trailor bumpy on truck tonque.

[daver360]

While towing my empy trailor (26x) it viberates hard up and down on the towing hitch. Tryed tightening the bolts on the trailor brake slide, but the trailor tongue still rattles hard up and down on the trailor ball. Hard to explain. Has anyone else had that problem, what can you do to stop it?

[DLT]

Sounds like you need more weight on the trailer tongue. Maybe move some of stuff to the v-berth...

Also, how high is it? Is the trailer level when hitched? If the the hitch is high, you can get one of the drop ball mounts...

[Rich Plumb]

It's normal for the trailer to bump and bounce around a lot when being towed with out the boat. I don't have a good solution for you. If you plan to tow it, empty, for a long distance, you might try reducing the air pressure in the trailer tires, say from 55 psi to 15 or 20 psi. Just remember to refill them again before you load the boat.

~~~~~~~~~~_/)~~~~~~~~~~
Rich Plumb, "Plumb Crazy"
26X, Covington WA

[kmclemore]

Not being impertinent, but are you sure you have the right size ball? I've often seen folks tow with a ball that's 1/8" too small and it will tow just fine with weight on it, but once you get a light trailer it will rattle like all get-out.

[Night Sailor]

My thoughts are also to be sure you have the right size hitch ball. An empty trailer will normally bounce around like crazy on bumpy roads or RR tracks due to the stiff springs and high pressure tires.

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

I also found that the brakes were causing a lot of hop when the trailer is towed empty. I drilled a hole for a lockout pin in the hitch slide. Putting this in when the trailer is empty has greatly reduced the bouncing.

Even so, all this normal bouncing is back at the wheels. There should be no slop in the connection at the hitch.

[beene]

I drilled a hole for a lockout pin in the hitch slide. Putting this in when the trailer is empty has greatly reduced the bouncing.

Great idea, thanks Duane.
My trailer came with a brake by-pass pin, I will use it next time I pull an empty trailer, not like you need extra brakes when she's empty.

[daver360]

Was told to put on a 2 inch ball when I bought the boat. Hope its correct. As far as the towing pin is concerned thats good info Duane, I will try that thanks!

[kmclemore]

Was told to put on a 2 inch ball when I bought the boat. Hope its correct. As far as the towing pin is concerned thats good info Duane, I will try that thanks!

Yeah, 2" should be right... but if there's a 1 7/8" on there you'll get exactly the rattling you noticed... might want to check it? They are marked on he top.

[Sloop John B]

Sand bag the front and lower tire pressure to 25 lbs. for a long run.

Otherwise, the thing sort of jerks the tow vehicle, which is weird.

[Chip Hindes]

As far as the towing pin is concerned thats good info Duane, I will try that thanks!

The problem is with no weight to compress the springs and 50psi tires, both ride like rocks, as if there is no suspension at all. With this setup, it's difficult to keep the trailer wheels on the pavement whether braking or not.

The beauty of a surge brake-equipped trailer is that braking is directly proportional to the weight of the trailer. Everything else being equal, there should be no need to lock out the brakes when the trailer is empty because there should be very little trailer braking going on. I think you might be disappointed at how little improvement you'll see by locking the brakes out.

Of course, they're not nearly equal, but before locking out the trailer brakes, try dropping the tire pressure considerably. Like Rich suggests, the numbers say you should be able to run as little as 15psi in the trailer tires without damage, even less if you've upgraded the tires as many have. I think you'll also be surprised at how much things improve. If not enough, and if you have a good sized tow vehicle, only then should you lock out the trailer brakes. If you're towing with a marginal vehicle such as the legendary Ford Taurus or one of the smaller front wheel drive minivans, I suggest you try live with the bouncing, but keep the trailer brakes functional. 800 lbs empty weight is not much on a 3500 lb capacity trailer, but it's quite a lot at the end of a trailer hitch trying to push your tail out.

In general, I'm against locking out the trailer brakes for any reason and have never retrofitted my trailer with this capability. As someone who a number of times has forgotten to hook up the trailer lights, and once actually forgot to lock down the hitch on the ball, I know it would be only a matter of time before I forgot to remove the lockout pin; Murphy's says that would be just before I had to make a panic stop.

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

I have a moderate noise rattle level when towing my empty Mac X trailer, and in our case its caused by the receiver hitch and trailer surge brake coupler. Both items rattle with no weight on the trailer.

I had a loose 2" trailer ball on one occasion when towing the loaded trailer which was a "close call" (I hope your trailer ball isnt loose).

[kmclemore]

I had a loose 2" trailer ball on one occasion when towing the loaded trailer which was a "close call" (I hope your trailer ball isnt loose).

I've seen them come loose before and I learned my lesson. Henceforth whenever I install a ball I tighten it down to the proper torque and then drill a 3/16" hole in the threaded bit that extends past the nut, as close to the nut's face as I can. Then I install a split pin (cotter pin) and peen it over. This will absolutely prevent any backing off of that nut.

[beene]

I like the sounds of that KM.

Thanks for the tip.

G