shimmy in my pickle

[Hardin Valley Magic]

On the antenna of course!!

[madjack]

...unbalanced wheel/tire combo or broken belts in the tires...if you can get them spin balanced, I'd do that first(along with checking for that bubble Rich mentioned)...if that doesn't do the trick I'd turn the stereo up and adjust the mirrors out and up

my kinda fix! But where does the baling wire go?

...with the bubble gum of course(Double Bubble works best for most repairs) ....................

[angib]

I had one thought that some air buffeting off the car, or something else is causing the tongue to flex like a spring back and forth , just a thought on my feeble brain

Hmmmm, interesting idea. You should be able to test that by getting a gorilla of your acquaintance to really put his or her back into the right side of the trailer near the front corner while you look down the other side in your mirror. If the wind eddies can move it, then I reckon a decent-sized gorilla could move it too.

Getting your gorilla to stop pushing if they hear creaks or cracks from the body would be a plus, so you're looking for a sensitive sort of gorilla. I would volunteer to do it, iff'n I hadn't taken some offence over The Marmite Incident.......

My gut feel is that if the wobble is slow enough to see - so it's not just a blur - then it's unlikely to be aerodynamic as that would probably occur at a higher frequency.

Andrew

PS Wink added in case Chip or anyone thinks I was actually offended by The Marmite Incident, and not just being facetious!

[Chip]

Andrew,, first and formost, I want to formally and publically offer my apology to you for any negitive comments regarding the Marmite you so un selfishly shared with us here in the states,,, It, like many foods that people grow up with are a part of our heritage and even though we as a group did not have our taste buds tuned to the different taste of Marmite, we should not speak about it in a negitive way,,, I have a hard time relating to the fact that some do not like the acquired taste of Pickle juice, Grits, or pickled eggs,, so please accept my appology,,

Now on to the trailer,, I will find out tonight if the tongue is flexing due to gremlins in the assembly,, I ran a support angle from 2/3rds the way up the tongue back to the frame under the trailer, and I also attached the angle to the front of the tear box to further tie it all together,,

the tires on the trailer appear to be in good shape but( no bubbles or seperation is visually noticed) however the tires are scheduled for replacement soon,,

the frequency is fairly rapid on the side to side shimmy, but I can still see it,, a follower behind me could not see any shimmy at the rear of the tear,, just the front

Ill let ya'll know how it turns out,,,

chipper

[Bandit]

Did you place an angle brace like this? I have not road tested my trailer yet, which probably has no bearing on how it will tow until it is complete.
I added bracing for tongue strength, did not consider the added rigidity.





I also used the V of the angle to route my trailer wires.

[Chip]

Ok,, I spun tires,, I looked at welds, measured again,, tightened up the supports I put on the tongue to try and stablize it,, hooked up the pickle and took her fer a ride,, now I didnt get much past 55 since the door is in the trash pile and I could see the side bow a little from the wind blowing into the cabin,,,

so far so good,,, no shimmy or shake,,, I wont say it is fixed just yet but it looks like it just might,, here is a pic of what the metal supports look like,, no paint yet,,,



let me get a door on and then the real test,,, 75mph plus and if no shimmy then I will be happy,,,,

chipper

[subtearanean]

So the key is to leave the door off.

'Nuff said. It's fixed.

Glad I could help.

[mikeschn]

Nice packaging there Chip...

So are you saying it was the drum surface effect that yu were seeing?

Mike...

[Boodro]

Errr ..... too much P.J. ???? I hear it can affect your eyes!

Serious;y Chip , hope ya found the issue.

[Chip]

Mike, I think it was a matter of a long flexible tongue coupled with some force or something setting up a shimmy at the front of the trailer,, The additional braces may be treating the symptoms or it may be fixing the problem,, but in any case it seems to have stopped the movement,, I am still going to check other things but at least the Pickle juice wont get shook up now,,

chipper

[bledsoe3]

Chip, Does your tongue jack still rotate now?

[Chip]

Bledso,, yap it still rotates,, with an 1/8" to spare,,,

[weasel]

Glad its fixed, I've got a bent wheel. Good thing is bought 4.

[Jiminsav]

chip, I think it's your long, thin tongue..just a hunch.