How to get your trailer to stop being a Jerk????.

So, now that I have no lake cabin, I have resorted to trailering my 18 footer, and noticed that it jerks back and forth as I am driving. This can be a pain over long distances. ( I have to now drive 1 ? to 2 hours to get to ?boatable? water.) Can this damage your tow vehicle ( I have a Colorado, I-5) I wonder if this is due to the fact that I have a receiver hitch, vs the old style hitch that did not remove. It?s a single axle trailer that came with the boat (?03 bayliner).
Is there something to eliminate the Jerk/ reduce it?

Re: How to get your trailer to stop being a Jerk????.

define 'jerk'... Are you saying it sways back and forth? That is a sign of low tongue weight, and is VERY dangerous. Is the trailer level? If your ball is too high, that will also cause a trailer to do some strange things, as well as reduces tongue weight. Have you checked wheel bearings? A wheel that is about to fall off might cause the trailer to jerk! Finally, does the trailer have surge brakes? I've seen very neglected brakes (with zero fluid in them) cause some really bad things while trailering.

Re: How to get your trailer to stop being a Jerk????.

Do you have brakes on your trailer?

I had a similiar problem with the trailer "Jerking" when I speed up or slow down. Turned out to be a little dampener (looks like a mini shock absorber) that is part of my trailer brake system.

Re: How to get your trailer to stop being a Jerk????.

'78 Crusader said:

Do you have brakes on your trailer?

I had a similiar problem with the trailer "Jerking" when I speed up or slow down. Turned out to be a little dampener (looks like a mini shock absorber) that is part of my trailer brake system.

Click to expand...

yes there are brakes on trailer, and the jerking is a back and forth motion. So I should have the trailer brakes checked out? can a marina do that?

Re: How to get your trailer to stop being a Jerk????.

You can do it Chris. I just finished reworking mine after my iboats buddies talked me into doing it myself at about a third of the cost of what a shop would have charged me. Post up your deets and we'll get to work.

Re: How to get your trailer to stop being a Jerk????.

If your trailer has not been used for years except to take out in the fall and put in in the spring it would be a good time to go over the brakes. No brake fluid or as mentioned above a bad damper will cause that. Also be sure the size of the hitch ball is the same as the coupler. A little slack there can sound like a whole lot while driving.

Re: How to get your trailer to stop being a Jerk????.

like mentioned before it could very well be the surge brakes if that is the kind of brakes you have. Have you checked the pin that holds in the receiver? Sometimes there is a smaller pin in them that gives it a little play when starting and stopping.

Re: How to get your trailer to stop being a Jerk????.

smokingcrater said:

define 'jerk'... Are you saying it sways back and forth? That is a sign of low tongue weight, and is VERY dangerous.

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That's what I'd check first, it's the easiest to check. Throw a bathroom scale under the ball mount and see what you have for tongue weight. The tongue weight should be around 10% of the boat/trailer weight, I'd guess something like 200-300# for an 18'er. Also, if you load a ton of stuff into the stern of the boat while trailering, it could throw off your tongue weight.

Re: How to get your trailer to stop being a Jerk????.

Sounds like a loose receiver in the hitch or could even be a loose receiver on the trailer. Could cause transmission problems if left unchecked.

Re: How to get your trailer to stop being a Jerk????.

WOW!! three years later and you still have the same problem

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=273389

dont sound like you listened to the advice then either.

woosterken

Re: How to get your trailer to stop being a Jerk????.

I'd say it's probably a loose receiver as well. Sometimes they can make an aweful racket if they move up/down/side-to-side inside the hitch. We had a Jeep Cherokee that had a loose receiver and it made all sorts of noise going down the road. I can't imagine it would hurt the tranny if it's just noise. Now if you can actually feel it pulling/pushing you might have another problem.

Re: How to get your trailer to stop being a Jerk????.

woosterken said:

WOW!! three years later and you still have the same problem
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=273389
dont sound like you listened to the advice then either.

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At least most of the answers are the same! three years difference, same advice, no problem resolution...

Re: How to get your trailer to stop being a Jerk????.

I have this problem chrisg and it's down to the brake actuator. Mine has a couple of leaks from the master cylinder and pulling away and braking causes the bang bang.
I have ordered a complete new unit from Tie Down and it should arrive soon.

Incoop is gonna help me fit it.....

Re: How to get your trailer to stop being a Jerk????.

chrisg said:

So, now that I have no lake cabin, I have resorted to trailering my 18 footer, and noticed that it jerks back and forth as I am driving. This can be a pain over long distances. ( I have to now drive 1 ? to 2 hours to get to ?boatable? water.) Can this damage your tow vehicle ( I have a Colorado, I-5) I wonder if this is due to the fact that I have a receiver hitch, vs the old style hitch that did not remove. It?s a single axle trailer that came with the boat (?03 bayliner).
Is there something to eliminate the Jerk/ reduce it?

Click to expand...

Hello -

This could mean numerous amount of things .

Does the ball mount you own a aftermarket brand and are you installing it into a factory made hitch ?

Have you checked if you have the correct ball mount ( Rise or drop ?) Measure the upper portion of your hitch down to the ground and write that measurement down and then go back over to your trailer as if it was in the tow level position . Take that tape measure and stick it into the coupler and measure that distance down to the ground . So for example : if you were to measure 20" with the truck and 15" with the trailer ( you know you should seek a ball mount with a 5 inch drop ) . If those numbers were reversed (you would need a 5 inch rise ) .

Have you also taken a look at the springs on the trailer ? Are they overslung or underslung ? I.E above or under the axle ? Timbern company makes a excellent product to cushion the ride . They call it the silent ride . Here is a link for the product . http://timbren.com/rubber-suspensions-in-action.htm

What kind of braking style do you have on the trailer ? Electric ? Hydralic ? Disc ?

How fast are you towing this trailer ? Are you getting sway problems too ? Have you considered a weight distribution kit ?

Last thing , make sure you have the correct hitch for this trailer you are towing . Always take into consideration that the trailer tongue weight cannot be in excess of the rating of the hitch . If your hitch is rated at 6000 lbs , take 10 percent of that . that would determine your TW on what the hitch could handle .

Trailerguy .

Re: How to get your trailer to stop being a Jerk????.

I towed a buddy's boat/trailer one time, and it jerked considerably. I was puzzled.

Anwyay... We launched it, and retrieved it. On the way home, it didn't do it. I was the one that loaded the boat. I winched the boat snugg/tight to the front roller and the the transom straps were on firm. Turns out the boat was doing the slight up/down bounce when he would winch it, because he would never make it very snug on the front or rear.

It was a definite jerking when we felt it in the truck, as if it were jerking fore and aft. I never suspected it was the boat, but it was. We could have spent three years looking at the trailer and never would have found it until I retrieved and loaded his boat.

Re: How to get your trailer to stop being a Jerk????.

My boat will also jerk if loose in the bow exactly like Phil explained above. I have a good ratchet strap going from the bow eye straight down to the trailer frame which eliminates this problem.