trailer a tool!

[CKain(MI)]

Tried to find a trailer forum. Now will ask here, small flat-bed trailer, 16 wheels. size is for one snowmobile. When I hauled it home and hit 25mph, the left wheel started 'hopping'. had to go the 8 miles at less then 25. couldn't see if the other side was also bouncing. I have it in my shop and the front lifted up by my chain hoist. Wheels seem ok, spin normal by hand. < Anyone have an idea why it would go into tire hop ??? Thanks

 

[Michael Soldan]

Check the springs for a broken spring. If the trailer has sat a long time the tire may have a flat side and cause bounce. Put some kind of load on the trailer and check if it still bounces

 

[Oregon Tractor Jack]

How old are the tires and what condition are they in? You might have an out of round tire. If they are the small (12) tires most of them are really cheaply made. If you don't have any weight on the trailer when towing it wouldn't take much to make it hop around.


OTJ

 

[Barts Dad]

Worked in a tire shop three summers while going to college. Could be out of balance. Check tire for cupping or uneven wear one side to the other (alignment). If that doesnt work break the bead and make sure there is nothing inside the tire. Ive seen marble shaped balls of rubber that started as dirt or grit and over time will snowball taking rubber off inside the tire. Good luck.

 

[CKain(MI)]

Bart's Dad, good tips and also the others. One time I was getting a new tire and tire guy quickly popped off the old wheel weights. He didn't see one 'bounce' right into the new tire laying there beside his machine.. Geez, he tried to balance it 3-4 times.lol The weight kept moving inside. Then he broke the bead and looked inside !! pulled out the old weight...

 

[Old Ford Mechanic]

Had a new tire installed on the drivers side front of a one ton truck years ago. 750/16 tire. Paid the bill got in the truck and left the tire shop. Got up to around 25 mph and the truck started an awful bounce almost jerking the steering wheel out my hands. The tire tech had left a rolled up liner inside the tire when he mounted it. Still had a red rubber band around it! Something to think about. Had any tire work done recently?

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

The tire would have to seriously be out of balance, because tire installers normally do not balance trailer tires.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

I pay extra for the tire barn to balance, new stems and lifetime
tire repair on my trailer tires.
$50 for 4 tires.. My tires always seem to find screws and nails.
Rubber is magnetic.

Tire could be bad, broken belts, out of round, or out of
balance, bent rim..

The life of a tire is based on age, not

tread.
This tire was 11 years old.

Any tire more than 6 years old is on borrowed time..

 

[DoubleO7]

Make sure the tire is fully seated to the beads.
Bought a brand new trailer years ago from a dealer.
Did not make it a mile down the road before I took it back due to one side bouncing severely.

Yours might have a busted belting not visible when static.

With trailer elevated, mark the tire and spin it sever times. Let it spin and stop on it's own.

If it seems to stop in the same position a majority of the time it may be unbalanced.

If you have any balance weights you could add them your self opposite the downside and see if the stopping point evens out.

 

[MSD]

How much air do you have in it. Over inflated will make them bounce without a load on.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

I forgot to mention that tire was
Bouncing all over the place.

 

[CKain(MI)]

Well that was good tip. I just bought the trailer. so had no idea about tire pressure. Should have thought about that. The 'bouncer' had 28# !! dropped it to 12 and what a difference....

 

[showcrop]

This comes up periodically, usually on the transportation forum. A contributing factor is often the lack of any load.