Towing trailer empty

Da Nag

Da Nag

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Staff member
Here's an issue that probably won't come up often, but I'd sure appreciate any suggestions.

I'm towing an empty trailer over 800 miles in the near future. Didn't think this would be a big deal, but when bringing it home from the manufacturer a while back, I was in for a rude surprise.

On many freeway surfaces, the thing bucks like a crazed bull. It transfers all of this energy to the truck, and the ride is viscious. Even slowing down to 50 MPH didn't help much when I hit these sections of freeway. My guess is, an empty trailer is wound up like a clock; the suspension is designed to be carrying a bunch of weight, and with nothing there, it's like a big, heavy bouncing ball.

Perhaps letting some air out of the tires would help? Without any load on the trailer, I'd think I could reduce the pressure significantly without risk. If I don't come up with something, it's going to be a long and painful ride...

Don't suppose anyone has a 22 C-Dory that needs a ride from CA to WA? I'd gladly deliver one for free just to get some weight back there... :mrgreen:
 
Bill,

You're not driving no Chevy, not even a Dodge. Why not just get a couple of ski racks on the Ford and load it on the roof where it belongs. Outside of that a little less air or maybe even one axle without wheels might be the way to go. Jim the long haul expert may be able to jump in here but it seems to me that you see a number of big new tractor cabs going down the road on delivery with some wheels removed for the tow.good luck with whatever you come up with and have a safe trip.

P.S. Should I mail this C-Brats decal to E.Q. to hold for you?

Tim
 
Hey Tim,

Good idea on the wheels; I'll check with Pacific and get their feedback on that.

And yeah - having the sticker at E.Q. would be great. Les already has my new decals, and it just seems fitting that a little C-Brat paraphernalia be present on her as well when she gets her bottom wet for the first time.

Thanks!
 
Hey, I know - take the front tire off one side and the rear tire off the other! Then when it bounces from side to side, the landing will counteract the launching and she'll smooth right out. Kinda like trim tabs.

Or, you could just have Dana ride on the trailer. No, wait, she's pretty skinny, so that wouldn't help any. Maybe strap one of your dogs to each fender?

I'll tell you this, had you got yourself a King trailer with their patented load-sensing torsion suspension system, you wouldn't be having these problems. Kay and Karla towed the new TyBoo trailer home from Les' house empty, and they had no problems. Not even on Fred's favorite stretch of I-5. And that was with the little bitty Jeep. They got a little nervous right off the bat when they noticed how narrow the Deception Pass bridge is, but Kay just closed her eyes and went for it.

I think the suggestion of putting the trailer on the truck instead of behind it is the best plan. Les has a Hyster to take it down. But then, that might be asking a bit much of a Ford.
 
Or, you can ship the trailer Fed Ex, and have Jim haul it up. Then you only have to tow it as far as Medford.
 
Mike,

Wow, all that work on the TyBoo this week really got the (I been workin' fo da man) kinks out eh? I feel sorry for any springer on the end of your line :shock:.

Jon
 
I think the wheel removel idea is good, and will probably reduce some of the bounce. If you want to remove all the bounce, try removing both the wheels from the SAME side!
I'll guarantee the bounce will be removed! hee, hee, hee...

:lol:
Casey
 
I drop my air pressure when hauling my empty trailer to get a smoother ride and it helps. I haven't pulled a pair of wheels but expect that would be a plus as well, and might do the job for you. My trailer is an EZ Loader with the torsion suspension 4300#, so it's probably not a great comparison to your 5000# with the different suspension. It seem to drag pretty well with just the softer tires.

Have a safe trip and on the way up to EQ, relish the thought of the load you'll be bringing back. That will be enough to keep the juices flowing!
 
hmm, FedEx.did Bill win the lottery? Actually I think Bill needs the road time, Just kidding ,Bill !! Sounds you will get it figured out... I'll be on the look out for ya,just in case....
 
Thanks for all the suggestions, folks. I think I'll try reducing the air in all four tires this weekend, and seeing how that works out. If it's not enough, I'll consider removing a set of wheels - on the non-brake axle, of course... :lol:

Actually, that just gave me another idea. I wonder if the bouncing is activating the surge brakes - that might explain the nasty bucking. If so, perhaps I should figure out a way to disable the brakes for the trip up. With a beefy truck and an empty, light trailer, I wouldn't think this would be too risky; I towed a 6x8 enclosed cargo trailer for years that was about the same weight when loaded, and it had no brakes at all.

There's a lock-out lever for the surge brakes; it prevents the tongue from pivoting and engaging the surge cylinder. Under normal operation, it won't stay in the locked-out position once you start driving, but I could probably figure out a way to keep it engaged for the trip up.
 
Bill, I had a situation some years back where I rented a trailer with surge brakes in Sequim to haul a small car to Seattle. My tow rig was a 3/4 ton Suburban. Between the Ryder rental in Sequim and my place on Woodcock Rd., maybe 3 miles tops, I experienced a similar situation. The hitch I had on the Suburban was not a HD drawtite type but rather a more modest bolt on variety. I thought it would be ok because I had hauled some fairly heavy trailers without any brakes. Well, this trailer with the surge brakes bucked something fierce. Broke the hitch in two places. I took the trailer back to Ryder, had the hitch welded up and Ryder gave me
another trailer (with surge brakes) and I made the trip to Seattle w/o
any problem. I and Ryder felt the fault was in the surge brakes on that particular trailer. In my particular case it had to be those particular brakes on the 1st trailer because the replacement was fine. Empty or loaded.

Don't know if this helps, or it parallels your experience but at least now you won't feel like the Lone Ranger. I've been there!

It didn't register with me that you were getting "violent" bucking until I read your last post, but my experience (above) was nasty enough to be scary.
 
Bill

I agree with 2nd byte. Something is wrong somewhere. Your trailer should tow like a dream when empty. If your tongue height is proper I'd be looking real hard at your surge setup.
just my 2 cents.
I have a King trailer with surge brakes, when going down the road I don't feel the trailer at all when empty.

Don't ask me how I know this, but if your drop hitch is to low it will cause the tandem trailer to jerk you around.
 
Thanks for the feedback, guys. I'll call Pacific on Monday - last thing I need is to pick up a new boat 800 miles from home with a problematic trailer.

Only reason I'd be a little surprised if there was a problem - the bucking completely depends on the road surface, and whether or not the trailer is bouncing. On the concrete sections of freeway (rougher), it bucks, but I can see the thing dancing up and down in my rear view mirror; the up/down wouldn't be happening with weight on it.

When the road smooths out, it tows fine. Still - I'll let Pacific make the call, and I'll get out for another test drive tomorrow on a local, particularly nasty stretch of freeway with the tire pressure reduced...
 
The information on this site amazes me. It doesn't make any difference what the problem, or topic, is. Around here if you got a problem, you're never alone and stranded. Always a little jibbing and kidding but mixed in is real help. Sometimes as first hand experiance and others as a simple group hanging out at the pub brainstorming. The incredible thing too is how well an issue gets covered.

Bill, I do believe if you don't get things right before departure that somebody actually Would come get that trailer. Good luck with the sorting but I'm leaning to a brake system problem. Up here we seem to haul empty trailers home for some distance after sticking the boat in the marina for extended time periods. Doesn't seem to be a topic that's been an issue for others and if it were it would have surfaced before.

Tim
 
Its 365 miles from Fairbanks to Valdez and though the road has improved over the years it has some rough spots and a lot of undulations due to frost heaves. An empty tandem with surge that travels that road with no problem. I routinely do drop the pressure on the tires though just to soften it's ride a little. Either way, "no violence allowed".

Geez, my memory isn't completly gone after all. Another time I left Seattle with a boat trailer that was quirky, but inconsistantly so, for a run to Fairbanks (single axle -surge brakes). At Clinton, on the AK highway, one wheel locked up absolutely solid. Brake cylinder had froze up tight. Went ahead and replaced both cylinders and was on my way.

Stuff happens, but I'm sure you'll get this figured out and hope all goes well on your trip. Be a real plus if you can pin it down fefore the fact.

Moral of this story is to be ahead of the curve!
 
Bill, remember the problem I had with the new King trailer locking up when backing up a small grade. Well, after a month scratching my head, I discovered it wasn't anything wrong with my trailer, it was a faulty reverse switch (worked intermittently) that was buried underneath the dash on my truck. It sure didn't take very much pressure to activate the brakes on the trailer. This leads me to believe that your idea with the trailer bouncing on rough roadways is activating the brakes. That would be my first guess with an empty trailer. Once the trailer starts to jump, it starts a back and forth motion creating havoc behind your truck.
Jon
 
Bill,

Have you checked to see if the tires were balanced? Sometimes the factory forgets to check when they mount the tires or they don't put the weights on correctly and you throw a weight when you start driving down the road. I used to be a pump jockey (back when there was something called Full Serve) and have found that problem with a lot of vehicles out there. I have run into several trailers that were delivered with unbalanced tires, this tends to trash the wheel bearings if you run long enough as well.

I'm not sure if you have the "Les Schwab" tire company down in Northern Cal, they usually do simple balances like that for cheap or free. I'd steer clear of the corner gas station unless you know them well, without the right equipment or training they can miss-balance the tires and make it worse, gas stations usually charge the most as well. Good luck on this, let us know what you find out!

Chivita Dave
 
my trailer also bounces when towing lite, bounced so hard the one board came off (bunk type) ... kinda think once it starts the serge brake helps it along as the road wasn't that rough ... i half to jam mine to keep it unlocked ( to back up etc.) started checking other trailers but never came across one with a lever to keep the brakes unlocked ... to lower the tire pressure would be the easiest test .... easy to refil .... lol
 
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