tires... again... Balancing

[RobM]

Thanks Steve...appreciate the response!
RobM

[Joscelyne3]

Sorry Rob late getting back to you. They are 300-318A for 16 inch rims 8 bolt "A" balancer. Yes there web site leaves some to be desired. You most likely will have to call them direct to order them, they only list the 300-318 on their web site and you need the 300-318 A.

Hi Steve. Thanks for posting the model number for the balancer.
I have a question, but first, my scenario. 2015 Solitude 305RE. 16000 GVWR, 7000 GAWR , with disc brakes. Came from factory with Goodyear's G614. Have about 29000 miles on them, will be replacing them next month with the same tires.
The question :: should I have the wheels balanced then add the centermatic balancer or skip the balance and just go with the balancers?
Do they sell them in sets of 2 or sets of 4.
Thanks again for the post and your advice.
As always, safe travels and good health.
John Joscelyne

[Steven@147]

Hi Steve. Thanks for posting the model number for the balancer.
I have a question, but first, my scenario. 2015 Solitude 305RE. 16000 GVWR, 7000 GAWR , with disc brakes. Came from factory with Goodyear's G614. Have about 29000 miles on them, will be replacing them next month with the same tires.
The question :: should I have the wheels balanced then add the centermatic balancer or skip the balance and just go with the balancers?
Do they sell them in sets of 2 or sets of 4.
Thanks again for the post and your advice.
As always, safe travels and good health.
John Joscelyne

Good Morning, For the specific CM balancers 300 318A they come a quantity of 4. I paid a little over $200 with shipping and tax as CM is in Texas and so am I.
having the tires balanced and then using the CM balancers is kind of redundant. If using the CM balancers you don't need to balance the tires after getting mounted. Now having said that, if the tire shop is going to balance the tires after they mount the new ones as part of the mounting price, ok let them do it. But if you have to pay for balancing the tires separate, its not needed. I mean its a few bucks in savings I know, but you don't need to have the new tires balanced.

If you buy the CM balancers the first thing to do after you get the tire off is set the CM balancer down into the rim and see if it sets flat against the rim with no obstruction. Then take the CM balancer and put it on the disk brake rotor and make sure it sets flat against the rotor with no obstruction. They are supposed to work with disk or drum brakes but I would ask them just to make sure when you call them to order.

Our Solitude still has its drum brakes. Have a great Day!

[Joscelyne3]

Good Morning, For the specific CM balancers 300 318A they come a quantity of 4. I paid a little over $200 with shipping and tax as CM is in Texas and so am I.
having the tires balanced and then using the CM balancers is kind of redundant. If using the CM balancers you don't need to balance the tires after getting mounted. Now having said that, if the tire shop is going to balance the tires after they mount the new ones as part of the mounting price, ok let them do it. But if you have to pay for balancing the tires separate, its not needed. I mean its a few bucks in savings I know, but you don't need to have the new tires balanced.

If you buy the CM balancers the first thing to do after you get the tire off is set the CM balancer down into the rim and see if it sets flat against the rim with no obstruction. Then take the CM balancer and put it on the disk brake rotor and make sure it sets flat against the rotor with no obstruction. They are supposed to work with disk or drum brakes but I would ask them just to make sure when you call them to order.

Our Solitude still has its drum brakes. Have a great Day!

Thanks Steve for your advice and help.
John

[gordofuchs]

Just some food for thought. I had considered using these balancers, but it occurred to me that they would cover any visual inspection ports that are useful in checking the rotors and calipers of the disc brakes. While I would agree that tire balancing is critical, so is brake function and early detection of problems. I am leaning towards having the wheels balanced the old fashioned way.

Still trying to figure it out.

Gordo Fuchs

[Diggio]

I replaced the five tires (including spare) on my new 2020 GD 349M with Sailun S637 right away and they had no problem balancing them. They did have a real hard time getting the Lionshead tires off of the rims though.

[Saldog]

I agree with you that the trailer tires needed to be balanced. When towing you will not notice any difference unless you are in the trailer as it goes down the road. All you have to do is drive your vehicle when the tires are not balanced, the same thing is going on in your camper.

We have a 315RLTS and it has 15" tires, changed the Westlakes out for the Goodyear Endurance, and had them balanced.

10 ounces does seem like a lot. With your experience in truck work would the balance beads that are used in heavy trucks work in a trailer tire?

Let us know if this gets resolved.

Saldog

[Gran Casita]

Replaced my OEM G-Rated Westlakes after approx. 25,000 miles (luckily without incident) at America’s Tire/Discount Tire. I went with: Taskmaster Provider, G-Rated ST235/85R16 132M, Load Index @ 4409# Single, Speed Rating M = 81mph. These were the closest direct spec replacement tires I could find at a reasonable price with a great warranty. (Discount Tire can also be found in most states!)

They mounted & balanced my new tires with no issues & have thus far given me no issues (knock on wood) after more than 5,000 miles. The Westlakes didn’t want to give up their rims though & went down with a fight! Good luck! -Diego

[fez111]

After that being said, Who knows of a 16" 14 ply G rated that will guarantee the tire will balance and replace it if it does not ?? I am not sure tire beads, Centramatic Balancers or the like can compensate for that much weight offset.

Carlisle make a 16-inch, 14-ply, load rang "G" tire rated 4,400 Lbs @ 100 Psi): https://www.carlislebrandtires.com/o...-detail/csl16/

They are under $200 each. I have >3000 miles on mine with no issues (but I use an EZ-Tire Monitoring system). Mine gain 25-30 Psi while travelling.

I have more balancing weight on my truck tires than on these trailer tires...

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My f450 with Cooper Tires often takes about 8 to 10 oz to balance out on the Alcoa aluminum rims. Ofcourse those are 19.5" tires and commercial duty rated. I agree the trailer tires must be balanced and when we bought our new solitude a couple months back before I pulled it off the lot I had the dealer install new sailun tires as part of the agreement for me to purchase the rig. They balance out usually within a few ounces and the construction between the good your tires and the sailun tires is night and day. The sailun tires sidewall is so much stronger and has less flex then the good years or the westlakes that came on my grand design solitude.