Trailer vibration at certain speeds. HELP!
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Elder User
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 950
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From: nc
Trailer vibration at certain speeds. HELP!
I have a fairly new Kaufman 20ft 14K equipment trailer. The problem is that the trailer seems to vibrate my truck badly around 55-65mph then gets a little better up about 70. My truck with no trailer rides perfectly and has done so with 3 other trailers so i'm certain its related to this new one. Basically i put my 5000k tractor on it so i'm around 8500lbs gross and this terrible vibration starts around 50 or 55mph. Now i can let off the gas and its still there with no change. It does this cruising and accelerating around those speeds. The whole truck is very uncomfortable to ride in due to all the vibration. Any ideas? This is a tag along trailer and my truck is a 2008 F250 6.4 crew with 40K on the odometer. Any thoughts?
Thanks:
Thanks:
Freshman User
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 32
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From: Centerville, Tx
Are they bias ply tires or radial? Bias ply tires if they sit in one place for a while can develop flat spots. Or possibly a radial tire has a knot on it. One more idea is Does any of the tires have fixa flat or slime in it. I put some in my trailer tire once and it did the same thing your talking about.
FTE Leadership Emeritus
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 23,174
Likes: 1,678
From: Stephensville WI
Describe the vibrating. Is it like the trailer is bouncing, or perhaps some kind of wind oscillation, or is the trailer pulling on the hitch off and on real fast, or something else?
FTE Leadership Emeritus
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 161,999
Likes: 75
From: 3rd Rock
I agree balance the tires and at least eliminate the problem of ...one out of round .....or one you cannot balance .....also look for a crack wheel.
how high is the hitch point on your truck...is the trailer level when loaded
does it do it empty
how high is the hitch point on your truck...is the trailer level when loaded
does it do it empty
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Cargo Master
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,413
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We need to know if it does it mt. New trailers are just relative to win you bought it. When was it built how long did it sit on the lot?
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Posting Guru
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From: MARYLAND
just because the tires are new don't mean they can't have a band that has seperated in them. Have them put on a balancer and checked. I had problems on a brand new equipment trailer i bought and it was a seperated band in the tire.
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Elder User
Joined: Feb 2009
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From: nc
Just had tires balanced and 2 of them needed 8oz. None were balanced from factory. The trailer was purchased in dec 2010 and was made per my order. As of now the trailer sits *** end low but just a little bit but not much. The load is 8k with about 800lbs on the ball. Hopefully the issue is better now but we'll see.
Junior User
Joined: Feb 2010
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Sawtooth - I had the same problem. My trailer tires were balanced and were not that old. I took a trip with the trailer and everything was fine for the first few hundred miles then I picked up a vibration in the truck. It was like a harmonic vibration that would vary in intensity but would not go away. It rattled the coffee cups in the cup holders. I had broken belts in three of the tires. One thing I noticed when the belts break is if I look at the tire tread, some or all of the rows of tread blocks around the circumference of the tire are different heights. Just some info to pass along.
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Elder User
Joined: Feb 2009
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From: nc
Ok thanks for that tip. I had all the tires balanced and for the first 30min all was good then about 50-70 percent of the vibration is back. I also called Kaufman trailers to complain and they said they use very cheap tires and wheels. Can't say I'm very happy with Kaufman. If they would have said this when I bought the trailer 6 months ago I would have bought a tire wheel upgrade. So should I take them off and upgrade or not?
Believe Nothing
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 7,512
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From: W. Central FL.
Ok thanks for that tip. I had all the tires balanced and for the first 30min all was good then about 50-70 percent of the vibration is back. I also called Kaufman trailers to complain and they said they use very cheap tires and wheels. Can't say I'm very happy with Kaufman. If they would have said this when I bought the trailer 6 months ago I would have bought a tire wheel upgrade. So should I take them off and upgrade or not?
That said, I bought a 7 x 18' flatbed several years back built by Trailer World of Ozark, AL and the tires started wearing right from the start. I called TW and explained the problem and they replaced both axles that were built incorrectly, no questions. They did me right, knowing they had some bad axles out there. It cost me several hours drive time but the issue was resolved exactly like it should have been.
I mention the manufacturer's name only because of the great way they correct the problem. I have no connection with the company