Balancing 8r 19.5 tires

tiinytina · March 12, 2013, 07:56 PM

Sooo not that we have the funds BUT the date stamps on Gone's tires are 2004...

The tires have only a little wear (about 30K miles), are wearing evenly, and absolutely no side checking. And yes when I prep her I do use a Tire shine product on them... She is overwintered and stored on pea stone gravel facing south, the rear tires don't get much sun tucked into the woods partially, and passenger front gets shaded by my dad's 5th wheeler. If it ain't broke don't fix it but verdict seems to be 7 years on tires and this makes 9.... And I'm all about PM vs having a blow out....

Cost of 6 tires with "Bean bag balancing" is about $2800 OUCH... Local RV and car tire place with experience on RV's. We are putting on the same Goodyear G647 RSA which is what is on her now and have been great for as long as we have owned her.

Now.. question.. they don't have a machine to balance these with the weights... will use bean bags etc.. They can haul the tires to a truck place way down the road to have them mechanically balanced...which is of course extra..

My question is.. for these 19.5's is the "bag" balancing the way to go? I did a search and found that its "the way to go" but didn't know if this was being answered for our big size tires or the smaller ones that the older chassis run.

Tina

Oz · March 12, 2013, 08:06 PM

I just about fell over when I saw that cost! holllleeeeeee - cow.
Maybe the current sources say the bean bag method might "be the way to go" (and at that price - oh, of course it is - for THEM!) BUT - if mechanical weight balancing is how it WAS being done for so many years, and it's gotten the job done for so many years, and gets the job done, and that's what you have had, and it's been getting the job done for you from your own experience... and it's a whole lot cheaper, even with the extra cost of having them taxied to and from the shop, then why pay almost threeeeee- thowwwwwwsand dolllllllllars just so you can say went "the way to go" according to those who can obviously afford it with ease? IMHO.

tiinytina · March 12, 2013, 08:26 PM

I've priced them out and yea reality bites.. I need to look at our rims and see if there are weight balances on them... and older post here said the bag method was superior... but like I said no clue if the post was for the smaller tires or these...

In 2004 our rig was pulled out of a barn from years of storage or so the PO said.. all 6 tires exploded... so all 6 were replaced at that time.

Tina

ibdilbert01 · March 12, 2013, 08:29 PM

We use the bean method at work in our medics and fire trucks. It actually works exceptionally well.

DaveVA78Chieftain · March 12, 2013, 09:05 PM

Tina,
Why don't you check the price for the whole job at the place that does have the equipment to do the job? Might be cheaper in the end.

Dave

Oz · March 12, 2013, 09:17 PM

We have at least 3 topics which pretty thoroughly cover the merits of bean bag balancing and, in synopsis, yes, it works very well. Message search "bean bag" for additional info we have.

I think the question is, is it worth spending almost threeeeeee thowwwwwwwsand dollllllllars to have it done if mechanical balancing is perfectly adequate for far less cost since many of us might not have the funds for it like an ambulance or fire company would? I wish I had their budget. I'd love to drive around at night in a fire truck with my siren blaring just to pi$$ people off. LOL!

ibdilbert01 · March 12, 2013, 09:53 PM

Are they these? http://simpletire.com/goodyear-lt245-70r19.5-139178080-tires?utm_source=google&utm_medium=adwords&kw=&origin=pla&gclid=CKXk4__F-LUCFeZFMgodq2wA3w

piorun · March 13, 2013, 02:35 PM

I think you meant these: http://simpletire.com/goodyear-8-r19.5-139699080-tires

tiinytina · March 13, 2013, 08:50 PM

I can't afford them BUT to use the RV I will have to find a way to buy them as our tires are 9 yrs old. Heard too many stories of RV tire blowouts and $$ of finding a 8r 19.5 at some garage on the side of the road somewhere. and yes we have AAA RV

6 tires $2800 mounted and bagged = 466 each... online price per tire about $340-400 with shipping... $120 for mounting etc.. no clue what the going rate is... wanted to go local as opposed to a big chain place... but I will price them elsewhere.

From what I've see the bean bags are just tossed in the tires when they are mounted to the rims.

Current are G647 RSA not RSS but can't seem to find what the difference is.

Tina

bluebird · March 13, 2013, 09:43 PM

Tina, I just replaced the tires on my coach last fall. I bought 6 187 bridgestones 8r19.5s, mounted and balanced with weights out the door for $1268.00. I had a mix on the coach before. The po replaced 2 rears with Bridgestones and I thought all 4 on the rear were the same. I bought 2 used tires for the front right after I bought the coach 4 years ago, but like you I was getting nervous about blow outs. When I pulled the rears I found 2 original Michelin's. They were made in 93, bought had a fit. Any truck place should be able to balance with weights. I'm very happy with the Bridgestones.

ibdilbert01 · March 13, 2013, 11:49 PM

QuoteFrom what I've see the bean bags are just tossed in the tires when they are mounted to the rims.

Our guys buy the beads in bulk, measure them out and put them in zip lock bags. Then they put the whole bag in the tire before they mount them. When the tire is pressurized the bags burst. This keeps stray beads from getting stuck in-between the bead of the tire and the rim when mounting them.

Elandan2 · March 15, 2013, 01:11 PM

I know we are talking about balancing here but as far as the price goes, Dupree Products is a Michelin Fleet Advantage member. To become a member (it's free) sign up on the website and you will receive the account number and a member number. Then after you follow the instructions, you can get fleet pricing on Michelin tires. 8R19.5's are currently about $345/tire. This is a no haggle price that any commercial dealer should honor. Rick

Oz · March 15, 2013, 01:35 PM

Excellent cost saving tip, Rick!

tiinytina · March 15, 2013, 08:06 PM

Thanks for the tips all.... I will be pricing more options I see....

Tina

tiinytina · March 21, 2013, 01:07 PM

different place specializes in doing trucks... $2100 with spin balance... and may be able to better that price there as.. found out.. the owner is a friend of pat's brother... W% and yea.. did a crawl over flashlight inspection and yea.. its a must do before we head out too far.... PM always better than PiP I say (post incident pain)...

tina

GONMAD · April 18, 2013, 05:11 PM

Hi Gang, I don't know if anyone has heard of 'Centramatics'. These devices are a bolt on wheel & tire system balancing package.I haven't had ANY tires balanced since installing these units (they can be seen in my pictures on this site) I've put 50,000 miles on one set of tires & it's still smooth as glass at 70+ even towing. The initial cost was around $480.00 & I bought fronts then the rear to offset the damage to my pocket for something I've never heard of. NO REGRETS!! Just my two cents. Wish Ya'll well C YA! GONMAD