I just bought a new/used trailer, everyone else that has pulled it says it pulls like a dream.. However on my truck going up or down hill it is VERY JERKY!! It almost feels like there is "slack" somewhere as if you keep pulling on it no jerking or not as much..
I have a fold down ball in the truck, not sure if that has anything to do with it or not. But this same thing has happened while pulling a flat bed with the same truck as well.. I'm almost leaning towards something wrong with the hitch rather then the truck or trailer.. Any suggestions??
Posted 2007-11-26 1:01 AM (#71803 - in reply to #71801) Subject: RE: Trailer feels "jerky"??
Expert
Posts: 3853 Location: Vermont
First of all, the pin for the gooseneck in the bed might be worn, or the receiver might be allowing it to "slop around" when hooked up..
Next area I would look at is the mounting bolts for the pin plate.. If they are loose at any point and let it move a bit you will get this kind of problem..
Third is that the welds on the gooseneck might be breaking somewhere and allow it to flex a bit..but you said this occurred with another trailer, so I'd ignore this for the moment...
You also might check the springs and axle bolts on the trailer, if they are loose then it might be moving a bit, and with the length of the trailer you would get an "amplified symptom"
Out of round trailer tire ?? Probably not... Severely unbalanced trailer tire ?? Probably not...
The brake controller, well not sure that would be a cause, as it "usually" just applies the brakes when needed..
Best bet is to have a mechanic check your hitch and then check over the trailer, check the tires, bearings, springs, welds, and all that. You might find the problem that way, but it might just be one of those things where everything is good but the combination makes a problem appear.
Posted 2007-11-26 5:21 AM (#71805 - in reply to #71801) Subject: RE: Trailer feels "jerky"??
Expert
Posts: 1283 Location: Home of Wild Turkey Whiskey
The "Fold Down" type gooseneck balls are well known to do this, get in the bed of your truck and wiggle from front to back the ball, if it moves at all imagine that movement being multiplied by the weight of your trailer. I have seen these type goosenck ball move up to an 1/8 of an inch(very bad). The plate that folds over to capture the ball gets worn and causes this. A simple fix is to have a good welder weld the ball in the UP position, but then it won't fold down.
Posted 2007-11-26 11:44 PM (#71866 - in reply to #71801) Subject: RE: Trailer feels "jerky"??
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 385 Location: washington
My old 2 horse GN did this... I was not sure if it was the truck or the trailer, but now that I have a new trailer (also a GN) I can tell it was the old trailer. I can't say exactly what caused this problem though, but my new trailer is about the same weight, maybe a little heavier, and it has not "jerked or tugged" while am towing.
Trailer feels "jerky"??
