Severe Vibration When towing my TR20?

[KCLOST]

Well folks, I need some help.... I have a 2003 TR20 with a single axle trailer, w/brakes and a swing-away tounge... My truck is a 2004 F150 4x4, 4.6L....


Mid last summer I noticed that when getting up to speed, around 40-50 mph, a vibration would start and would get really bad... I mean bad! This vibration was in the entire truck.. Steering, hood, windows, seats, I mean the entire truck would vibrate violently.... So I would slow down and it would continue to vibrate until about 10mph.... I would restart and it may or may not return... If it did return it would go away at about 65+ and everything would be fine until the next run from stop...

My front tires in the truck were worn on the inside, so I replaced them mid summer, and in late summer I replaced the rear tires, I don't recall the vibrations returning after the front tires were replaced... But today on the way to the lake, the vibration returned at about 70mph, and then went away. Leaving the lake, it reappeared at 40-45mph and was really bad.... With a little swearving of the wheel it went away at about 60mph.... I mean when it is bad, it feels like the truck is going to fall apart...

It only does this when pulling the boat, never has happened without it, so I have to assume that the boat trailer is the problem, especially with new truck tires. The trailer tow package assy is tight and solid.

The trailer tires are in great shape tread wise, one has a very slight bulge on the side wall, but this may be normal. They are Marathons btw. The bearings are full of grease and I have never seen any water exit them when filling... They don't hardly even feel warm to the touch after driving.

I know the trailer is 5 years old, but I bought the boat, trailer and motor new in Aug. of 2006, so has less than 2 years of use.. The bearing's however (Buddy Bearing Lube Axle) did need grease badly at that time. I'm wondering if sitting for 3 years might have caused some tire, or bearing damage... It's still under warranty. But would like to hear some potential causes of this vibration that occures at 40-70mph, and doesn't happen all the time, and always goes away with increased speed or a little wiggle of the steering wheel seams to help it go away also..

Sorry for the very long post, but your help is appreciated...


Modified by KCLOST at 5:09 PM 3/22/2008

[rangerguy]

If you have a bulge on the side wall of that Marathon, you better get to changing the tires out, if is fixing to blow out on you, and this bulge can cause a vibrations that you can feel in the tow vehicle.

[KCLOST]

It's a very slight bulge and you only notice it if you run your hand on the side wall, I talked to a guy today and he said that all marathons have a seam that leaves a little bulge. Could this be the case?

[rangerguy]

If it is just the seam and not a bulge, then it is probably OK. I have seen that seam on mine when the sun hits it just right, but I have also had a bulge on one and it bounced the whole boat and trailer and I could feel it in the truck. Maybe someone else with chime in on your problem with the vibrations.

[Lyn O. Dyer]

Take both the tow vehicle and the trailer to an alignment shop, they should be able to see where the problem is. PS has far has I know, the bearing lube axles only carry a 2 year warranty,unless you purchased an extended warranty...

[oakhillhoss]

I had the same thing on my Ford and it was the Ball Joints not worn out but Loose more so than tight. That tightness is the screeching you here when you turn the wheels when stopped.

[Skeet'r89]

I am kind of on the same track here as Oakhill. You saqy your truck is an 04. How many miles are on it. It is possible that the weight of the trailer is making the front of the truck just light enough for some worn parts in the frontend to allow shimmy. One thing you could do is pull your boat with someone elses truck and see if it still happens. If so then it is probably the trailer. If not the your truck could be the problem.

[KCLOST]

Great responses.... To answer some of your questions.... When I bought the front tires last summer I had the front end of the truck aligned... I also had a complete vehicle inspection a little over a month ago which included the struts, bearings on the vehicle, tires, etc. It passed everything assuming they did the inspection on those things like they are suppose to....The truck has 67K miles on it. I have had the bed loaded with stuff that I know weighs a hell of a lot more than the weight of the tounge of the boat (although I know that is different than pulling a load), and don't have any vibration when hauling.

The trailer & boat were purchased "new" in Aug of 2006 even though it is a 2003 boat and trailer, so if we have a bearing problem on the trailer it is still covered under warranty and it is a 2 yr warranty. The tires are also considered less than two years old based on the purchase price. So if I do take it in for bearing inspection/work I'll probably need to take it to my boat dealer, correct?

I little update, I went ahead and removed the trailer tire with the bulge in it, after looking at it closer, it is more like an indentation rather than a bulge and there is more than one. Two of them on the inner side wall and one on the outer that matches with one on the inner. (if that makes sense) They don't look like they are on a seam, but I can't find an apparent seam anyway... The tire has almost zero tread wear, all the tread wear indicators are present, just like on the brand new spare tire... Just the little rubber stick-outs like you find on a brand new tire are worn off.
So I put the spare on, filled both tires to 50psi like it says on the side wall (they were both around 42psi). Took a good long test drive....
No Vibrations at any speed up to 75mph... So I will get the tire replaced tommorrow.
I looked at the Goodyear warranty papers, and this "radial" tire being more than one year old, falls under the prorated warranty based on how much tread wear there is... So I should just have to pay maybe 10% or less of the cost of a new tire in addition to mounting and balance fees...

Any other thoughts? I'll let you know what happens....



Modified by KCLOST at 11:16 AM 3/23/2008

[KCLOST]

I would also like to check the struts on the truck... Is that something that can be done while the truck is stitting on the ground... With my luck, the vibration will probably ruturn the next time out even with a new tire ...

If so, can anyone walk me through it?

[KCLOST]

Well, I spoke too soon... While driving to work today on the same route I use everyday I noticed a pretty signifigant vibration but not as bad as when pulling the trailer while cruising around 60mph.... Took it to Firestone today and they balanced and rotated the tires and also checked the suspension but didn't find anything wrong...

Drove back home and noticed a very slight vibration at again around 60mph...
Will take it back in for a curtosy check....

[492200hpmerc]

does the truck have a mid shift bearing ive seen those go bad and the vibe is bad

[Glenn_S]

Sounds like U-Joints. Is the vibration typically when under load?


You DO NOT want to drop the drive shaft on the road!

[oakhillhoss]

I had much the same Issues as you have stated and this is what I found to be my Problem. I first started replacing all my Ball Joints in my 2000 F-350,this was not my problem. Next I replaced Tie rods and this was not it either. When I finally got to the Steering Connector link that was where I found my Problem. What I found was when testing you could not find any loose motion but after taking it off you could see the loose spot when moving it around. This was my experience and your may be entirely a different problem. It sure does drive better with all new steering parts .

[blazin461]

Ford is famous for ball joints lasting not much more than 50K. Just replaced mine at 50K in my 04 250. Had to do the same thing in my 02 at 65K.

[F150owner]

Kclost, I remember seeing post after post over on the F150 owners board on steering vibration in the F150's with the 04-07 body style. Another thing to check is the balancing on trailer tires. Sounds like the truck continues to have vibration w/o the trailer on the truck.

[Javelin389]

Have you had the parking brake TSB done? That was found to have been the likely cause of the violent vibes. My '04 did it, but Ford bought it back before they found that parking brake issue. Mine still had other evils though.