wheel balancing

[MudDog]

Originally Posted by ED-n-KEL

I think we all agree that the TM tires SHOULD be balanced to prevent even minor undo vibration. (Don't forget the spare(s).)

And it saves the time to wind the toilet paper back on the roll when you arrive at your destination

[dugb527]

... or reassembling the stove top.

My tires had no weights, inside or outside. It is a 2008 tm. It took weights on the inside and outside and plenty of weight too. A couple of ounces total. The problem with weights on the inside might be it was only static balanced and not dynamically balanced. Most times dynamically balancing a tire you will need weights on the inside and outside. Robert

[mcgyver210]

Our 2008 3023 also had weights balancing on them but I purchased Aluminum rims after first trip anyway so it didn't matter that much anyway.

They are balanced but since they are aluminum weights on outside aren't used to preserve the looks.

[OneMoBear]

We just took all the wheels off of our TM and took them in to get them balanced and have the valve stems replaced. None of ours had been balanced previously. We had "high pressure" valve stems installed which are rubber on both sides with a solid brass piece running though the middle. He said they can't unscrew like solid metal ones.

Malinda

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by OneMoBear

We just took all the wheels off of our TM and took them in to get them balanced and have the valve stems replaced. None of ours had been balanced previously. We had "high pressure" valve stems installed which are rubber on both sides with a solid brass piece running though the middle. He said they can't unscrew like solid metal ones.

Malinda

The problem with the rubber ones (high pressure or not) is that they rot over time. The steel ones do have a nut on the outside but it is rare to have one come lose. Even if the nut falls completely off, the air pressure should hold the valve in place until you can replace the nut.

For those of us with steel valve stems, it may not hurt to check to be sure that those nuts are tight when we check our tire pressure before each trip......thanks for the heads-up Malinda...

[OneMoBear]

I figured there was something Still we're far ahead of where we were this morning

Malinda

Originally Posted by OneMoBear

I figured there was something Still we're far ahead of where we were this morning

Malinda

Sounds like ya got it going on, Malinda.

As far as the stems are concerned, let me see if I can clarify it just a hair.

We keep discussing two different types of valve stems, but really aren't differentiating between the two types.....as much as we are the pressure ratings.

What you got today sounds like a TR600 snap-in valve stem (which replaced your original TR413 snap-in valve stem). A TR600 snap-in stem is rated for pressures up to 100 psi.

Your original TR413 snap-in valve stem is rated for pressures between 60-65 psi maximum.

So if you are using tires that run pressures higher than 65 psi, you need at least a TR600 snap-in stem. However, just as Wayne correctly referred in his above post, either one is still a snap-in stem and aren't as long-lasting or durable as a 'clamp-in' metal valve stem which we will discuss now.

A "clamp-in" metal valve stem is the one that has a nut on it, and you screw it tight. The clamp-in stems are rated for pressures even greater than 100 psi (although you probably won't ever find a tire for your trailmanor that requires that much pressure). We are recommending a clamp-in stem more for some of the reasons below, more than for the air pressure it can hold.

These type of stems have a rubber grommet on the inside part of (the part inside the wheel/tire) it that seals the stem. These rubber grommets do eventually dry out, but the grommet can be replaced. These stems do last a lot longer than either one of the clamp-in stems we discussed above. Since they are rigid stems, they can also be better if you ever decide to put one of the after-market type of tire pressure monitoring systems on your trailer, that screw onto the valve stems in place of the valve cap. These metal stems also aren't as susceptible to tire cleaning products, that will ruin a regular rubber snap-in valve stem.

A TR600 snap-in stem and the clamp-in stem are BOTH high pressure stems, which is where some of the confusion begins.

A lot of the time, when we say high pressure stem, we don't clarify enough to mean that we are usually referring to a metal clamp-in stem only.

I am probably as bad as anyone on adding to this confusion, and from now on will be certain to specify clamp-in valve stem instead of high pressure valve stem when referring to them in the forums.

[OneMoBear]

We're going with "we are better than we were this morning". We do store it in the garage so we hope we won't have to deal with the stems rotting.

Malinda

Since the tires will need to be replaced every 4 to 5 years anyway, if you replace the rubber valve stems at the same time, what would the advantage of the metal valve stem be? Especially for those of us that store our TM in the garage out of the sun and bad weather when not in use?