Boatmate Trailer

So for the first time since I've owned this boat, I decided to leave it in the water overnight at a friends house, and pick it up in the morning. I was going to just drive the trailer home by itself except for one little problem...everytime I got over 25 mph, the trailer started vibrating and jumping all over the place!! It seemed as if the trailer brakes were somehow activated and I was trying to pull it down the road...but it was fine if I went really slow. I could not pull it by itself over 25 mph or it felt like I was going to loose contol. Has anyone heard of this problem, or had a similar issue. I would think the trailers would be able to be pulled by themself, without the boat on them. Once I put the boat on, and add the additional weight, it pulls just like normal! Any suggestions?? Thanks.

Never heard of that plus it's a tandem axle trailer. I've never had to pull my XLV trailer empty

I might have to pull mine empty this week I will let you know.

lift it and see if there is a slack in one of the wheel caused by a broken bearing

Towed mine empty this week and yes they do bounce a little and feels jarry in the truk but I had no problems going over 45mph-and those were crappy pot hole filled country roads

The trailer is designed to have a 3000 lb boat on it. When the weight is not there, the spring tension is very unforgiving (think of a diesel truck with no trailer) and the trailer will bounce on any non smooth riding surface. It should not be terrible, but noticable.

well, mine was definitely noticeable and not drivable without the boat on it. I'll try to check the bearings. Thanks.

jb - I have two tow vehicles. The hitch receiver is basically the same on each, but the slides are different. The Suburban slide is a single piece. The Toyota slide is an adjustable two-piece so that I can raise the ball to the right level for towing. When the trailer is empty, I notice a difference in how it handles behind each tow vehicle. It gets nasty behind the Toyota. Sloppiness in the fit of the two pieces of the adjustable slide cause the trailer to jerk and jump when I come to a stop or travel over rough raod surface. Behind the Suburban with its single piece slide, I don't have these probelms. That said, even behind the Suburban the trailer has a tendency to bounce on rough road surface. But that's becasue it is designed for maximum performance with 3,000 pounds sitting on it. Are you using a single piece slide to pull your trailer? - Deerfield

An empty trailer is less than 1,000 pounds so in most States brakes are not needed so you may want to consider locking out the brakes when empty.

Had same thing happen to me, check the emergency lanyard wire that you connect from trailer to hitch, My trailer was jumping all over , I stopped lifted the tongue lock up and emergency lanyard was pulled alittle. Pushed it back in , rode smooth as silk.
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