Vibration two out of three trailers

Pbakk

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Hello,

I am experiencing significant vibration with my 2016 F150 with dual axle trailers. I thought maybe it was something with the dealer trailer and I tried another one and had the same experience with it loaded and unloaded. I didn't experience any vibration with my single axle trailer before I upgraded to a pontoon. Is this normal with a larger trailer with dual axles? The last trailer is a new Yacht Club bunk trailer. You can feel the vibration in the entire truck after exceeding 10 mph. The trailer receiver does have some movement between the shaft and the receiver, but it never seemed to be an issue with past snowmobile and boat trailers.

Thanks for any ideas.
 
I have a dual axle Yacht Club trailer. Never had any vibration issues. Only thing I can think of is maybe all 4 tires need to be balanced. I know tires on trailers aren't always balanced. But where else can it be coming from????
 
I doubt that dual axle has anything to do with it. Actually I was wondering how you are feeling vibration, or what kind of vibration it is. I don't think that transmits through the ball hitch, at least not in my experience.

What speed, what road conditions? Do you have trailer brakes - maybe there is a problem with them?

You should have the wheels balanced if you tow long distances. I have a 30-foot Airstream (8,000 lbs, dual axle) and we balance the wheels and use Centramatic Balancers (http://www.centramatic.com/) because there is no way we would feel minor problems (like wheel shimmy). The first sign is uneven tire wear.

You might have someone drive alongside the trailer while under way and look & listen for problems.

Some play in the receiver shaft is normal.
 
sound to me like you do not have the correct trailer hitch height matching the trailer height, this is important especially when towing a twin axel trailer, be sure you have enough trailer weight on the ball hitch, see what ball/hitch weight the trailer mfg. suggest.
 
Thanks for the responses.

I feel the vibration in the floor, seat, center arm rest and steering wheel. It is a constant shuttering. The vibration goes away when I disconnect the trailer and it exists with the trailer empty or loaded.

I didn't experience the vibration with my 16 foot snowmobile trailer, dual jet ski trailer, or my Crestliner 18.5 foot boat / trailer before I traded it for the Pontoon.

I experience the vibration after 10 mph and it continues at all higher speeds. Road conditions don't make a difference.

The vibration existed with the loaned trailer when I purchased the pontoon two months ago. (picture attached) I decided to purchase a trailer for storage and experienced the same thing (new different trailer). However, when I unloaded the pontoon with the loaned trailer and returned it to the dealer, the vibration seemed to go away.

The new trailer has vibration without the pontoon (I have not put the pontoon on it yet for the end of season).

I am going to ask a friend to pull the trailer to verify if he also has the same experience. If he doesn't have vibration, then maybe it is something with my truck setup.

Thanks again.
 

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Looks good. Looks level. I'm stumped!
 
I have a Flote-On trailer from Trailersforpontoons.com and it pulls beautifully. Does your trailer have the anti-bucking loop on the winch stand? I noticed that really helped when towing mine down to Tennessee.
 
Hello, I just checked the trailer and it doesn't have an anti-bucking loop, but it did come with 4 tie-down straps plus the main strap. The vibration occurs even without the pontoon loaded on the trailer, thus it doesn't seem to be a "bucking" issue. Thanks.
 
Might be a silly suggestion, but try not connecting the wiring to the trailer and see if it still does it. I'm assuming your F150 has the built in brake controller and the only thing that makes sense is something is wrong with it since it happens on multiple trailers.

Just a thought
 
Might be a silly suggestion, but try not connecting the wiring to the trailer and see if it still does it. I'm assuming your F150 has the built in brake controller and the only thing that makes sense is something is wrong with it since it happens on multiple trailers.

Just a thought

Wow - that is a great suggestion. The one thing that changed other than the trailers is that the new pontoon trailer required a "7 Blade to 5 Flat" adapter. Maybe something is wrong with the brake controller as you mentioned or the adapter. I will try it this weekend. Thanks!
 

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I am pretty sure boat trailers all have surge brakes controlled by tongue mounted hydraulic master cylinder. At least that is how my 2013 22SLX tritoon on a tandem axle factory ordered trailer with "Bennington" name in pinstripe on frame, and also my previous 25' Bayliner Saratoga cuddy cabin was hydraulic surge brakes. The electronic brake controller would not be involved with hydraulic surge brakes. Maybe the tongue weight is causing the truck to show an issue with it possibly????? Maybe verify lug nuts tight, bulge in tire, etc etc. or lots of hitch play.... my 2 cents
 
Thanks Jhill - I think you are correct. I have a 5 pin connector and surge brakes. I will keep trying to eliminate items and will tow it with a friends truck to see if anything is different.
 
I am pretty sure boat trailers all have surge brakes controlled by tongue mounted hydraulic master cylinder. At least that is how my 2013 22SLX tritoon on a tandem axle factory ordered trailer with "Bennington" name in pinstripe on frame, and also my previous 25' Bayliner Saratoga cuddy cabin was hydraulic surge brakes. The electronic brake controller would not be involved with hydraulic surge brakes. Maybe the tongue weight is causing the truck to show an issue with it possibly????? Maybe verify lug nuts tight, bulge in tire, etc etc. or lots of hitch play.... my 2 cents
Yes, all three of my Bennington trailers were surge brakes, but my thought was the fact that it also happened with the empty trailer so tongue weight is not the culprit . Oh and on a side note,as far as I know there's no "Bennington" factory trailers, there are many trailer companies that will customize their trailer for a Bennington. For instance my first trailer was a Prestige that had the Bennington name in pinstripe, my next two EZ Loader Custom Executive Trailers both actually had a "Bennington" laser cut out that was back lit, plus another light up logo on the side, first one said Bennington, my second said West Hawk Marine, which is where I purchased them from.

I feel it must be something with the vehicle, considering the different trailers and loaded weight. It is quite the mystery!
 
Do you have any kind of switchable electronic brake control, traction control, etc. If so, turn them off and try it. I’m wondering if something in the truck electronics is trying to compensate for the load.
 
Hello,

I am experiencing significant vibration with my 2016 F150 with dual axle trailers. I thought maybe it was something with the dealer trailer and I tried another one and had the same experience with it loaded and unloaded. I didn't experience any vibration with my single axle trailer before I upgraded to a pontoon. Is this normal with a larger trailer with dual axles? The last trailer is a new Yacht Club bunk trailer. You can feel the vibration in the entire truck after exceeding 10 mph. The trailer receiver does have some movement between the shaft and the receiver, but it never seemed to be an issue with past snowmobile and boat trailers.

Thanks for any ideas.
check the trailer hitch mounting bolts on the truck frame, possibly could have a loose bolt. Check truck tires for bulges etc.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I changed out the receiver hitch with one that had less play and that seemed to help but I still have the vibration. I am having the tires balanced. If that doesn't work, I will focus on the F150. My truck tires look good, but they do have 60,000 miles on them. I will report back once i have an answer. Hopefully not a truck transmission issue!
 
Our first trailer seemed jittery that had 10" tires. Don't feel it with the one we have now with bigger wheels/tires
 
Hello, Just wanted to close the loop and thank all for the help.

I replaced my hitch, truck tires (needed them anyway) and then had the new trailer tires balanced. They were significantly out of balance and all 4 needed weights (two pictures attached). Net result is that the trailer is much better.

Thanks again - I feel lucky to have share info on this forum.
 

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All right! Knew it was the tires!!!
 
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