Trailer Help

[Powerquestboy]

I am having a problem with my trailer and wondering if anyone could help. ItÂ’s a tandem axle Eagle. From what I understand this is a good trailer, but IÂ’m having trouble with it bouncing when I tow it over bridges on the highway. On some bridges if I donÂ’t slow down to 45 or so the trailer will start to bounce on one side so violently it will catch air. I tow a 22 foot powerquest that weighs about 3900 pounds. I only tow the boat about 65 sometimes 70 and it will only happen on some bridges but I cant slow down to 45 mph on every bridge I come to? I towed from phoenix to Laughlin, to havasu and back last weekend and it happened like 4 times. I can tighten the back straps down and they still come flying off. The only thing I can think of is tires pressure? I run carliseÂ’s (or however you spell that) they say they will hold 50 PSI. I think that is way to much so I have like 33 in them. Should I bump them up to 45 or so? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Havasu Hangin']

How many leaf springs do you have?

[Powerquestboy]

Thats a good question I'll have to get back to you on that.

[Havasu Hangin']

Mine used to bounce with single springs- I upgraded and it stopped the bouncing....it might be worth a look.

[Rod-64]

I Don't know about your bounce, but I'm an "expert" on Carlisle tires....had TWO of them blow out last season and I'm real anal about tire pressure.....35 is too low for that tire....if you have 35 psi in those tires and you are still bouncing it definitely is is not the tires. Put the recomended 50 in them and if you have the means change them out before you change them on the way to the lake in 117 degree heat like I had to......TWICE!! Good luck with the bounce solution...wish I could help you more there.

[Mandelon]

You have leaf springs? Could they be rusted together? If so then they don't absorb shocks anymore....
Maybe the springs are too stiff for the load. Bigger is not always better.
[ April 01, 2003, 02:33 PM: Message edited by: Mandelon ]

[Dusty Times]

Best thing I did for my trailer was get rid of the Carlisles.
I also found that tire wear was extremely reduced.

[Seadog]

It sounds like your trailer is oversized for the load. I would talk to the manufacturer and get some input. It would also be good to get an actual weight on the total rig by taking it to the local scales. There are several options that you could go to, but I would talk to the manufacturer first.

[rrrr]

More air pressure! I run mine at 50 PSI and it tows great. If they get down below 45 PSI I can tell because the trailer starts bouncing. My boat weighs about 5,000 pounds.

[Powerquestboy]

Thanks for all the help guys. I am going to add more air pressure to the tires and check out the leaf springs. Seadog & Mandelon make a good point that the trailer might be too big or the springs may be too stiff. The post that holds my winch is adjustable so you can actually put up to a 24 foot boat on this thing so I imagine the springs are set to handle that much weight. IÂ’m going to check with the manufacturer. IÂ’ll also try and find a new wealthy girlfriend that wants to buy me a new Extreme trailer.

[HotHallet]

I just re-did my entire trailer. Put the boat on a friend's trailer for a month and a half and did my old hauler up real nice. Sandblasted it, cut all new light buckets for L.E.D. running and taillights, welded up all unneccessary holes, bodyworked it, painted it with a fresh coat of white DuPont Imron, put polished diamond plate on the steps,put on 11-inch wide custom made polished stainless fenders with Weld Rodlite wheels and low pro Toyo radials. One thing I did to improve ride is put on a shock kit from Monroe which included four shocks (one per wheel). It made a huge difference. Also make sure your tire pressure is correct and that your boat is positioned correctly on the trailer. If the boat is not up far enough creating more tongue weight it's going to bounce.

[Ziggy]

Bring the tire pressure up for sure..made a big difference on my trailer hop...plus check the angle/attitude your trailer sits behind the truck, my drop was to much(although trailer sat level) so I changed to a drop a few inches less and all my hop went away.

[Tom Brown]

If the leaf springs are too stiff, you might be able to take one spring out. Once you get it balanced and adjusted properly you should hardly even know it's there except when accelerating or decelerating. :)