Should you have new drive tires balanced??

...never balanced drives though ...thought about pellets though..

 

Interesting perspective. Is there a certain brand that you recommend? Also, do you do the same for the steers or use weights?

 

Yes, same for steers. Any brand works the same. The only good coming from spin balancing drives is for the seller of the service.

 

I won’t argue with you. I suppose different methods for different people. I also do oil change/service between 20 and 25k. The Cummins manual says 45k is fine. Just how I roll I guess. :shrugs:

 

Agreed. Mike Beckett and I had a conversation about balance beads last year. He agreed that they were the most effective tool for continual balance.

Centramatics are effective as well.

 

I run super singles, always have. I put the bags in, not spin balance. Right now I have two with bags and two without, I can tell the difference. Those little bags do wonders, and can rebalance a tire as it wears, unlike weights. In fact, it rebalances every time you stop.

 

Balance all tires and I run Centramatics on all axles including trailers. Balance trailer tires as well. Shocks on all 5 axles as well as cab shocks yearly. truck and trailers aligned yearly.

 

Proactive maintenance is cheaper than reactive maintenance. My Detroit’s can go
60k on oil change, I go 30k, I change power steering fluid snd filter every other oil change. Some will argue it’s wasteful.
But clean oil doesn’t get full of contaminates and abrasive. Tearing up seals and such. I change the oil in my front hubs yearly. Usually never have front seals leak. Change my coolant every 300k, 3 box service every 300k. Rarely have seals leak. I change all brake chambers every 300k as well. Keeps equipment happy and Billy bobs bend ya over and give ya ####in road service away
I spend more in maintenance but my equipment is very rarely down for unscheduled maintenance. In the end it’s all what works for the owner. Little off topic.

 

I don't balance drives (only steers) but like Midwest Trucker I do shocks and alignment with every tire change no matter which axle.

 

I've done the Centramatics thing, but have gone to beads. Toss the bag in, forget it. Had some Centramatics that didn't make it past 300K. Plus I am concerned about dissimilar metals and another layer between duals. I am convinced it makes it harder to put wheels on correctly.