towing trailer troubles any suggestions?

THE BIGPUNN · February 10, 2002

when towing my trailer unloaded i noticed some uncomfortable issues that i dont know if its common or not. i used to barrow a friends 6x12 trailer. his trailer is little heavier duty, but when i have it hooked to my hitch i cant even tell that it is with me in transport. no noise from the ball and coupler, extra bouncing, or swaying. my trailer is lighter, it has two different brand (car) tires, but same size. they are 205/75/15 30psi. my friend has 225 (trailer) tires on his trailer. when i go over bumps with my trailer,i get loud noises from the ball and coupler. my ball is 2" and the coupler takes 2" but it seems not to be right...like there is too much play. also, my rear end bounces more with my trailer. i have 285 tires on my truck 40psi and i dont know if the trouble im having would go away with trailer specific tires a different size, different springs, or what. when my trailer is loaded, its a more comfortable ride. any help appreciated.

DuckhunterInTN · February 10, 2002

Sounds to me like the main issue is that your friends trailer has more tongue weight than your trailer. All of that rattling is coming from your trailer's lighter tongue bobbing up and down, as is the increased bouncing in the rear of your truck.

Their are only a couple of other things I could think that it would be. Did you use the same receiver tube when pulling both trailers? Some tubes have a lot more play in them than others. Also, you might want to check the adjustment on the clasp on your trailers hitch. On most of them you can adjust them to make it fit tighter.

I have a little 6x10 trailer that rattles like ####, but our 7x16 is silent...I think more than anything it is a matter of tongue weight. Just put a couple hundred pounds of something on the front of the trailer and see if that fixes it.

Shaners · February 10, 2002

I agree with Duckhunter. It sounds like the tounge weight is not there. Also make sure you are using a big enough drop hitch so that the trailer sits level. If the trailer isn't level then you have even less tounge weight.

It is also possible that the lighter trailer has too stiff of a suspension, so when it is unloaded, it is actually bouncing off the pavement when you hit a bump.

If your trailer weighs 1000 lbs you would want to keep your tounge weight at 80-100 lbs. (approx 8%-10%). Your tounge weight should stay around 10% all the time. For example if you put 1000 lbs on your 1000 lb trailer then you would want to have 200 lb tounge weight. You'd be surprised how much your tounge weight changes as the angle of the tounge changes, that is why it is important to use the proper "drop" when towing. I actually have 3 different drop/rise hitch that I choose from depending on what I tow.

THE BIGPUNN · February 11, 2002

i think you guys hit it on the button! do you think it would make any difference with trailer tires over car tires?

Shaners · February 11, 2002

Maybe the coupler on the trailer has some wear on it making it loose. Dbl check the ball to make sure it is 2" too...

As far as the tires, I don't think they would make much difference unloaded. The car tires wouldn't have the carrying capacity of a trailer tire though...

HillHound · February 11, 2002

You might also want to see how much up and down play you have between the hitch clamp and the ball. There's a nut under the trailer's hitch that you can adjust to loosen or tighten the clamp. If it's too tight, it will cut into the ball. Too loose, and the trailer can move up/down on the ball and cause some noise.