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problem with utility trailer

Started by sbishop, January 29, 2007, 06:22:51 PM

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sbishop

hi, my utility trailer (2000lbs, single axle, 4X8) starts shacking once in a while. i could be driving lets say 60mph everything is fine, then all of a sudden i can feel a vibration and humming noise but then goes away maybe 3-4 min later and comes back again and again.

Bearrings are new, no slack in the wheels, what about tires?

Thanks for any help!

Tom

check to make sure that you have sufficient tongue weight.

Make sure your lug nuts are tight.

sbishop

thanks tom, can you clarify "sufficient tongue weight"

i never had this problem before, have had the trailer know for 6 years.

whats weird is the vibration comes and goes.

treebucker

Tires yea, check.  Tom's on the money too. Also check to see if the hitch is tight enough on the ball.  Depending on design, see if the tongue is tight under the bed. Also check spring mounts and (if equipped)  shocks.
Last night I lay in bed looking up at the stars in the sky and
I thought to myself, "Where the heck is the ceiling?!" - Anon

Ron Scott

"Ditto" to the above. Also check that the ball is tight on the hitch.
~Ron

sbishop

thought  i would add, neighboor used it a couple of times on his vehicle . same results!

LeeB

check tires. belts fixing to seperate.
'98 LT40HDD/Lombardini, Case 580L, Cat D4C, JD 3032 tractor, JD 5410 tractor, Husky 346, 372 and 562XP's. Stihl MS180 and MS361, 1998 and 2006 3/4 Ton 5.9 Cummins 4x4's, 1989 Dodge D100 w/ 318, and a 1966 Chevy C60 w/ dump bed.

sbishop

the tires are used, i'm going to get new tires to iliminate one thing!..

PS. it will be a week or so, just had surgery on my wrist (carpel tunnel), not suppose to do anything for 6 weeks!

Tom

Tongue weight depends on the trailer.  It may vary from 50 to 100 pounds with the trailer empty.  If you get negative tongue weight, or too little, the trailer will sway behind the vehicle and do all kinds of weird stuff.

I hadn't thought of a faulty tire, but that could be a problem. It's not always easy to determine other than just replacing it and seeing if the problem goes away.  Jack the tire off of the ground, spin it and see if the treads are running true.  Belts coming loose on a radial tire can cause the tread to look like it is wiggling as it waves back and forth.  If it's bad enough, you will be able to see that the tread is separating from the carcass and the tire will usually create a slapping sound on the pavement.


beenthere

Sure sounds like bearings or not the right wheel bearing tightness. Tires going bad might be it as mentioned too.
Did it shake before the new bearings were put in? Does it shake whether loaded or running empty?
Did an axle maybe get bent (overloaded or hit something) and the wheels are not tracking right?

south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

sawdust



My vote is for a delaminating tire, I chased a vibration in my car for a year, NOTHING wrong...looked perfect, balanced perfect. In exasperation I put on new tires, end of problem. My 250 dollars worth.

sawdust
comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable.

woodmills1

tire balance problems can happen at very specific speeds.
James Mills,Lovely wife,collect old tools,vacuuming fool,36 bdft/hr,oak paper cutter,ebonic yooper rapper nauga seller, Blue Ox? its not fast, 2 cat family, LT70,edger, 375 bd ft/hr, we like Bob,free heat,no oil 12 years,big splitter, baked stuffed lobster, still cuttin the logs dere IAM

Stump Jumper

if there is a small problem with each tire or rim and they get in time the shimmy will multiply  ;)
Jeff
May God Bless.
WM LT 40 SuperHDD42 HP Kubota walk & ride, WM Edger, JD Skidsteer 250, Farmi winch, Bri-Mar Dump Box Trailer, Black Powder

Dan_Shade

when my trailer tires were going bad, I knew they were going bad!  huge bulges in them.  it would shake like crazy at around 50mph.
Woodmizer LT40HDG25 / Stihl 066 alaskan
lots of dull bands and chains

There's a fine line between turning firewood into beautiful things and beautiful things into firewood.

Qweaver

I've built a zillion trailers and back when I was really poor ( like last week  :D) I always went to a junk yard and bought used tires and wheels. They were fine for around town hauling, but I can't count the number of times that I lost the tread on a heavily loaded trailer going long distance at freeway speed.  I could almost always tell when one was about to come apart because it would start shaking and throwing bits and pieces.  ::)
I once threw a tread on the way to our deer lease, It was a sunday evening and we had no spare so I just decided to keep driving until the thing just came apart.  But to my surprise, the tire made it over 100 miles to the lease on the steel belt, we drove it all over the lease for 7 days and it was still holding air when we got back a few weeks later with a replacement tire.
I don't know what any of that has to do with your problem  :D  but I'd try getting another wheel and tire and rotate it around on the trailer to see if that fixes the problem.  Few people balance tires on a trailer but a badly out of balance tire could be the culprit.
Quinton
So Many Toys...So Little Time  WM LT28 , 15 trailers, Case 450 Dozer, John Deere 110 TLB, Peterson WPF 10",  AIM Grapple, Kubota 2501 :D

Minnesota_boy

About twice a year the tires on my wife's car get out of balance and you can feel the vibration.  As you round a corner it will either get better or worse depending on whether the tires are in sync or out.  I take them off and clean the accumulated mud out and they quit vibrating.  Cheap fix.  ;D
I eat a high-fiber diet.  Lots of sawdust!

Murf

Unless you're pulling that trailer with a real light tow vehicle, you wouldn't feel a trailer tire out of balance till it was nearly shaking the thing apart. The hitch is designed to let it move lots without passing along any vibrations.

I'd be checking if the trailer axle is bent, especially if you've just lent it out to someone.  ::)

If you can feel it in the tow vehicle it a fore / aft shake, not a vertical shake. A bent axle can  make a wheel hop at certain speeds pretty bad.
If you're going to break a law..... make sure it's Murphy's Law.

Raider Bill

The First 70 years of childhood is always the hardest.

Tom

Well, it seems we've covered just about everything but the road.  Have you sent scouts ahead to make sure that the road hasn't got a rub-board surface?

That's what you might need to do is walk the length of the road before you pull the trailer down it to make sure it is smooth. :D :D


Hmmmmmmm   Come to think of it, that might not be as far-fetched as it sounds.  If the tongue is bent, or the axle isn't straight, the trailer might not be following where you think.  If it is tracking on the right side of the vehicle, it could be getting onto those divots that the DOT puts in the road surface to make sure that you don't run off of the road in your sleep.  They work pretty good, I've been aroused from a sound sleep and a day-dream several times from that raucous noise.

Yeah, I know, this is dumb, but its possible.  ;D :D

beenthere

This sounds dumb too, but what I would try. Jump on the trailer and go for a ride.  Listen for the rumble and try to pinpoint where it seems to be coming from. Some safety belts in the right makeup to keep you me on the trailer. Not recommending, but what I would do myself.  :)
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Furby

Tom, ya reminded me of the guy I trained with a year ago.
He'd been driving semi's for 5 years.
One day we picked up a trailer and took off.
A bit later he was asking what that sound was.
Took several minutes to figure out he was driving on the center line and it had those raised reflectors in it.
:D :D :D

amberwood

talk about out of synch tyres....had the pleasure of driving the new(old) truck on the weekend at metro and highways speeds..OK going slow but when you get up to 85kmph and the front 12*20 bar treads get out of synch it starts acting like you have eliptical tyres!

I have a similiar problem on the wifes miata. The car  is so sensitive to tyre balance the rear wheels have to be balanced on the car, and if removed refitted in the same bolt/hub position.

DTR
MS460 Magnum
MS250
DAF CF85-430
ASV RC-85 track loader

Tom

The Miata's problem sounds like the wheels/drum is out of balance rather than the rim/tire.

I wonder of they could be trued?

SwampDonkey

Quote from: Furby on January 30, 2007, 04:18:08 PM
Tom, ya reminded me of the guy I trained with a year ago.
He'd been driving semi's for 5 years.
One day we picked up a trailer and took off.
A bit later he was asking what that sound was.
Took several minutes to figure out he was driving on the center line and it had those raised reflectors in it.
:D :D :D


On the twinned highway here, there are grooves on the right of the white line for the break down lane. Supposed to wakeup the truckers if they are half asleep heading to the ditch. Now, I guess we have it covered for the truckers. ;D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

amberwood

we have tried everything,,wheels, tyres, there is reams of discussion on the miata forums on the subject. Uses tiny little discs on the rear..Different wheel nuts can make a difference!
The best solution is an on-car balance once year.

The bar treads are on split rims..forget balancing they are 1200mm in diameter!

DTR
MS460 Magnum
MS250
DAF CF85-430
ASV RC-85 track loader

sbishop

swampdonkey, not to many groves on highway 8...except for those 10" bumps between taymouth and boiestown  :D

thanks for all the suggestion, i'll try and pick up some tires in the next day or to see what happens!

Furby

Ever try out those rumble strips Donk?
They work great, used them many times, not always from sleeping either. ;D

Minnesota_boy

Those rumble strips make great traction devices on icy highways too.  Just getting the duals biting a little more helps a lot.  8)
I eat a high-fiber diet.  Lots of sawdust!

Sprucegum

We have those rumble strips on both shoulders of the road. Last storm we had it was snowing and blowing so bad when my friend heard the rumble he still couldn't tell which side of the road he was on ! :o

Dale Hatfield

I use them strips to wake  other driver ( wife )   on our texas road trips to see her family . that will wake her  right up vs  hey  you want to drive.
Dale
Game Of Logging trainer,  College instructor of logging/Tree Care
Chainsaw Carver

Murf

Quote from: Sprucegum on January 31, 2007, 01:46:54 PM
We have those rumble strips on both shoulders of the road.

You know the storm is bad when you hit both at the same time.....  :o
If you're going to break a law..... make sure it's Murphy's Law.

PB Logging

Had a superviosr call me Summer of '03. "Hey, trailers towing funny"  Told him to park it if it was unsafe, have a look and see what it is.  Got a call from the state piolice about an hour later.  He and antohre guy where on the hood of the truck, went trought the windshield after going through a guard rail and down a ravine.



Guys pretty busted up, truck and trailer tottaled, skid steer loader drove on another trialer and went back to work.  Gotta watch those trailers...

Make it a safe day.

sbishop

got 2 new to me tires yesterday for the trailer...the old ones weren't in good shape, will know in a few days. i'll take her on the highway for a run to town(once the snow stops  :D)

Sbishop

SwampDonkey

"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

rebocardo

> we have tried everything

Someone turned me on to using BBs to balance tires. Others use equal or ceramic beads or you could try this:

http://www.centramatic.com/

You would not think the BBs would work, they do. I just picked up 6K of .177s for more tires. I do not know how they would work on smaller wheels. You might try a shop with a Hunter balancer.

If the rear discs are anything like a Focus, the rotor might be warped from the lugnuts being put on to tight. On the smaller cars, 60-80 ft pounds is the max and since most torque sticks used on domestic cars and trucks are 90-100 pounds ...

I see they use the 1.8 Miata for the SCAA now, learned that today.




sbishop

yes...snow is blowing here like crazy. over 6" on the ground now!

how far you off the highway SD? i'm heading to Cabano this weekend. Should meet up sometime for a brew!

Sbishop

SwampDonkey

Hi sbishop. I'm in Carleton county, not down in the Cross Creak area. ;)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

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