on the trailer.

I realized the value of balancing "rotating masses" back when I raced slot cars with my kids.We balanced armatures of motors that would fit in the palm of your hand-for very big gains in performance. [I wouldn't run my boat with one blade missing from the prop though!!!]