Balancing my tear? Help!...All fixed now!

[bobhenry]

Man I know it is a P.I.T.A. but I would go thru the 6 hours

( Oh did I mention my welder was a retired machinest, almost anal about perfection)

anyway ...I would go thru the 6 hours of effort 2 more time to get the towing characteristics I have now. I have been told more than once it shouldn't matter but this is the 3rd trailer I have tamed by extending the tongue.

Do yourself a favor and take it all the way to the rear. If you do you will be able to sleve it for a bicycle rack, rear cargo platform, or what ever you want to install in your class 2 1 1/4" mini receiver.

I wish one of the engineer type would explain the error in my thinking that extending a center tongue full length of the trailer doesn't help with the harmonic resonance problem. I still see it as canceling the effect but I am just a redneck cobbler upper.

Maybe I just wanted a few more weld spots just in case. Oh you haven't seen my ugly welds

[asianflava]

I just looked at your album, do you have pics of the new tongue? It looks like the original was a single tube tongue, is the new one?

A while back Chip had a problem with his a trailer shimmy. I think it was determined that there wasn't enough lateral stiffness in the tongue. Making yours longer may have just exacerbated the problem.

[48Rob]

Jason,

The other fellows may have something with adding length to the tongue, but before you jump to conclusions, try adding another 50 pounds to the front of the trailer.
If it isn't some issue with a weak tongue that is causing the sway, it has to be weight, adding length to the tongue will increase the tongue weight.
Much cheaper to buy a bag of sand or two than hire a welder to find out...

Rob

[kirkman]

asianflava......The pics in my album are old before the axle mod. I have not changed the tongue yet. If and when I do I am going to beef it up by adding a frame supports. Thanks!

48Rob......I will try that rob. I don't have to hire a welder I have a welder and can do the mod my self. All I have to do is buy the steel. Thanks!

[kirkman]

slowcowboy...I would have done that if I had thought of it sooner. The problem with doing that now is the the new frame extension and axle are welded in quite solid and would take twice as much work. Unbolting the tongue and welding in a new one will be much easier. Plus my tear will be easier to back up! Thanks I do wish I had thought of that before !!!!!!

[kennyrayandersen]

since you weld, it would be easy enough to tack on a couple of lateral supports to see whether it is a stiffness, or a weight issue. If the lateral stiffeners fix it, it's a stiffness issue and of the bag of sand fixes it it's a weight issue (my guess is lateral stiffness, but it's only a guess).

[kirkman]

kennyrayandersen.....Thanks !

[kennyrayandersen]

the latteral stiffeners of course going from the corner of the trailer to somewhere near the coupler... in case that wasn't clear.

[kirkman]

kennyrayandersen .......Yea I got that. Thanks!

OK guys I bought a longer tongue and It looks like I am 1/4 inch off on one side measuring from u-bolt axle mount to the tongue. That's not going to make that much difference is it? (It could just be the placement of the u bolt.) There is not much I can do because where the tongue bolts to the trailer it is welded and set in stone. It might have gotten bent a little (the original mount) because there was no corner to corner bracing on the original tongue.

[Alphacarina]

You've pretty well proved it's not weight placement nor tongue weight - I'm not surprised. Lengthening the tongue isn't going to do much for you . . . . it used to tow straight and true with this tongue . . . . didn't it?

Tongue off by 1/4 inch to one side? Pretty big number in my book. If the tongue is centered and straight, you've just discovered an error in the axle placement and that 1/4 inch could be HUGE

Are the trailer springs an exact matched pair? Are the trailer tires an exact matched pair? Are they inflated to the same exact pressure?

Again - I would look very carefully at the axle placement and installation, looking for any disparity, side to side. This trailer towed perfectly until you replaced the axle, so it seems pretty obvious to me that's where the problem lies. The first time you checked it, all the measurements were exactly the same and now you've discovered a 1/4 inch disparity . . . . what else are you overlooking?

Don

[48Rob]

OK I just extended my frame
and installed a new wider Axel on my tear lowering it 6"
In doing so my trailer now sits level in stead of a slight downward tilt towards the front.
The Axel is in the same place it was before.

What does "extended my frame" mean?
Extending your frame could change the weight ratios/balance.

Does the new axle have a slight bend in it, and which direction is the bow/bend, up, or down?
It should bow upwards, if it bows down, then the axle would be installed upside down, throwing the camber way off.

While Don is right that a 1/4 inch on one end can multiply by the time you get to the other end, tracking slightly off still shouldn't make it unstable.

Did it tow "perfectly" before, up to speeds of 70+mph?
Or did it "tow okay" but not perfect, and the changes you've made changed it from acceptable to unacceptable?


Rob

[kirkman]

Alphacarina......"Are the trailer springs an exact matched pair?" Yep" Are the trailer tires an exact matched pair?" Yep "Are they inflated to the same exact pressure?" Yep I will crawl under it and check to see if it is indeed the axle or just the u-bolt tomorrow.


48Rob....." What does "extended my frame" mean?" Widened it. The axle is bent up like it is supposed to be. It had factory installed supports on it.

"Did it tow "perfectly" before, up to speeds of 70+mph?" it towed OK

When I installed the axle I check and double checked it to make sure it was square. So this tongue thing is new, it might have bent when it got really loose on me at 70. I don't know. I will let you all know how it tows tomorrow after I give it a test run after work. Thanks again for all the help!!!!!!

[kirkman]

OK guys here are the results after a test tow all the way up to 70 mph. The trailer towed ded a** perfect. I did not try towing it with the water tank full yet buy the way it was acting even when I swerved real hard at 65 like I was trying to miss a dog in the road. I don't think I will have any problems!
Thanks SO much to every one that put in there two cents! It made solving my problem much easier with help from my Internet friends! I Could not have done it with out your help!.... I will try to get pic's up soon.

[Shadow Catcher]

So what worked?

[kirkman]

Shadow Catcher...... Sorry I did forget to post what changes I made! I lengthened the tongue 22" and added lateral stiffeners going from just past the middle of the tongue to the corners of the trailer.