What is shaking my TM apart as I drive?

[Padgett]

First I'd verify the tire pressure (I run 65 psi no problem with my LRDs but have heard of nasty things happening with LREs (like yours) inflated to 80 psi (their rating). Maybe someone was being helpful and is easy to check.

Second I agree with Bill, get your tires/wheels balanced. Dynamically. The trailer has no shock absorbers to control harmonics and you may be getting wheel hop.

[gonzo628]

So, as a follow-up, I did get the trailer wheels balanced. Discount Tire advised that my wheels are not concentric, which is causing the abuse. They did balance them and it helped TREMENDOUSLY, however the wheels will have to be replaced. DT advised that they would recommend an aluminum rim as they are machined and are more likely to be perfect...

As for how much it's helped, our previous trips had been no more than 3 hours from home and when I'd setup, I have to move the fridge back, replace the screw that holds the drawer slide for the drawer next to the stove, and tighten others. This last trip, we went 6 hours away and did not have anything shake loose (yea!!!).

Anyone else had a similar experience (re: non-concentric steel trailer wheels)?

[mecicon]

I am only aware of "hub-centric" and "lug-centric" wheels never heard of non-centric.

IIRC the trailer wheels I have seen are lug centric.

[Bill]

Like Mecicon, I'm not sure what "non-concentric" means. Does it mean "not round"? Does it mean that the outer rim of the wheel is round, but is not centered on the lug circle, or the lug circle is not centered on the center of the hub opening at the center of the wheel? Either of these sound like a manufacturing defect, and although you probably have no recourse at this point, it would seem to be a rare defect (in this case, "rare" means that I personally have never heard of it.) In other words, millions of steel wheels are manufactured every year, and virtually none of them are out of round. I would see no reason to lay out a bunch of money for a machined aluminum wheel. I think DT wants you to open your wallet.

On the other hand, an out-of-balance wheel/tire will pound your TM badly, and screws will come loose everywhere. Take it from one who knows from experience, and has had exactly the problems of loose screws and appliances that you described, as well as several others. You might be wise to ignore DT for the moment, and see if simply balancing your wheel/tires fixes the problem.

Bill

[oldstick]

I've heard the term "out of round" in connection with tires (not the wheels) before, either due to defect or unusual wear.

Out of round causing bouncing at any speed, with an out of balance condition being most noticeable at certain specific speeds, probably higher speeds.

I would think a significant defect like "not concentric" in the wheel rims would be visible if you jack up each side and spin the wheels. Like others, I suspect the tire place is just covering their bets, in case their balance job does not correct it to your satisfaction. In that case it could just as likely be the tires themselves being out of round as it could the wheels.

[eddugo]

Just an opinion, but if you are running load range E tires at 65 PSI. That is probably the problem.

[BrucePerens]

Load range "E" tires inflate to 80 PSI, but they require wheels that are rated for 80 PSI before you do that. Many wheels only go up to 65 and at that pressure, you only get the benefit of load range "D".

Not concentric means your wheel is out of round.

"Alloy" (aluminum) wheels are cast, then turned on a lathe, and drilled to balance.

Steel wheels are stamped from sheet metal.

Time to replace your tires? The best bet is:

• Alloy wheels that will take 85 PSI inflation.
• Dill internal TPMS display with 4 sensors. See http://trailertpms.com/
• Install Dill sensors and metal stems on all three wheels. Mark outside of tire with "A", "B", or "C" (for the spare) to match the letter on the sensor.
• Maxxis trailer tires mounted and balanced with the sensors installed. Give remaining sensor to customer.
• Set up Dill panel for two wheels (it won't do 3) with "A" and "B" plugs installed. Give two remaining plugs to customer.
• Customer must set Dill panel to learn the tire pressures after installation.

One of the online dealers should be able to do this entire order. Our local tire shop had no problem with it, including the sensor arrangement.

I recommend the Dill panel because it can actually read the internal tire/wheel temperature. We can see the temperature go up from braking.

[gonzo628]

Originally Posted by Bill

Like Mecicon, I'm not sure what "non-concentric" means. Does it mean "not round"? Does it mean that the outer rim of the wheel is round, but is not centered on the lug circle, or the lug circle is not centered on the center of the hub opening at the center of the wheel? Either of these sound like a manufacturing defect, and although you probably have no recourse at this point, it would seem to be a rare defect (in this case, "rare" means that I personally have never heard of it.) In other words, millions of steel wheels are manufactured every year, and virtually none of them are out of round. I would see no reason to lay out a bunch of money for a machined aluminum wheel. I think DT wants you to open your wallet.

On the other hand, an out-of-balance wheel/tire will pound your TM badly, and screws will come loose everywhere. Take it from one who knows from experience, and has had exactly the problems of loose screws and appliances that you described, as well as several others. You might be wise to ignore DT for the moment, and see if simply balancing your wheel/tires fixes the problem.

Bill

Hi Bill,

I would not say I trust Discount Tire implicitly, but I do put a lot of stock into their opinion. (They've not done me wrong (that I am aware of) in the many years I've done business (almost exclusively) with them.

I believe (as Bruce mentioned) non-concentric can mean that the wheel is round, but the holes are not dead center (causing the tire to "lope"), which would cause the bounce. Or, perhaps not. After balancing them (as mentioned previously) we were able to go on a trip that was 2x as far without the damage (loose screws / appliances / etc) that we had on previous trips.

[gonzo628]

Originally Posted by eddugo

Just an opinion, but if you are running load range E tires at 65 PSI. That is probably the problem.

Out of curiosity, why would running my Load-range E tires at 65psi be the issue? My rims are load range d (equivalent) and (per my understanding) should not be run at >65psi.

[gonzo628]

Originally Posted by BrucePerens

Load range "E" tires inflate to 80 PSI, but they require wheels that are rated for 80 PSI before you do that. Many wheels only go up to 65 and at that pressure, you only get the benefit of load range "D".

Not concentric means your wheel is out of round.

"Alloy" (aluminum) wheels are cast, then turned on a lathe, and drilled to balance.

Steel wheels are stamped from sheet metal.

Time to replace your tires? The best bet is:

• Alloy wheels that will take 85 PSI inflation.
• Dill internal TPMS display with 4 sensors. See http://trailertpms.com/
• Install Dill sensors and metal stems on all three wheels. Mark outside of tire with "A", "B", or "C" (for the spare) to match the letter on the sensor.
• Maxxis trailer tires mounted and balanced with the sensors installed. Give remaining sensor to customer.
• Set up Dill panel for two wheels (it won't do 3) with "A" and "B" plugs installed. Give two remaining plugs to customer.
• Customer must set Dill panel to learn the tire pressures after installation.

One of the online dealers should be able to do this entire order. Our local tire shop had no problem with it, including the sensor arrangement.

I recommend the Dill panel because it can actually read the internal tire/wheel temperature. We can see the temperature go up from braking.

Bruce,

Was part of your response cut/pasted from another source? (would be interested in reading the other). As for non-concentric... I got that part. I was just curious as to whether or not anyone else had run into this... As for Dill... How's the battery life / range...any problems?

-Ronnie