If getting wheels balanced on a car is necessary why isn't it standard practice on a caravan?
Evidently balanced wheels produce less vibration and this in turn reduces the risk of wheel nuts working loose and so makes it less likely the wheels will fall off.
This being the case how do you go about getting the caravan wheels balanced?
As far as I know all new Bailey vans have balanced wheels.
My manual says this in the spec bit.
WSL Individually Laser Balanced, TUV tested styled
alloy wheels fitted with Security tyres and anti
tamper WSL Safety Bolts.
and this in maintenance section
In order to equalise wear it is suggested that
wheels be balanced and changed around from
time to time. When caravans are not in use
for extended periods, wheels and tyres should
be removed and stored in dry conditions and
away from the outside elements. Alternatively
caravans should be jacked up to relieve the
load from the tyres.
I would guess you could take the wheels or the van to any tyre fitting firm to get them balanced. Obviously you need to phone them first if you take the van there to make sure they have room.
It's self evident that a balanced wheel is preferable to an unbalanced wheel. Caravan wheels are not balanced mostly because manufacturers don't want the extra expense of balancing 1000s of wheels over the course of a production year, although Bailey appear to have upped their game on this & Caravan workshops usually do not have equipment to balance wheels if tyres are fitted in the course of a service.
So the sensible advice would be to get your new caravan tyres fitted where you get your car tyres fitted & they will be balanced during fitting as is normal at tyre fitting retailers.
No doubt you could remove your existing wheels & take them to a tyre fitters for balancing. The big retailers often do not like doing these odd jobs so take wheels to a small independant fitters, I would.
The tyres came balanced on my new van in 2015 allies as well as the steel spare.
I am sure caravan makers buy wheels with tyres fitted and balanced from Maybe 2/3 suppliers and just bolt to brake hubs already fitted to chassis. My van came with 10 stainless steel bolts for spare tho I only need 5. They are standard stainless steel 12 MM. Bolts not like anti theft for ally wheels.
The reason why caravan tyres are not balanced is because the Al-ko chassis arrives at the manufacturers with wheels and tyres fitted. This means that every wheel would have to be removed (four on twin axles), balanced, re-fitted and re-torqued which would interfere with the process of the production line. Costs would therefore increase which would be passed on to the customer respectively and all executives and managers are always looking to reduce costs, not increase them in order to be competitive.
It's forums like this that offers good advice especially where wheel balancing is concerned but you have to respect that the caravan owners on here are only a tip of the iceberg in relation to how many caravans they sell annually. This means that many caravan owners have no idea that their caravan tyres could be severely unbalanced merely because they can't feel any rumble which would be like constantly riding over cobbled stones and even expert towers have had stability problems with their new caravans with many years of towing experience.
However, regarding Bailey caravans, they began to have a bad reputation as a minority of their new caravans were losing a wheel on the highway which strangely enough was always the nearside which could have been the root cause of an unbalanced wheel as an anti-clockwise motion with a constant bounce most probably caused the wheel bolts to come loose which eventually disaster strikes. Bailey's sales were most probably affected but under the road safety and health and safety act they probably had to take constructive action in order to stay in business but of course, that's the last thing they want the customer to find out so that is more likely the reason why Bailey have their caravan wheels balanced now.
Baileys had problems with wheels coming loose despite being balanced so the fault and cure had nothing to do with wheel balancing. Everything on forums is largely just opinions.
I recall specific problem with wheel loss on Baileys was wheel bolts too short for the alloy wheels fitted. Unbalanced wheels would have exacerbated that situation, how could they not?
Obviously Bailey now see it expedient to balance wheels on new caravans. I'm failing to see why this is even worth a discussion, failure to balance wheels is a sin of omission.
Caravan chassis are sent to caravan makers in sections and they are put together in the factory, dilivery cost would be to high to deliver them built with the wheels on, balanced wheels are a must for any vehicle and they are delivered to the factory pre-balenced and seperate from the chassis and im sure caravan makers provides caravans with balanced wheels. video link
Quote: Originally posted by Opensauce on 05/3/2016
I recall specific problem with wheel loss on Baileys was wheel bolts too short for the alloy wheels fitted. Unbalanced wheels would have exacerbated that situation, how could they not?
Obviously Bailey now see it expedient to balance wheels on new caravans. I'm failing to see why this is even worth a discussion, failure to balance wheels is a sin of omission.
Post last edited on 05/03/2016 13:10:10
Bailey have balanced their wheels but have had a major problem with wheels coming loose which was obviously not down to balancing.
Swift don't balance their wheels, but don't rely on unfounded opinions. They have done extensive testing and have not had problems with wheel bolts coming undone.
It seems to be imperative to balance wheels in our minds but we have not spent money doing real testing on a circuit so it is just opinion. Your opinions on 'sins of omission' are worthless because your opinions are not based on research.
It's not rocket science to understand that ANYTHING that spins on a central spindle should be balanced otherwise it affects other working parts including the bearings. It's not just wheels and tyres I'm referring to either but other appliances such as a washing machine drum. I'm sure that if anyone bought a brand new washing machine that rumbled and bounced across the floor they would certainly complain and send it back.
The comment from 'Opensauce' saying 'Failure to balance wheels is a sin of omission' is spot on and couldn't agree more.
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Topic: Wheel balancing?
