[Dick]

Bryan, we just installed them on the drives and tag as we re-tired. For an extra 1800 it was a no brainer.When we do the steers we’ll do them also. BTW we’re in Milwaukee, still balmy compared to Rhinelander. Geo.

[Jerry]

I put them all around on my coach. They really seem to be working great.

I have had friends in the tire business that thought I was crazy to ballance trailer tires and said that on big trucks they don’t ballance them, they are crazy.

What good is an out of ballance tire that is eventialually going to ruin your bearings and ruin the life of a tire.

I would put them on the tag as well.

I have basicaly ruined two sets of tires on my coach in the 7 years I have owned it due to tire ballance problems.

[Archived]

I am going to presume your tire guy is just that, and his experience with driving a coach is likely none. Bottom line I seriously doubt he has any solid data to support his advice and every time I hear the phrase “that’s how we do it all the time” I want to beat someone about the head and body.

There is zero downside to having the wheels balanced on every axle. Centramatics will do the job nicely and the worst thing that could possibly result from adding them is your wallet will get a little pinch.

If you do continue to feel a slight vibration however your shocks could also be a factor if they have reached the point where they are worn out. Some vibrations will drive us all crazy trying to isolate and stop them.

[Archived]

I use Balance Masters on all axles,they work perfect.Highly recommended.

[Dick]

Thanks, everyone. I’ll put them on all three axels. Jon, thanks for the insight about shocks. Since I get vibration in two distinct speed bands only, (30-35 mph and 60-65) I think it is probably coming from something that is rotating but I can she how worn shocks would contribute to the effect. My shocks are the originals, now 14 years old, but they show no signs of leaking and the bus has only 20k miles. I’ve been planning to change them next year, but perhaps should expedite the schedule. I see the Centramatics as a no lose investment even if I still need to change out my shocks to solve the issue so will give them a try first. Balance Masters looks like a good choice as well, so it may come down to which is most convenient for installation.

[Archived]

Axle is a four letter word. Seems like I ought to be able to spell it correctly. Thanks for knowing what I meant.

[Dean]

We don’t grade papers based on spelling. If we did I would be in trouble because I am too lazy to check spelling and most of the time my fingers don’t work when my brain tells them what to do.

At 14 years I suspect when you get the shocks off you will meet with almost no resistance when you try to compress them. I just repalced mine at 8 years and while none had any evidence of oil leakage I could push them closed or pull them open easily. I was riding around without the benefit of shocks.

[Jim]

Bryan,

I believe you have made a wise move to install Centramatics on all 3 axles. No one as far as I know has removed Centramatics from the stand point of “no benefit received”.

On the serious side Centramatics do exactly what they claim, balance tire , wheel and hub. This combo is not possible with balance only tire and wheel. Another plus ……no worry with throwing a weight causing your tire is out of balance and you don’t know it.

Worth the money…that is a yes

[Corey]

Another benefit of centramatics. If you loose a wheel weight you have no way of knowing….this is not that uncommon of a sight.

[Robert]

So what is the approximate price installed for all three axles?

and will they work with or against the magic fairy dust I already have in my steer and drive tires (tags don’t have the balancing sand)?

[Brady]

When the charge air cooler was relpaced (CAC) found this weight thrown off wheel….. in sound foam on fender panel

[Greg]

Call Jeff, he stocks them.

[Jack]

I bought mine at Jeff’s. He installed 2 on the steer, and then I bought them for the drive and tag from him as well.

[Andre]

After several weeks of trying to buy Centramatics I gave up and boght Balance Masters. $650 installed on three axels. I’m completely satisfied. Far less vibration in the first 1,000 miles. Centramatics may have a good product, but for some weird reason, they don’t really want to sell them. After literally a dozen emails and phone calls and a 250 mile wild goose chase to get non-existent balancers installed, I finally gave up and bought wheel balancers from a company that actually wants to sell them and is willing to disclose its distributors so I could choose one.

[Archived]

A clear description of the business community today. Everyone wants sales, but on their terms and please don’t interrupt whatever it is their doing to try to buy a product or service.

If we want anything such as a service or product you can send them an email from their web site. Good luck getting a response. Or you can call them and end up getting dumped in voice mail or pressing #1 for English.

Then if they have to quote the work, they don’t show up.

Maybe I am just lucky, but so far a lot of local purchases don’t happen because dealing with Amazon is so easy, reliable and usually cheap I just stop looking in the yellow pages. I stopped going to the mall because I won’t go in a store where some teenage clerk is too busy yakking on the cell phone to help me.

I hope someone from Centramatics reads the above post. A number of us have praised them, but they cannot ignore potential customers. Nobody’s business is so good they don’t need any more. A lot of people are reading posts like this one, and the thread on Ramco mirrors and others.