wheel balancing

Originally Posted by Dave E

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. Boy, do I feel like an idiot. I finally got some free time and looked INSIDE the passenger side wheel. There I saw a big wheel weight.
I guess I get the cranial-anal inversion award for today!

Dave, don't feel bad at all. This is a good and logical question, and as some have already noted, their TM's came from the factory without being balanced.

I've been told several times now, by different tire centers, that tires really shouldn't need balancing if not driven over 45-55mph. While this would be idiotic on a TV, it has merit on something like a utility trailer, etc, but still not worth the money saved.
I can share a recent experience where we had 4 tires installed and balanced on my Astro. Since DW drives it daily and much of our driving is local roads (top speed 45mph), everything felt fine. Then we took a trip on Interstate and damn near vibrated off the road. It was determined that their balancing machine (and operator IMHO) was defective and it wasn't noticed until we hit the 70-75mph range.

The point of my story is that TM may feel that since the TM shouldn't be driven at high interstate speeds, they may check the tire/rims at a preset limited speed (ie;50mph?) and some may pass just fine with no added weights.

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