Centramatic Wheel Balancers?

[Honair]

Anyone have them. Are you happy with them? What model number Centramatic Wheel Balancers are they?

[CharlesinGA]

I have a set on my Bigfoot. My wheel/tires are well balanced but I wanted smooth. I do think they work but without putting instrumentation in the trailer before and after, I cannot prove it. The trailer tows like nothing is there on a good road.

Potential issues. The Centramatics have their tubes offset to one side of the flat center plate. In my case, the CM was not large enough to fit over the brake drum so the tube had to face outboard (ie: away from the drum, see the pics), and I had to be very careful to insure that it cleared the center hub of the wheel. Centramatic does not have any line drawings you can use to get dimensions, and were of no help at all when I called them. I ended up calling a reseller of the Centramatics, Texas Truck Supply or something like that. Anyhow, very helpful, they pulled the one I wanted out of stock and took a tape and gave me the ID and OD of the tube, and the max offset distance. The Airstream people are very fond of the Centramatics. My travel buddy put a set on his Ram 2500 and said you could feel a difference.

You really don't have much choice, standard 5 lug trailer is 5x4.5 (5x4½) bolt circle and that would be a p/n 200-221 (I have 6 lug wheels, so my p/n won't help you). This is where having actual dimensions would be helpful, there is a 300-345 that is punched for both 5x4.5 in, 5x5 in hole patterns and says for 16 to 20 inch wheels, which really doesn't tell you much. I think larger is more effective, and I probably could have gone to a larger one that also says it fits 16 to 20 inch wheels, but I didn't have the dimensions, the company I called didn't have a set on hand and Centramatic would not help me at all. Very poor customer service.

Also, be aware that many tire stores, especially chains like Discount Tire, will not install or reinstall any device like the Centramatics. You will do well to install them at home. I never take a trailer to the tire store, I jack the trailer and install jackstands and take the wheels in the truck.

Last pic is confusing to look at. Wheel is OFf the trailer and the centramatic is bolted to the back of the wheel with bolts and lug nuts to insure it lays flat on the back of the wheel and does not hit the wheel anywhere other than the mounting surface. I should have taken the pic with a piece of cardboard behind the wheel to eliminate the visual confusion.

The larger diameter CM could be turned so it sat over the brake drum, IF it cleared the inside of the wheel. Fog it with black paint and you would never know it is there.

https://centramatic.com/searchpagets...egory=trailers

https://centramatic.com/searchpagets...ory=light-duty

Charles

[Honair]

Centramtic told me that the 200-221 was the one.

I attempted to install yesterday and they do not fit.

I will call Centramatic this week.

I am now thinking Centramatics does not manufacture a set which fits escape’s dexter 5 lug ez lube system.

Centramatic’s and Escape owners loss.

Thank you for your detailed responce.

[CharlesinGA]

Originally Posted by Honair

Centramtic told me that the 200-221 was the one.

I attempted to install yesterday and they do not fit.

I will call Centramatic this week.

I am now thinking Centramatics does not manufacture a set which fits escape’s dexter 5 lug ez lube system.

Centramatic’s and Escape owners loss.

Thank you for your detailed responce.

The EZ Lube system would have nothing to do with them not fitting. The only difference is the spindle is drilled with a grease passage. The hubs are the same. What about the Centramatic didn't fit? Interfered with the wheel?

Charles

[Honair]

I agree that the EZ-Lube has nothing to do with the fitting on the Centramatic Wheel Balancers except for access to the EZ Lube location, which that hole was big enough. Sorry that I implied otherwise.

The issue was: The lug holes did not fit over the lugs. Lineup one hole on the Centramatic and the next whole did not fit.

[GinoandLinda]

I remember seeing these or something like these in the J.C. Whitney catalog back in the 80's. My dad tried them and they seemed to only work up to a certain speed. I'm sure these are better quality.

They also had the car exhaust jack bag. Put a hose on the exhaust pipe, place the bag under the car and start the engine. The bag expands and lifts the car. These are all the rage for overlanders these days. What's old is new again.

[CharlesinGA]

It sounds like the wrong part or a mis manufactured part.

The 5 lug pattern on trailers is on a 4 and one half inch bolt circle (5 x 4½) but there are other 5 lug patterns that Centramatic sells for vehicles (trailers now days are very standardized, so 5x4½ is it)

The photo of the 200-221 balancer shows two different lug patterns on it 5x4½ and 5x5 both punched into it. Did you by chance get the wrong set of holes? Click the yellow bar above the image to enlarge it enough to see what I am referring to.



Something else to try before going any further is to take one and lay it flat, tube TOWARDS the wheel and see if it lays flat on the wheel center and the tubes clear the rest of the wheel. I tried mine on the original wheels on the Bigfoot (which are a 20 hole wheel similar to what Escape uses) and the tube would not clear the wheel and lay flat on the center of the wheel. And without a larger diameter Centramatic, the tube will not clear the brake drum so it cannot be installed facing the drum. This is why they need to provide line drawings of the various balancers so it will be easier to determine what might work.

There are several manufacturers of the 20 hole wheel design, including Sendel and Hi-Spec (owned by Dexter I discovered), and they are all probably similar, my old 20 hole wheels are made by TTW Inc (who I think no longer exists)

[Dave.e19]

I just noticed this post and had already ordered a set last week (200-221). If I fade the tube outward and then put a spacer on to clear the wheel I believe it would work. 5mm spacer to be exact.

Are wheel spacers safe on travel trailers?

[CharlesinGA]

Originally Posted by Dave.e19

I just noticed this post and had already ordered a set last week (200-221). If I fade the tube outward and then put a spacer on to clear the wheel I believe it would work. 5mm spacer to be exact.

Are wheel spacers safe on travel trailers?

No. Trailer wheels always have zero offset, by adding the spacers, you are offsetting the wheel. You also would need to be sure you have enough thread engagement on the lugnuts.

The 300-345 has the correct lug pattern 5x4.5 (and also 5x5) and is larger, and could be turned with the tube facing inboard, provided the id of the tube area is larger than the brake drum and the OD of the tube is small enough to fit in your wheels. You would need to call Centramatic about the dimensions. They were not helpful to me when I installed some in 2021, perhaps things have changed.

Charles

[Dave.e19]

Thank you for the info.

I emailed centramatic Canada and they replied to me right away. It turns out the internal diameter between the tube is 11 inches. Given this information, I decided to order a pair and try them out. As you will see in the pictures below, they do fit in the rim perfectly and they fit over the brake drum. So it turns out that escape trailers with 15 inch wheels and Dexter torflex number 10 axles with drum brakes will fit with the Centromatic wheel balancers. Part number 300–345.

For those of you who are interested we will be creating a YouTube video showing the details and installation method. One example is that we painted our wheel balancers with black paint so they do not show through the holes in the rim. This video should be going live in the next week. If you search through some of the videos you will notice we also installed a 30 amp smart plug that may be of interest to some of you escape owners. We are very happy with ours.

On YouTube feel free to search @md.adventures for these videos.

[CharlesinGA]

EXCELLENT!!! I'd really like to see the video. I believe the larger ones would be more effective balancers and Centramatic is doing everyone a dis-service by not publishing drawings and dimensions.

Why are these two balancers different?


Charles

[Dave.e19]

I’ll share a link as soon as it goes live!

[Mike G]

Am I reading Centramatic's site correctly on the prices? A set of 4 for a tandem axle trailer will cost about a thousand USD? That seems like a lotta dough for a little extra smoothness versus conventionally balanced wheels.

[CharlesinGA]

Prices are per pair, so about $500 for 4 wheels.

I always have my tires balanced when installed. The Centramatics are, in my view, not a replacement for normal balancing, but rather fine tuning the balance, plus tires pick up rocks, mud, etc that may stay with the tire for a while. This keeps it smooth no matter what. Also, wheels sometimes throw weights, and this will keep them balanced if you lose a weight. Brake drums used to be balanced, but nowdays, they don't bother, so this balances the entire rotating mass, including your TPMS sensor. This is a belt and suspenders approach. Your trailer will love you for it.

Charles

[John in Santa Cruz]

I've never asked for my trailer wheels to be balanced, and between my Casita (around 3 years) and my E21 (about 7 years now?), I probably have 40,000 miles of towing (9900 miles earlier this year on our Mexico adventure alone), and never noticed any vibration from trailer wheels. I've towed with a Tacoma, a F250, and an Expedition.

oh, the above doesn't count a bunch of years towing a Starcraft tent popup which also never had its wheels balanced. I was mostly towing that with a E150 van. And before that, I towed a Hobie 16 all over California with a Volvo 240 sedan... never noticed any trailer tire balance issues, probably 1000 or so miles....

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

I've never asked for my trailer wheels to be balanced,

Evidently a lot of folks don't and some tire shops have been surprised when I asked for new tires to be balanced.

I've never seen any evidence that my tires need more than just balancing. I do routinely pop out rocks in the tread when I'm doing a walk around at stops.

Ron

[Mike G]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

I've never asked for my trailer wheels to be balanced, and between my Casita (around 3 years) and my E21 (about 7 years now?), I probably have 40,000 miles of towing (9900 miles earlier this year on our Mexico adventure alone), and never noticed any vibration from trailer wheels. I've towed with a Tacoma, a F250, and an Expedition.

oh, the above doesn't count a bunch of years towing a Starcraft tent popup which also never had its wheels balanced. I was mostly towing that with a E150 van. And before that, I towed a Hobie 16 all over California with a Volvo 240 sedan... never noticed any trailer tire balance issues, probably 1000 or so miles....

Careful, John, or you'll develop a reputation for being unbalanced... Just kidding!

[Centex]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

I've never asked for my trailer wheels to be balanced

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

Evidently a lot of folks don't and some tire shops have been surprised when I asked for new tires to be balanced.

Having experienced the vibration of an out-of-balance wheel/tire on a vehicle, and observed vibration due to an out-of-balance wheel assembly on a small empty single-axle utility trailer, I'm in the camp that has my trailer wheels balanced whenever tires are removed / replaced.

Maybe not strictly necessary, but my thinking is that out-of-balance condition with attendant vibration can't be optimum for the trailer, its contents, or the tire, and the cost of spin-balancing is minimal given I only get it when a tire is removed from a wheel (I don't re-balance trailer tires when I 'rotate' their locations annually, nor my vehicle wheels when I DIY rotate them more frequently based on miles).

My spin-balanced vehicle wheel/tires always feel very smooth and remain smooth with even tread-wear for many years. Given that, I've never been compelled to consider additional 'aids' like the Centramatic offering.

YMMV, no worries!

[GinoandLinda]

Originally Posted by Centex

Having experienced the vibration of an out-of-balance wheel/tire on a vehicle, and observed vibration due to an out-of-balance wheel assembly on a small empty single-axle utility trailer, I'm in the camp that has my trailer wheels balanced whenever tires are removed / replaced.

Maybe not strictly necessary, but my thinking is that out-of-balance condition with attendant vibration can't be optimum for the trailer, its contents, or the tire, and the cost of spin-balancing is minimal given I only get it when a tire is removed from a wheel (I don't re-balance trailer tires when I 'rotate' their locations annually, nor my vehicle wheels when I DIY rotate them more frequently based on miles).

My spin-balanced vehicle wheel/tires always feel very smooth and remain smooth with even tread-wear for many years. Given that, I've never been compelled to consider additional 'aids' like the Centramatic offering.

YMMV, no worries!

Same camp here. If it spins in circles, it should be balanced. Yes, that is an over simplification but vibration is the enemy of longevity.

[Dave.e19]

Both the 200-221 and 300-345 are priced by a package of 4.

I did all four wheels for $372 with tax Canadian. ($229 plus tax USD)

Our mainstream tires shops in Sudbury area are charging $40 to balance one tire. I think that adds up over time and I’m not willing to pay that.