Is Wheel Balanced Before Shipping Or Only Wheel Tire Combinations?

Updated 03/27/2017 | Published 03/24/2017

Question:

I just replaced all four tires, with Kelly edge a/t ,mounted and balanced at tirewharehouse. rear wheels start to bounce at 35 - 40 . I jacked the truck up and turned the wheels to check out of round tires, maybe 1/16 out. could that be enough ? balance , do you check balance of wheel only before shipping

asked by: Tim S

Expert Reply:

While we aren't able to balance our tires and wheels (we don't have the proper equipment in house to do so), this isn't typically necessary with trailer tires. Trailer tires and wheels are made different and operate differently. Unlike with passenger vehicle, trailer tires are made to support heavy weights and ride comfort isn't a vital attribute. So to answer part of your question, the Taskmaster Steel Modular Trailer Wheel - 16" x 6" Rim - 6 on 5-1/2 - Silver # TA73VR are not balanced but do not need to be.

A Standard Trailer (ST) Tire is balanced by finding the marked heavy spot and matching it with the light spot on the wheel, normally at the valve stem. You can balance a trailer tire with weights like a vehicle tire if you use the correct pin plate adapter. Most vehicle tires are balanced without this pin plate adapter but trailer tires will not balance properly without it. Trailer wheels are centered by the position of the lug bolts (lug centric) and not the center bore of the wheel. A pin plat adapter mimics the way a lug-centric wheel is mounted to a hub.

It sounds like your trailer tires were not balanced properly as they should not bounce as you stated at 35-40 mph.

expert reply by: Jason S