Balancing Cougar Xlite 30RLI tires

[sstedman]

I have recently purchased Goodyear Endurance tires for my TT. The mobile RV service company told me that travel trailer tires do not have to be balanced. This does not sound right. Anybody have any information on this subject.

[JRTJH]

Typically ST tires do not come from the factory balanced. That does not mean they "shouldn't be properly maintained" .... If you've ever seen a car or truck with a "bad shock" travelling down the road with "one wheel bouncing", it's because the shock is bad (unable to control hopping) and the tire is not balanced. Since there are no shock absorbers on most trailers, an unbalanced tire would "hop and bounce" very much like the tire in this example.

Sidewall flex is one of the biggest problems facing any tire (heat buildup from flexing) and any unbalanced tire would have greater sidewall flex and a properly balanced tire. Just because we don't see it or feel it (inside the tow vehicle) doesn't mean that the tire isn't hopping or bouncing as we tow.

I strongly suggest properly balanced tires for any RV. As another example, trailers don't come from the factory with food in the refrigerator, but we all "fill it up before the first trip".... Balancing tires is one more thing we need to do before setting out for a campground.

[vampress_me]

When we bought our 28RDB, before the third trip down to the campground 3hrs from home I had the camper tires balanced. All I can say is that third trip down felt much smoother towing the camper than the first two. And MN sure didn’t fix the roads in the meantime!

[bobbecky]

You should try to find a shop that has the capability to balance trailer tires. It is suggested to lug-centric balance them instead of the normal way using the center hole of the wheel, hub-centric balancing. Because the wheels on most trailers use the lug studs to place the wheel in position on the hub, instead of a machined and perfectly centered hole that fits snugly onto a machined hub, the hole in the wheel most times is not centered properly. With a proper attachment for the balancing machine that supports the wheel by the lug holes, you will get a good balance job.

[CWtheMan]

Here is a reference to use in what to look for.

http://www.gtradialtrucktires.com/en/_pdf/resources/technical/TechBulletin-Vibration-2012.pdf

Here is a reference about hub & lug centric tire balancing. Almost all trailer wheels are lug centric.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocWAZqNGhM4