Vibration with small trailer
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Cross-Country
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 94
Likes: 4
Vibration with small trailer
Anyone noticing a vibration only when small trailer with side by side on. Over 60 mph. I have a 2020 f350 dually. Doesn't seem to do it with 21000 pound fifthwheel on it?
Tuned
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 348
Likes: 137
With no more information than that, I would suspect the trailer is the cause of the vibration. It could be caused by anything from improper load distribution, an out of balance tire/wheel combo, bad brakes, or even a bent trailer frame. There are other potential causes, but those are the first ones that jump to mind. Good luck on your hunt for the cause.
5th Wheeling
Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 34
Likes: 4
From: NE Ohio
I had the same issue. Do you still have the original bias ply tires on the utility trailer? If so, replace them with radial tires. I was told you can't really balance those cheap tires they put on small utility trailers and have them stay balanced.
More Turbo
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 684
Likes: 84
From: Green Bay Wi
I pull a few small trailers. For the most part I don’t even know they are behind the truck. My dad has a really light trailer that’s made just for one atv. It tows fine with a atv on it. Empty it tends to bounce a lot. I can’t even see it behind my F350 when it’s empty. I can’t feel it. But know what it does from following dad.
I do think my car trailer and boat, tow better than the smaller single axle trailers that weigh far less.
I do think my car trailer and boat, tow better than the smaller single axle trailers that weigh far less.
Lead Driver
Joined: Feb 2022
Posts: 7,946
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The Aluminum bodies are more prone to transmit vibrations through to the driver where the steel bodies tended to absorb them. A trailer I pulled with my 2014 F150 and my 2012 F350, never felt it. Pulled it with my 2018 and right around 55-60 felt it right in my butt. One wheel on my flatbed wasn't torque right and shook the truck. After taking the wheels off and swapping them left and right and tightening them properly the vibration went away. Funny that it could be felt with the F150 but the old F350, not a thing.
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More Turbo
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 687
Likes: 215
My 2018 always vibrated with small trailers. The worst was with a Tesla on a U-Haul trailer driving from Denver to Atlanta. It did it with U-Haul cargo trailers too.
I'm not convinced it was unbalanced tires. But it could have been. It always felt like a slight shudder. Finding the right speed would lessen it.
I'm not convinced it was unbalanced tires. But it could have been. It always felt like a slight shudder. Finding the right speed would lessen it.
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 767
Likes: 78
From: NC
For dually, you might appreciate the centramatic balancers. You'll have to explain to the tire shop what they are, along with telling them not to drop your polished aluminum wells on the shiny side, and don't destroy the wheel covers in the process. Things people that do the job for a living should know, so feeling like a complete **** to have to tell them comes with the territory, but they earned it.
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