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Subject Topic: Caravan wheels (Balancing)
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Personjeff juke
08/6/2015 at 6:46pm
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I get mine balanced when i need tires. My theory is, after seeing a wheel come off a trailer with alloys on getting wheels balanced it stops the bolts from coming loose.

-------------
Animals have feelings..

JEFF................


Personbrianconwy
08/6/2015 at 6:50pm
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Quote: Originally posted by alpiner on 08/6/2015
Upon that reply (why) they would of lost my custom for good
have you ever wondered why some caravan wheels fall off yet car wheels dont??????


I would love an explanation of why Bailey had a big problem with wheels falling off, when they balance their wheels. Swift don't balance their wheels and haven't had this problem.


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Personbilly
08/6/2015 at 7:16pm
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So it does appear then that Swift's testing concerned only road safety & not long term wear & tear?

Unbalanced wheels should not cause correctly specified & tightened nuts to loosen, neither would it affect towing safety in any measurable way but it's obvious that any uneven force through rotating wheels is going to increase wear on bearings & body.


Personbrianconwy
08/6/2015 at 7:41pm
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Quote: Originally posted by Billy x on 08/6/2015
So it does appear then that Swift's testing concerned only road safety & not long term wear & tear?

Unbalanced wheels should not cause correctly specified & tightened nuts to loosen, neither would it affect towing safety in any measurable way but it's obvious that any uneven force through rotating wheels is going to increase wear on bearings & body.


They measured the amplitude of vibrations transmitted with balanced and unbalanced wheels and found little difference.


Personalpiner
08/6/2015 at 7:59pm
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Your choise, you make the decision to balance or not.

-------------
alpiner


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Personbilly
08/6/2015 at 8:16pm
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Indeed, the 'little difference' might be the difference between replacing wheel bearings & whether or not there is water ingress within the life of the caravan, who knows?

Really though a balanced wheel is always going to be preferable to unbalanced & any tyre fitter that argues at the point of sale that balancing in unnecessary is most likely doing it because he has nothing to balance it with so the recommendation would be to have tyres fitted at a tyre depot that fits both car & caravan tyres as they should be fitted.


Personbrianconwy
08/6/2015 at 8:31pm
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Exactly - who knows?

I have nothing against balancing and I might have my wheels balanced when I change my tyres, but what I do dislike is scaremongering - saying that wheels will fall off if not balanced. Some people might just believe this tosh.

Water ingress sometimes happens on statics and I believe is mainly down to poor design and construction.


Personjohnks
09/6/2015 at 8:14am
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I did my own test on our Swift van. From new, every time we went out the glasses fell over. I had Tyron bands fitted and the wheels were balanced. The glasses now do not fall over.
Draw your own conclusions!!!

-------------
John


PersonAVON EAGLE
09/6/2015 at 9:07am
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Our caravan was bought from new last year. So if they do balance the wheels (Elddis) they should still be ok. But does Elddis balance them before fitting them ?

I HAVE JUST EMAILED THEM TO FIND OUT.

Post last edited on 09/06/2015 09:13:25


Persontrog100
09/6/2015 at 9:25am
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tyres are accurately made not to be much out of balance..

they even mark them with a spot that should go on the opposites side to where the valve is.. or good tyre used to be done this way..

speed plays a large part to.. the faster the tyre turns the greater any out balance forces will be.. lower trailer speed limits are taken into account..

i am old enough to remember the days when wheel balancing was optional.. so i have driven many a car without the wheels being balanced.. at speeds below 50 mph even on the front wheels no detrimental effect was noticeable.. out of balance forces only became noticeable when speeds started to go over 60 mph..

on a car its very noticeable.. at high speed on the front wheels it can be felt at the steering wheel at 60 mph and above..

dont get me wrong here if i had new tyres fitted to my caravan i would have them balanced as a matter of course but at legal towing speeds with decent tyres i dont think its of any real benefit..

i think the real problem with caravan tyres is people blowing them up way too hard.. its this combined with the crude rubber suspension that can damage a caravans lightweight flimsy structure.. its got bugger all to do with wheels not being balanced..

as for alloy wheels.. they have less flex in them than an old fashioned steel wheels.. this transmits more shock load to the hub than a steel wheel does.. pretty and fashionable but thats about all.. that is why they have higher torque settings than a steel wheel..

so if caravan wheels are more likely to come off than car wheels its likely to be because they are over inflated and the wheel nuts/studs are over tightened and they now have "fashionable" alloy wheels..

i put it all down to clueless owners just making "sure".. when in doubt give an extra heave on the spanner and bung in a few more psi.. he he he

forums like this simply add to the clueless factor in the traditional copy and paste internet way..

trog

ps.. one other thing i do think about on my twenty year old van.. its said rubber hardens with age.. the rubber in my suspension is twenty years old.. do i still have any suspension.. he he..

one thing i am pretty sure of the road shocks in my van are a tad higher than those in my car.. one day i will run a video camera in my van just to see how much stuff does bounce about.. i think i would be shocked.. he he..




    

Post last edited on 09/06/2015 09:36:29


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Personjeff juke
09/6/2015 at 11:56am
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Dont waste yer money Trog on a video camera,put the wife in the van

-------------
Animals have feelings..

JEFF................


Persontrog100
09/6/2015 at 12:55pm
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i dont have one jeff she buggered off years ago.. he he

i do believe a ride in a caravan whilst on the move would not be very pleasant.. i may have a quick sneaky ride in mine one day with my son towing it or as he suggested mount a small video camera inside and record what is going on.. on my next trip i probably will do..

i have had the contents of my fridge on the floor on more than one occasion so i know it aint that smooth a ride inside.. he he

if you have read some of my last posts you will know i am a bit obsessive about not blowing my tyres up too hard as well.. i drive around pot holes and go over traffic calming bumps at a walking pace.. he he

trog



Personjohnks
09/6/2015 at 12:59pm
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He he to you too!

-------------
John


Personblueexpo97
09/6/2015 at 1:22pm
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Quote: Originally posted by johnks on 09/6/2015
He he to you too!


Love it.

-------------
XVI yes?

As well is two words!
How does a sage know everything about everything? or does he? or does he just think he does?
Remember, if you buy something you bought it, not brought it.


Personbrianconwy
09/6/2015 at 5:36pm
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I think Trog might have a point regarding speeds. Years ago I remember having an MG 1100 with out of balance wheel on the front. It was only at around 65 MPH that it was noticeable. Funnily enough it lessened when going over that speed.

Perhaps I don't have any problem with glasses falling over because I stay below 60 MPH and don't corner too wildly.


PersonAVON EAGLE
10/6/2015 at 9:18am
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We always keep below 60mph - usually about 56 - 58. That way most wagons don't overtake you and you don't need to overtake them. (Unless it is a slow mover) We had a problem with balancing on this car - but the steering was NOT affected - the caravan was - it was awful -

As the steering wheel did not shake - I did not realise it was the car wheels out of balance. I spent quite a lot of money on new shock absorbers. Didn't do a bit of good.
When I had the wheels checked they were a mile out - Now everything runs smoothly.



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