Who's cheese fell off???

[AquaMan]

OK, a guy in my office and I just had a solid debate over what a repair shop told him.

Here is the deal. He ownes a 99 Expedition that vibrates at 30-35MPH while towing his utility/snowmobile trailer. He said the same thing happened while towing his neighbor's brand new 2001 boat/trailer but at 65MPH.

I borrowed his utility trailer this weekend and the vibration at 30-35 was unmistakable on my 94 Suburban. I told him that the trailer tires needed to be balanced or his bearings were worn. Same with the new trailer..balance the tires.

The repair shop told him that his receiver hitch was too tight??????? What the ##### is he talking about? I own 3 trailers that do NOT vibrate and I was always told to keep the hitching tight all the way around (Tongue bolt, receiver and ball) This guy tells him that he should sand the male side of the receiver down and loosen the tongue bolt so there is some play to absorb the vibration. Am I the only one that wants to get a bigger hammer for the machanic or is he right? Who's cheese fell off who's cracker?

I told the guy in the office to run from that shop as fast as he could but he will not listen, so if you see a black Expedition towing a home-made snowmobile trailer going down the road, STAY clear! She's gonna fly....

AquaMan~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.·´¯° --- "It all begins and ends at the water's edge"

Eric@crowncomputerinc.com

[RANGER]

Hammer? Get the SLEDGE for that guy! He must think everyone, other than he, are stupid. Ignorance can be fixed, STUPID can't be, so you might as well put him out of his misery or at least, knock his head out of his butt.

Too tight - BS!


RANGER


"KEEP YOUR LINES WET, YOUR POWDER DRY and THE BEER COLD!"

[EyeBoy]

AM;
I concure with you. Back to trailers 101 for that mechanic.
ON-PLANE!!!TOM

[AquaMan]

Really! LOL. The guy did not even suggest looking at the trailer which I vehemently argued was the cause. Whew, what a lump!

AquaMan~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.·´¯° --- "It all begins and ends at the water's edge"

Eric@crowncomputerinc.com

[Dave in Mpls]

Makes perfect sence to me!

Coffee beans vacuum socks files in the stack, door binder fluorescent tile pillow fluff tree then. Acorn outlet balcony fell dim light.

Follow my logic :)

[AquaMan]

Yep, if you vehicles starts making a funny noise, turn the radio up. LOL.

AquaMan~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.·´¯° --- "It all begins and ends at the water's edge"

Eric@crowncomputerinc.com

[Eyez]

so that's what "farkle the SWR" means...... popcorn scarf paperclip, eh?

[war-n-peace]

Must be a Cleveland thing.

[Large]

I had a trailer once that had a problem with harmonic vibrations at 2 different speeds (65mph and 37mph). The vibration I had at 65mph was caused by the boat flexing the trailer which eventually led to a weld breaking at the cross member (Boy was that fun when it let go). That problem was acknowleged by the trailer manufacturer and you will now see pads on trailers at mid-points between the bow and the crossmember which aliviates that type of vibration. I always felt that vibration and mentioned it to my boat dealer but we could never really pin it down.

We did call the trailer manufacturer and one of the questions he asked was how loose was the hitch in the receiver? He said if it is too tight you may contribute to the harmonics passed to the trailer thus inducing addtional vibration to the vehicle.

I guess I wouldn't have too much of an opinion on this unless I talked directly to the guy regarding what the vibration felt like. I will never forget seeing my boat up side down in the ditch after that weld broke on my trailer.





Take Care & Be Safe
Bob

[buzzer IA]

I don't know...Sounds to me like the bullpinion is banging against the heffershaft to me..!!??..What do you think?????

[Eyez]

Sounds like a job for a left handed engelson spanner to me....

[Jeff]

If you used the wire streacher on it, that might of fixed it

[CJHughes]

I have a problem towing my Triton sf 21 with my Astro van.It does a good job upto 70 mph ,once you reach 70 it starts to sway back and forth. This doesn't happen when I tow it with my truck .My thoughts are that the boat weighs to much for the van.It isn't too much of a problem except on the interstate where you must go 70 to just stay up with the traffic.So if I back every nut off 5 to 6 turns on the trailer hitch this will make it better ?

[RANGER]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-07-01 AT 04:24AM (CST)[p]Just a quick observation - that problem may be the result of the aerodynamics of the van vs the truck at speed and it's affect on the boat and trailer. The rush of air around the van could be creating lift on the hull of the boat resulting in lighter tongue loads. This had happened to me and in MY case a rear window spoiler fixed it plus it kept the backwash off the glass when it rained/snowed. I'm wondering - could this be your "fix"?


RANGER


"KEEP YOUR LINES WET, YOUR POWDER DRY and THE BEER COLD!"

[CJHughes]

I never even thought about it ( shape of the van compared to the truck,is your van an Astro ?

[RANGER]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-07-01 AT 08:27AM (CST)[p]No, it was a MAZDA 4x4 van. Not as boxie as the ASTRO but far less streamlined then the MOPARs etc. More similar to yours. It drove me nuts! Move the winch, change the tire pressure, realign stuff in the boat, fill a livewell, empty everything, load the van, load the boat, and on and on!

Sooooooooo, having experience as a USAF aircraft mechanic I sat on a lounge chair in my driveway, opened a can of brew and sat there studying every aspect of my rig and asking, "What the f___'s WRONG here"? After the third "soldier" fell it dawned on me - I'm creating a vacumn on the front third of the boat and high pressure flow under it from the height of the van - Duh!!! and that was it! I picked up my handy - dandy J.C. Whitney cat and the rest is history.

You can thank some Frenchman by the name of Bernouli (sp) for that one!


RANGER


"KEEP YOUR LINES WET, YOUR POWDER DRY and THE BEER COLD!"

[Totally wrong Buzzer]

Hey buddy,

You must still be feeling the effects of the anesthetic! Anyone could plainly see that a chain stretcher wrapped around the carlwitz coupler is what needs to be done! Just wedge the shilwitz brace across the capple creaker and put about six turns on the bronson arm. problem solved! By the way, the original mechanic in the title post sounds like he has been drinking right out ofthe parts washer again!

ps, glad yer still here!

[CJHughes]

Hey Ranger I will give it a try thanks.

[RANGER]

Go for it! Let me know where it ends up.


RANGER


"KEEP YOUR LINES WET, YOUR POWDER DRY and THE BEER COLD!"

[buzzer IA]

YOU, my friend are absolutely correct!!Definitely think he was a swillin' the parts cleaner!!!

[war-n-peace]

I would back them off at least 6 turns, after the first couple pot holes you vibration will be gone (along with your trailer)

[war-n-peace]

I believe the fender center sensor switch (which is found just underwards of the mudflap syncronizer diode)is a tad kattywompus, just tweak it about 7.5 degrees to the leftus and down 1 iota and TADA!! problem solved....your welcome in advance.

Bill W.

[TBO/MN]

Hey Dave, I had the same professor in college Logic 101 class. I remember there was something to do with doghouses and pancakes also......ROTFLMAO

Good Fishin' Pal
TBO/MN

["Beauty fades - dumb is forever" - Judge Judy]

NM