Vibration at 70 mph Ranger when towing

[fowlthing]

Have a F350 pulling a 2011 Ranger 522. At 70 mph i get a vibration. Not every time but many times. 

 

Any suggestions?  I might need to adjust the drop hitch higher. It is level or slightly low on front. 

 

Thanks. 

[Ketchup]

Vibration coming from the trailer im assuming?  The U-Joints in the truck in good shape? The reason i ask is maybe with the added weight of the boat it is showing up?  Bent wheel on trailer? Bad bearing on trailer? Bad tire on trailer "while replacing mine i noticed on the "inside" of the tire there was a bubble".  The hitch heigth should be ok where its at.   Im sure theres other things that could cause it also. 

[motoman]

I'd certainly make sure the trailer is level. I'm a fan of trying the easiest and simplest things first. Which my first thought went to tire/wheel not balanced or out of round or something. You could take the wheels off yourself and bring them to any tire shop to check. (Assuming the vibration just recently occurred)

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After that; I'm stumped.

[fishinwrench]

Feel your wheel hubs (carefully),. If one or both is hotter than hell then you have a brake dragging.

[dtrs5kprs]

Rangers definitely need to be level. Hitch height was one of the variables Ranger tried to blame for all the axle failures.

Yours is sort of outside that axle range, but being a big one, it sure wouldn't hurt to have a dealer look at the axles and brackets.

Otherwise, yes, I'd think tire/wheel first.

[dtrs5kprs]

 

Feel your wheel hubs (carefully),. If one or both is hotter than hell then you have a brake dragging.

Wouldn't that show up before 70mph? 

[176champion]

Probably slung a wheel weight off one of the wheels or a belt going bad in one of the tires.

[fishinwrench]

 

Wouldn't that show up before 70mph? 

It will start shaking after they get good and hot.  Sometimes you don't notice it unless you are coasting.

[IdleTime]

you mention "not every time" so look for something that could have changed? Was the boat covered, could be cover flopping in the wind. Full of fuel, low on fuel. I have had broken leaf springs though not sure how your trailer is equipped, broken/cracked shackle, loose lug nuts, tire pressure. Some of my vibrations on trailers have been related to tires with broken cords and not being balanced as most tire shops (my experience) tell me they don't balance trailer tires so I have to make special request to have them balanced. I have no experience with torsion axles so not suggestion there.

If your tires are good and you suspect balance you can add "balance beads" yourself which work very well. NOTE though if you add beads they can become lodged in the valve core once in a while when checking you tire pressure so suggest only checking when you are near a compressor.

Good luck, intermittent is hard to find.

[fowlthing]

Thanks. Nothing has got warm. I routinely feel them. Will adjust hitch and look at tires next. Thanks