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Old 08-26-2015, 12:47 AM   #1
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vibration

Vibration at speed
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Old 08-26-2015, 12:56 AM   #2
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Old 08-26-2015, 12:57 AM   #3
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Strange I typed a question mark and got odd faces
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Old 08-26-2015, 01:08 AM   #4
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What speed does it start to become noticeable?

Was it OK and then suddenly started?

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Old 08-26-2015, 09:08 AM   #5
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Sorry my phone was playing with me last night and I gave up.
Here goes. I have just picked up my new Escape 17B and am towing it with my 2009 Chevrolet Uplander van. I am also using an Anderson weight distributing hitch. It tows well until I get to 80 kph and then a vibration starts. It actually feels like the tires are out of balance. At 90 kph the vibration is still there but it is reduced by quite a bit.
I had the trailer tires balanced to make sure it wasn't them. One was out by an ounce but the other was fine. I took it for a drive and it helped only a little bit. I did have to move from one campsite to another and ended up making the short trip with a 3/4 full black tank and an almost empty fresh water tank. I also placed 3 full 10L water jugs under the front seats of the trailer thinking maybe I didn't have enough tongue weight ( it does feel like an out of balance tire and not a sway). With the extra weight it didn't vibrate as much. It was actually quite better. I also stopped in a parking lot and measured the trailer to make sure it was towing level and it was level to within 1/8 of an inch..
So....I'm still not sure what my problem is. At this point I'm thinking maybe it is the wind coming off of the van funny and buffeting the trailer.I'm thinking of trying a wind deflector on the top of my van. Has anyone else had a simular problem?
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Old 08-26-2015, 09:10 AM   #6
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To be more accurate the vibration starts to build just before 80 kph gets bad at 80 then subsides as I get closer to 90.
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Old 08-26-2015, 09:37 AM   #7
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how about tire balance on the van?
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Old 08-26-2015, 09:43 AM   #8
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To be more accurate the vibration starts to build just before 80 kph gets bad at 80 then subsides as I get closer to 90.
Hi: Weezy... I would add 5-10#'s of air to the rear tires on the van and test tow again. Could be a very cheap fix... unless you use expensive air!!! Alf
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Old 08-26-2015, 11:10 AM   #9
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Do you have a tongue scale to accurately measure your tongue weight? Here is a good one, http://www.amazon.com/Sherline-LM-10...gue+scalecheck that and balance your tow vehicle tires and check your front end alignment and then report back.
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Old 08-26-2015, 01:32 PM   #10
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Vehicle wheel alignment does not solve vibration problems. Loose steering components, tires(balance or runout) , and worn drive train components are the usual cause of vibration. If the problem is the tow vehicle, it would be evident when the vehicle is not towing a trailer. Tire balance problems usually are noticeable at a particular speed . The vibration may not be noticeable above or below the symptom speed.
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Old 08-26-2015, 02:35 PM   #11
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How about a bent wheel? Jack trailer up and spin each wheel while watching for a wobble.
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Old 08-26-2015, 03:23 PM   #12
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My assumption was finding the loose or broken component when doing the actual alignment. Something else to look for is the suspension, shocks may be the culprit as well as causing tire cupping.
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Old 08-26-2015, 03:50 PM   #13
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A through inspection of the steering and suspension components needs to be done "before" a wheel alignment can be accurate. I have never diagnosed a vibration due to a worn shock absorber or strut. Shocks and struts are designed to decrease spring oscillations.
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Old 08-26-2015, 09:39 PM   #14
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Quote:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox hunt View Post
Strange I typed a question mark and got odd faces
Well, you typed six question mark in a row:
Code:
??????
As you can see in the smilie list, three question marks is the code for a one of the smilies:
... so that's why you got two.
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Old 08-26-2015, 09:42 PM   #15
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There seems to be some confusion about whether the vibration is in the van or the trailer. That should be easy to determine: drive without the trailer and see if it's still there.
Weezy, is the van or the trailer?
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Old 08-29-2015, 10:23 PM   #16
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Hi thanks for all the helpful ideas. Sorry we have been camping and I rarely had access to WIFI.
Making sure I didn't have too much water in the fresh water tank and storing all of the heavy stuff at the front of the trailer seems to have done the trick.
I don't have any vibration when it is just the van. I do sometimes feel a slight vibration around 80 kmh but nothing like it was. Below and above that speed the trailer is golden. Sometimes I even catch myself driving too fast. The only time I feel the trailer is going up hill.
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Old 08-29-2015, 10:28 PM   #17
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That might have not been as clear as I thought.
There is no vibration without the trailer.
With the wieight in the trailer distributed to the front the trailer now pulls smoothly. With only a slight vibration at 80
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Old 08-29-2015, 11:18 PM   #18
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It sounds like the hub, brake, wheel, or tire imbalance is still there - but with more hitch weight it is not as noticeable in the tug.
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Old 08-30-2015, 02:16 AM   #19
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I have a 2015 17B, always leave home with the fresh water tank full, empty the gray and black tanks only when they're close to full, my maximum speed is 60 mph and have not had any vibration issues.

Before the last trip the fresh water tank was full, the gray and black tanks each about 1/2 full and I had about 30 lbs of propane. I don't store anything heavy in front and the tongue weight was just over 350 lbs. Do you know what your tongue weight is? I'm not an engineer by any means but wonder if perhaps by loading the heavy stuff up front you're masking the vibration problem.
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