I have an 08 6.4 Dually 2wd. have Michelin MS/2 on the front,
and BFG T/A on the rear. I used the balance beads to get a smooth ride after trying almost 10 times to get them balanced..
this this rides like glass at all speeds..I've had the truck about 20,000 miles,
the steering box has been replaced as were the shock and steering damper.

but the time has come to replace them

I've read lots of stories about the michelin tall tread causing ride squirm,
so decided to stick with the BFGs in the rear.

so, I had four new ones installed and balanced beads used again..
245/70/17, BFG T/A Radial, LR-E
but this thing bounces like NO weights at 70.. and I'm getting a
lot of rear end hop, on road bumps, bridge edges, etc..
really feels 'loose' ..particularly with the balance bounce.

I need to go check the tire pressure they set them to, as I usually run 55 in the rears, only tow a 7000lb car hauler occasionally. (looking for a 44ft gooseneck to carry two show cars)..

anybody have similar experience, and a way to resolve? $700 in tires and needing to go 2500 miles towing in late july..

had to buy the tires as carry-outs as discount/ntb don't do beads, and the bead shop couldn't get the tires (???, don't go there).

Sam

 

Each tire in dually mode will have a rating in excess of 3,000 pounds, presumably at 80 psi. From that you can see how many square inches of rubber the manufacturer wants on the ground.

When the truck is empty, you can reduce the tire pressure by a lot to get the same number of square inches of rubber in ground contact. Its a LOT less than 80 psi.


To reduce hop, either (1) reduce air pressure, (2) add about 500 pounds of sand, or (3) run a chalk test on the rear tires

 

I didn't have this problem with the prior BFG T/A tires at all during the 20,000 miles I've had the truck. but the tread was significantly shorter than new. (they were at 4 mm left).

thanks.. I just checked the air pressure and and all 4 are set to 50psi.
what is a chalk test?

Sam

 

I had to go to pick up some dry cleaning, and the hardware store was next door, so I bought 240 lbs of water softener salt (need some anyhow).. ride is much better but still has that 'out of balance' shake to it between 65 & 70.

this weekend will tow the 7000lb trailer up to dallas and back, with about 800lbs on the hitch, so we'll see how that does

Sam

 

Subscribing........I'm having the exact same issue with the same tires. I had them balanced new and don't think they did a good job. Was getting ready to have them rebalanced. I thought about the beads myself as I was an owner operator for several years and used them in my truck tires. I'm hoping for a resolution.

 

I'm wondering if I can turn the tire on the wheel 45-90 degrees and test that
to see if it is some harmonic with the other tires. I have the two I pulled off the front when I put on the Michelin's (thinking it was bad tires, but is was bad balancers!).. I've also heard that rotation direction could have some impact, so I was thinking of swapping the inners left/right to change their direction of rotation.

the story goes, I needed 4 tires, but have 2.. so bought two and had the old ones put on the inside, and the news on the outside, all with beads.
on the way home, the danged thing nearly shook me off the road.
so I called around, thinking the two old inners were the trouble..
went in a different vehicle and picked up the extra two new ones.
and the next morning went off back to the tire shop.. except didn't have the hop & bounce at all.. what the??? well, it seems that the bead bag didn't break on the way home.. but did on the way to the tire shop..

I called discount tire, but because these were carry outs, they wouldn't accept them back. so, I had the olds pulled and the news put on instead.. way waste new tires!...

but now I have this bounce which I didn't have before..

Sam

 

Sam,

It's obviously a balance issue. I read a thread some time ago on the 6.0 forum about a guy who put the BFG A/T and complained about the amount of weights required to balance them. I bought 6 new ones when I purchased the truck and a couple of mine have quite a bit of weight on them. I am going to take them to a place I should have taken them the first time and have them rebalanced. In leiu of large amounts of weight, the proper thing to do is what you described. Break the bead and rotate the tire and rebalance. This procedure costs a little more but may be necessary.
I've had the driveshaft assembly balanced, replaced the rear shocks, and played with tire psi trying to resolve this issue. Please keep me posted on your progress and I will do the same.

Thanks,

 

Will do. I think I have 9oz of beads in each tire. Should be enough.

Sam

 

Have to admit it does sound like a balancing problem. Clearly if you're running 50 psi empty you're not over inflated.

The chaulk test is just a means of determining how much of your tire is on the ground. You mark the wear surface of the tires with a chaulk line, then drive a block or two, then read the remaining chaulk to see what did - and didn't - make ground contact.

It mostly helps to determine whether you're over or under inflated for your load.


I would mention another angle too. The wheels on the rear axle can be a real bitch to remove, and I've read the occasional thread entry about how people beat and bang the tires and wheels in an effort to remove them. Some people, for instance, swear by the utility of banging the sidewalls of the tires with a BFH repeatedly in order to knock them loose.

If your wheels show significant signs of hammer impact, possibly the new tires won't want to sit right....?


Also, if you drive unloaded most of the time, the tires on the front axle will have more weight on them individually, than the tires on the rear, particularly if you have one of the heavier deisel versus gas engines.. As a result, its not uncommon on a dually to run different psi's with the different axles.


Good luck with your trip. Gotta figure 800 pounds would mask any problem pretty well.

 

the fronts are at 60 psi (its a diesel after all)

the wheels show no hammer impact and have been removed easily a few times in the last few months.

Sam

 

Here's the thing, beads don't work as well as weights. Inside and outside weights take less then beads. If an assembly needs 6 ozs. to balance with weights, it needs 12 with beads.

At my shop, we have a Roadforce balancer, it measures the roundness of the wheel and tire, and matches the high and low spots. I've fixed more "unfixable" tire shakes then I can shake a stick at. Call around and find someone with a Roadforce machine. Have all 4 done. You can stick with beads still if you want, but at least you'll have truly round tires then...

 

I had some issues with my 05 f350 work truck, what I did that helped was to take outer dual off and rotate half a turn. This seemed to counter balance the problem. It helped till I had new tires put on. It might be worth a try before your trip.

 

thanks for that info will try that

Sam

 

cool, I thought that might be an approach

Sam

 

I hate to get off topic here but I noticed alot of dually owners here.
Question, I am adding a rear block to a buddies of mine 05 F350 dually and was wondering if there is enough room on existing U bolts for a 1 inch block or not?
Sorry Op dont mean to get off topic but need to find this info out asap...