Has anyone had problems with the 2008 Circle J Mirage 3h bp fishtailing?

The first time I had any weight in it, luckily kennel panels not horses, it fishtailed enough that I could see the excape door in my side view mirror. It was difficult to get back under control.

I had it weighed and it was within weight with more weight on the front axel. I had the bearings repacked. I bought a new ball so that it moved more freely in the hitch. I had the axels checked and they were fine. I then had the trailer reloaded with the weight more to the front.

We hooked it up to a different truck, and it still fishtailed. The gentleman driving said he had trouble getting it under control.

It did end up haveing valve stem troubles but when it fishtailed all four tires were at the same pressure, 60psi(checked before and after it had the problem).

The dealer said it was the valve stems and that they had been haveing a problem with them. Then he said that when hauling one horse with this model trailer, the horse had to be loaded in the front stall. He had heard of 'one' lady having her trailer fishtail when she loaded her horse in the last stall. He then said that the company redesigned the new model because of this. Why would the company redesign the trailer if only one person had a problem?

I was taught to if you have one horse you put it in the center stall, not front or rear, to balance the weight over the axels, but a lot of people I know just put the horse in the last stall.

I get this thing back today and am wondering what will happen if I load three 1500lb warmbloods into it, since that will equal out the weight over the axels which would not happen if you have one horse in the front stall. What happens if it starts to fishtail and the horses start shifting to compensate? It was hard enough to control with dead weight.

I was wondering if anyone has had this problem with this trailer or has heard of anyone haveing this problem? If they redesigned the newer model because the older model was unsafe shouldn't there be a recall?

 Thank you.

Is your trailer similar to this one?

http://www.horsetrailerworld.com/home/trailerdetail.asp?ID=153651

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What do you mean by that? The ball should not move freely in the hitch...

and... what are you towing with, are you using weight distribution hitch (WDH), or anti-sway bars.

Fishtailing is caused by too little a tongue weight, or a hitch that is too low, causing the tongue to put excessive weight on the forward axle. Valve stems have nothing to do with your problem unless they are leaking. If you are fishtailing with a horse in the center stall, the trailer's proportion of the axles to the frame ratio might be suspect. The axles may be too far forward. If you could place a scale under the tongue and weigh the hitch empty, it should be about 10%-15% of the trailer's total weight.

With a horse in the center stall, the tongue weight should still be a similar proportion. If it becomes less, then it means that the axles are too far forward. With three horses of equal size, you will have the same problem of unweighting the hitch.

You can probably eliminate the fishtailing with one horse in the forward stall. It should not be a problem with one in the center stall. It definitely will be a problem with one horse in the rear stall. You can usually carry a singular horse in the rear most stall of a GN trailer, but not in a BP trailer.

You are going to have to track the various tongue weights when your horses are loaded in the different positions. That is the only way you will be able to determine your problems.

It might be interesting to measure where your axle placements are in relation to the length of your trailer. Find a friend that has a similar length trailer, but a different brand and who has had no trailering difficulties. Measure the same points on his trailer, and determine if there are any differences on how forward your axles are located when compared to his.

A few months ago there was a similar problem with a different brand of BP trailer. It was determined that the first seven trailers built in that run, had incorrect alxe placements. The company took the trailer back and refunded the purchaser's money.

BOL  Gard

I got to guess that trailer has a 2 and 5/16" hitch... Hope you are not towing it with a 2" ball!!

Thanks for the replies.

flyinn farm- 3/4 ton Hd, between 50-55 while maintaining speed. The last time at lower speeds if a truck passed.

retento- yes, that is the same trailer, though they addvertize the weight as 3650 when it is actually 4800 empty. The trailer tag says the load can be up to 6350 when it can actually only be loaded up to 5200. And no I am not using a 2" ball.

gabz- the ball was binding in the hitch, (possibly machined wrong?)

gard- The modifacation that the company made with the new models was to move the axels.

Do you know, if after the modifications were made, were the axles moved further towards the back of the trailer? That would stabilize the tracking and increase the tongue weight. It would also allow you to have a properly tracking trailer, with one horse riding in the center stall. This is the ideal position for a single load.

If a trailer is set up correctly, sway bars should not be at all necessary. When the tongue weight is correct, the trailer will track true in curves as well as straights, loaded or unloaded.

Best of luck   Gard

The company either has to make the same modification to YOUR trailer, or take it back and replace it with the updated one.

I would NOT accept any alternative to that. This is a safety issue. If the manufacturer/ dealer give you any trouble - take it to your attorney general's office and consumer product safety commission.

Unbelieveable that a company sold a trailer with faults such as this.

I am not sure which way they moved the axels, the dealer tried to say forward, to "increase the tounge weight". Which makes no sence since that would put more weight to the back.

The reason for starting this thread is because I am hopeing to find other people who have had this problem, because it can't just be me and one other person. I could then take that information back to the dealer to back up what I am saying.

I did haul about 2000lbs in it today,not horses, secured dead weight. I had the weight centered slightly ahead of the axels. Sure enough it still wanted to sway, not excessively, if I hadn't been watching for it, I would probably brushed it off as wind. It did it when a bus or diesle  had finished passing(it would take a bit to recover from the wake)  or on bumpy curves. Of course I could be a bit paranoid at the moment, but it wasn't consistant only at certain time and not when I passed a diesel.

I was looking at the web site and their all aluminium 3h bp's have their axels much farther back than the Mirage, though one picture of a mirage looked like tha axels were farther back.

Thank you

You're correct. Moving the axles forward would only exacerbate the problem. I don't remember any other threads about problems with your brand of trailer.

There was a similar, lengthy discussion that concerned similar instabilities in a BP Lakota trailer with a LQ. Every hitch accessory was utilized, to help the swaying to no avail. The owner even purchased a new truck in an effort to cure the problem.

If you can get some comparison measurements of the axle placements, it would help to establish a reason for your difficulties. It would especially hold true, if newer versions of your trailer, had documented modifications to the placement of their axles.

You are putting yourself in a precarious position with each usage of your trailer. I believe you are dealing with a design flaw, and no amount of weighting will correct an inherently bad design. To continue using this trailer may cause an accident and injury. I would not recommend any further usage of it. This trailer should be returned and taken off the road until it is modified or replaced.

Is this a new trailer that is under warranty? Are you the first owner? Have you directly contacted the manufacturer? Has it offered any relief?  This involves a very serious liability issue, and the word of a dealer trying to placate the situation will not suffice. If no one will offer any solution, your only recourse may be effecting litigation through an attorney.

Best of luck   Gard

Gard touched on one thing that could be causing it. Is the trailer riding level? If you are low on the front, it can cause the same fishtailing that you are experiencing. Does it fishtail empty, or just loaded? You also said that the weights were within spec, but that you had more weight on the front axle. Was that loaded or empty?

Look at some newer models of your trailer and see exactly what the manufacturer has changed on axle placement. If the axles are too far forward, it sure can create problems. If it reaches a point that you contact the manufacturer, have your ducks in a row. Have everything documented down that you have done, along with the towing specs of your truck.

Good luck!

The trailer rides level when hitched to the truck.

 I had the trailer and axels weighed the morning after the first time it fishtailed with the load it had had problems with.

It has only fishtailed loaded. Though if it had fishtailed slightly at other times I may not have noticed since when it was weaving, loaded, within my lane the only feeling I got in the truck was the feeling you get in a cross wind and I only started looking around because there was no wind what so ever. Now when it was trying to take up three lanes of the highway, then it was trying to pull the truck around.

I guess the next step is to go to a different dealer and look at the axel placement on the 2009's. And see if I can find previous models.