Trailer Shake - I'm out of ideas

Natesms

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Alignment? Is the axle 90 degrees to the frame? Do the tires wear evenly?
Any sign that the trailer has been damaged in some manner in the past and repaired?
What happens if you tow the trailer empty without the boat?

Tires look good, nothing stands out except that the bearing were trashed on one side and just fine on the other.

No sign of damage either. Couple of tiny dents on the wheel wells and that's it. Everything else looks true.
 

Natesms

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This may have been mentioned before, but are the rims true?
Have you spun the tires by hand while jacked up and looked for any issues?


I have run a brand new set of tires and rims on it and same results. No signs of issues when on the jack stands either.
 

Natesms

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I'm going to measure the tongue weight. It seems fair to good. The trailer doesn't wag at all and the truck drops about what I would expect. I can't pick the tongue up (at least not fairly easily), but when it should be about 300 pounds that's not exactly the best test.
 

Fleetwin

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Don't look for a bubble balancer. That method went out with the 70's.!


Funny, I walked by one at Big O tires last Saturday. They use it to get a general idea if a drum or disc is way out of whack.

As stated, look for obvious signs of a drum weight that has departed.

Since your vibration is speed sensitive, your issue is with the wheel ends. Drums, wheels, tires.

The frame and springs just don't just start shaking, unless induced by something else. They may be weak (springs) but there is an outside source setting up the resonance.

Call me stupid but I like doing the cheap/easy stuff first.
 
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airshot

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Boy it is going to be hard coming up with another suggestion from all that have been posted but here goes.....grab our self a pump oil can full of 30 wt oil and go around the trailer and soak with oil every joint/connection especially suspension connections you can find. Work hard to get the oil into the cracks and crevisus of the trailer. I know this sounds weird but some tears back I had a trailer that made a vibrating noise at speed that we couldn't figure out so I lubed the snot out of anything on that trailer that could possibly move and it went away. Some months later it started coming back so I lubed everything again and it went away. I just made a point of squirting oil on all movable parts at the beginning of the season and the noise never returned. Don't know if you could be that lucky............
 

midcarolina

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Someone else mentioned the spring bushings.........that for sure could well be the cause. even if they are not trashed, 22 years I bet they are egg shaped.
 

BigDfromTN

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Im no expert. But put me in the camp with the guess of one of the "Spinning" parts is out of balance.

It seems to be a speed/resonance issue classic to an out of balance tire/wheel combo. You have pretty much ruled that out with the new tires and wheels. My next step would be to look at the brake drums real close and have them checked for balance. That is an unusual problem but sounds like the next step to me. I would check the side that had the bad bearings very close as the shake could have contributed to the bad bearings. Get that chase vehicle to look it over and possibly narrow it down to one side or another.

Best of luck and keep on keeping us posted. Also Good Idea for the Dinner cruise. May just have to do that myself this weekend!
 

Natesms

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Springs should be here today or tomorrow and I'll work on it Sunday. It certainly seems like something that rotates causing the problem. I will keep you posted with what I find.
 
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They sell a tow hitch with a built in rubber isolator that may help. It may be the trailer kicking the back of the truck when you are staying at cruising speed and the trailer is trying to follow the ruts cut in the road by big semi's. (interchangeable hitch receivers can be a sloppy fit)
 

Natesms

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I changed out the springs today and the shake is still there. Definitely worth the effort to change the springs though, one was really out of shape.

I spun the brake drums and nothing caught my eye, however I still think it's in the brakes. One side, that had a broken spring I fixed, the brake was dragging some. It actually took a little effort to get it to spin backwards. This is the same side that had the trashed bearings.

What's the best way to disable the brakes? Should I just take the shoes completely out and secure the cylinder?
 

Natesms

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I changed out the springs today and the shake is still there. Definitely worth the effort to change the springs though, one was really out of shape.

I spun the brake drums and nothing caught my eye, however I still think it's in the brakes. One side, that had a broken spring I fixed, the brake was dragging some. It actually took a little effort to get it to spin backwards. This is the same side that had the trashed bearings.

What's the best way to disable the brakes? Should I just take the shoes completely out and secure the cylinder?
 

Natesms

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OK. Took the break shoes out. No change. The one side had another broken break spring and it bent my new bearing. So I think I found my side with the problem. I guess its time for a new drum?!?!
 

Natesms

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This bearing has about 50 miles on it. You can see the bent left side. It shakes, but I didn't think it shook that much.
IMG_20140728_204725.jpg
 

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Idlespeedonly

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The bent bearing cage likely wont cause the problem you are having. You can bend that back with a small screwdriver and reuse it. I can see how the spring could bend that either.
 

Natesms

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The bent bearing cage likely wont cause the problem you are having. You can bend that back with a small screwdriver and reuse it. I can see how the spring could bend that either.

Yeah, I think it's just showing how much it shaking to toss of another brake spring and bend the brand new bearing. I'm starting to wonder if I have a bent spindle or something along those lines. I really don't want to sink a bunch of money into a 23 year old trailer.

$200 for the axle
$112 for non-brake equipped hubs with bearings (I'd just rip all the brakes out of it, I don't need them)
$16 for perches

I guess my next question, any suggestion on if I should just try and change out the drums for regular hubs? If that solves it great, if not I need the axle. Or I can try and just drive 60 MPH...
 

JaCrispy

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You ruled out the tires, rims, brakes and wheel bearings. I'd be looking for a bent axle.
 

Idlespeedonly

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This may have been mentioned before, but I would try to find someplace that can spin balance on the trailer. I havent seen it done in ages, but maybe somebody has the equipment. I am almost certain it is a bad tire,rim or both, or a brake drum. The symptoms sound exactly like something out of balance. I have seen plenty of bent axles and none have caused a vibration.
 

Natesms

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This may have been mentioned before, but I would try to find someplace that can spin balance on the trailer. I havent seen it done in ages, but maybe somebody has the equipment. I am almost certain it is a bad tire,rim or both, or a brake drum. The symptoms sound exactly like something out of balance. I have seen plenty of bent axles and none have caused a vibration.


I called a local trailer shop and they said the same about a bent axle, won't cause the vibration. They said most likely the brakes got hot at some point and caused problems with the drums. They said it's not very common but I've ruled just about everything else out.

I'm ripping all the brakes off the trailer and I'm going to pick up new idler hubs today on lunch. I'll try to install them tonight.
 

Idlespeedonly

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Make sure you you lock out the surge brakes, or you will have a mess when the wheel cylinders come apart.
Also, the Reliable Axle you have usually uses a non-standard size seal. So be aware of that.
 
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