Shoemaker Mobius
09-24-2004, 10:09 AM
Please note that I also posted this in the General section - I really need help.
Help!!! Last night, for the first time since we purchased our 2004 Mobius LSV, I trailered the boat to our normal launch and let my son and his friends take the boat out by themselves. Since I don't feel comfortable with my son's driving and backing abilities with the car and trailer, I drove to the launch ramp, helped him launch the boat and then I drove home with the empty trailer. The plan was that about 4 hours later I would drive back to the launch ramp and pick him and the boat up. So, I had never driven any real distance with the trailer empty. The trailer is the standard Boatmate trailer, single axle, no swing away tongue, just the straight one. Here's the problem. The drive from the launch ramp to my home is about 20 miles of highway/city type driving. On the highway, while the trailer felt a little loose, it was no problem. However, several times toward the end of my journey, when braking to come to a stop, from about the 20-10mph range down to the final stop, the trailer would begin to buck violently, enough to actually shake the entire car (a 2wd Ford Explorer). It scared the devil out of me and my wife. After it did it the first time, I began driving much slower and trying to ease into braking, but that seemed to actually make it worse. We were able to get home and immediately called the dealer to find out what to do. The service manager tried to be helpful, but basically he indicated that the trailers were not meant to be towed long distances without the weight of the boat on them; that the trailer brakes were activating and we were experiencing "brake chatter". He said he had gotten a lot of complaints about this. He said that the way the trailer worked was the trailer brakes were engaging as they were supposed to, but because the trailer was empty, the brakes on the trailer engaged as if they were stopping the fully weighted trailer which would then cause the trailer to buck. He indicated that there really was nothing that could be done, but suggested that I deinflate the tires approx. 10 psi below the psi posted on the tires, that that would help. I asked him if as I braked, if I released my car brakes would that release the trailer brake. His answer was no, that the trailer brakes are activated by the coupler on the tongue, that as the trailer pushes toward the car, the coupler closes and engages the trailer brakes (i.e., they are not at all activated by my car's brakes).
For the return trip, I did deflate the tires to about 50psi. I also decided that as approaching a stop, I would brake hard, then release and ease up to the stop. That seemed to be better. One thing of note was that when the trailer was bucking, I could see in the mirrors that the wheels were rolling - the first time it did it I was afraid that the trailer brakes had locked and the tires were just dragging and bouncing along the road, but that was not the case. Given that I was trying to control my car and praying the violent bucking was not going to just rip the trailer and my hitch off the car, I could not just constantly watch the tires to see if they were always rolling, but they did seem to be. I did not see any skid marks on the road and the tires did not seem to have any skid type indications on them. Also, I did verify that the hubs were still full of oil and intact.
So, has anyone else had this happen? Is this really just the way it is? If so, I will never tow this trailer any appreciable distance without the boat on it. With the boat on the trailer I have never had any problems at all. Please let me know.
Help!!! Last night, for the first time since we purchased our 2004 Mobius LSV, I trailered the boat to our normal launch and let my son and his friends take the boat out by themselves. Since I don't feel comfortable with my son's driving and backing abilities with the car and trailer, I drove to the launch ramp, helped him launch the boat and then I drove home with the empty trailer. The plan was that about 4 hours later I would drive back to the launch ramp and pick him and the boat up. So, I had never driven any real distance with the trailer empty. The trailer is the standard Boatmate trailer, single axle, no swing away tongue, just the straight one. Here's the problem. The drive from the launch ramp to my home is about 20 miles of highway/city type driving. On the highway, while the trailer felt a little loose, it was no problem. However, several times toward the end of my journey, when braking to come to a stop, from about the 20-10mph range down to the final stop, the trailer would begin to buck violently, enough to actually shake the entire car (a 2wd Ford Explorer). It scared the devil out of me and my wife. After it did it the first time, I began driving much slower and trying to ease into braking, but that seemed to actually make it worse. We were able to get home and immediately called the dealer to find out what to do. The service manager tried to be helpful, but basically he indicated that the trailers were not meant to be towed long distances without the weight of the boat on them; that the trailer brakes were activating and we were experiencing "brake chatter". He said he had gotten a lot of complaints about this. He said that the way the trailer worked was the trailer brakes were engaging as they were supposed to, but because the trailer was empty, the brakes on the trailer engaged as if they were stopping the fully weighted trailer which would then cause the trailer to buck. He indicated that there really was nothing that could be done, but suggested that I deinflate the tires approx. 10 psi below the psi posted on the tires, that that would help. I asked him if as I braked, if I released my car brakes would that release the trailer brake. His answer was no, that the trailer brakes are activated by the coupler on the tongue, that as the trailer pushes toward the car, the coupler closes and engages the trailer brakes (i.e., they are not at all activated by my car's brakes).
For the return trip, I did deflate the tires to about 50psi. I also decided that as approaching a stop, I would brake hard, then release and ease up to the stop. That seemed to be better. One thing of note was that when the trailer was bucking, I could see in the mirrors that the wheels were rolling - the first time it did it I was afraid that the trailer brakes had locked and the tires were just dragging and bouncing along the road, but that was not the case. Given that I was trying to control my car and praying the violent bucking was not going to just rip the trailer and my hitch off the car, I could not just constantly watch the tires to see if they were always rolling, but they did seem to be. I did not see any skid marks on the road and the tires did not seem to have any skid type indications on them. Also, I did verify that the hubs were still full of oil and intact.
So, has anyone else had this happen? Is this really just the way it is? If so, I will never tow this trailer any appreciable distance without the boat on it. With the boat on the trailer I have never had any problems at all. Please let me know.