Jerking feeling

[Decobugma07]

So, I am about to finish my teardrop and took it for a quick spin around ther neighborhood. It drove great and handle surprisingly well. One thing that I felt is that when I slowed down the trailer felt like it wanted to push the car. What makes this happens? Is it the hitch ball to small or the hitch body to the car not tight enough? I need some guidance on this since I am planning to take it for the first time on next coming fathers day weekend with my five years old boy.

Thanks in advance.

[CarlLaFong]

If your trailer has no brakes and you're pulling it with a light car (VW) , the trailer is going to try to push the tow vehicle.It's simple physics. You may want to consider adding brakes

[Decobugma07]

Is it to dangerous? It didn't feel that I was going to go out of control and my brake (on my bug) power was very good with the load. It felt unusual and new to me. thanks for your fast response.

[Shadow Catcher]

Make sure the coupler is adjusted/ tightened on the ball and that it is the correct size ball for the coupler!!!
And I would not want a trailer with out brakes again, it is better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them.
There have been a couple of times where the brakes were not working on CR and and you can really really tell the difference and we live in an area that is FLAT as in planed off by the last ice age flat.

[Decobugma07]

Is it difficult to install the brakes? My frame came from a simple cargo trailer that came with no brake hookup.

[iplay10us2]

It's possible that you don't have enough weight on the tongue. Was the trailer empty? 10-15% of the weight should be on the tongue.

I know that when I drove mine without anything in it, it felt like it was "pushing" just a little.

[Decobugma07]

Yes the trailer was completely empty. I just took it out to test the lights, handling, and rear view area of the road from my VW Bug while driving.

[Decobugma07]

This is my build

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150648472239286.403681.639309285&type=3

[bc toys]

1st welcome to site
2nd nice little trailer you have built your family
3rd test it with the weight you are going to have when camping and slow down further back then you would empty
4th enjoy the trip with your son and your new camper

[Decobugma07]

Thanks!!!

I'll do a full test tomorrow with all the gear and pretend gear weight (food, ice, etc) and tighten all the bolts and nuts of the trailer hitch on the car. I noticed that two of the U bolts were loose. So, I'll install some lock nuts to them.
I am a bit nervous/excited since this is my first ever driving one of these things.

I think I am more excited than my son. So, I'll post tomorrow of how it went. I like more safety points so I can make my list to follow. I am started to get the hang of it of backing up. It is small, but it feels that it has it's own brain when it comes to backing it up. It took me about 20minutes to revers it into my (narrow to me) driveway of 1000 feet.

[Decobugma07]

So I took the teardrop for Father's Day weekend to about 200 miles trek involving local and most highway routes. One thing I notice is that I couldn't go over 45mph. Every time I was close to 50mpg and hit a uneven portion of the highway the trailer started to og side to side. I read about how to handle it and I did. But what I haven't found is how to fix this to prevent this to happen again. The weight in the camper was distributed equal on all corners (well, so I think it was). Other than that I don't know what to do next. I am getting a electric brake system. My brakes were fine and stopped on time. But, again I didn't hit any mayor down hill on that route. My 66 VW Bug handled the cargo very well and the engine didn't feel to be showing any low power specially on the up hills.

I'll appreciate any type of input on the side to side issue. At times it was a bit scary. But, I got better on controlling the car as it happened a few times.

[M C Toyer]

Every time I was close to 50mpg and hit a uneven portion of the highway the trailer started to og side to side.

That's generally an indication you need more weight on the tongue. 10 - 15 % of the total is a rule of thumb.

Try rearranging your load shifting some of the heavier items to the front.

[bobhenry]

Give us a good side shot with the trailer hooked up to the bug and we might be better able to answer this question. I went into your album and tried to look and just couldn't tell from the angle at which the one side shot picture was taken.


Three things you really need to do for a good handeling combination is......

NEVER tow with the trailer nose up. Level is OK slightly nose down is better.

Axle should be placed at 60/40 of the BODY length so an 8' trailer will have the axle about 38" forward of the rear of the body. ( 96" *.4= 38.4") I have found that a 65/35 proportion is even better as long as the tongue weight is within the cars capabilities.

3rd and final as stated earlier tongue weight should be 10 to 15 percent of the total trailer weight. Measure this at normal towing height with the aid of a good set of bathroom scales.

When I first built Chubby 62 MPH was max before the side to side dance started. It wasn't bad, but it did somewhat unnerve you when you looked in the side mirror. I finally reinforced and added 18" to the overall tongue length and he is now a good boy even at 80 MPH.

[Decobugma07]

Here are some pictures





The original base was 4" x 6'. Then I added an extra 2' to make it 8' long. I didn't move the axle since they are welded and I have no clue on welding.
It is definitely heavier on the galley. When I detach it from the car, its back slam down. When is empty it balance a little but still want to go nose up.

It is my first one. So, I guess is matter of weight distribution now?

[bobhenry]

Well I would say you are 3 No-No's for 3 !

Negative tongue weight

wheels centered maybe even slightly forward of center

and towing slightly nose up.

now the easy way to correct it ????

I would suggest a tongue extention coupled with a healthy tongue box to get load more forward of axle center. This is far easier than moving the axle in my opinion. To lower the attitude of pull place the coupler on top of a 2x2 ( 2 1/2 x 2 1/2) on top of the main tube then place the coupler on it this will drop the nose 2 to 2 1/2 inches.




Make absolutely sure you have that coupler locked and PINNED to keep that coupler from popping open. With negative tongue weight it WILL work open if you don't take precautions.