# Utility Trailer - Rattle when empty?



## daveswoodhauler (Nov 21, 2008)

Just another nob question from me.

Picked up a small 5 X 7 utility trailer, as the budget doesn't allow for a truck right now.

Anyway, its in very good shape, but when empty there is a constant rattle in the back, and I am guessing that it is because there is no weight on the hitch? (The rattle is right where the hitch meets the ball) Hoping this is normal...my first trailer.

Secondly, I scored some free "pine" and am going to pick it up tomorrow...should I just make sure that all the wood is equally distributed? or put a little more towards the front of the trailer? (Trailer is rated for only 1000 lbs, so I'm only looking to put appx 1/4 cord in it) Free is free right? (Wood will be used next season....gotta love scrounging.....my wife asked me what I wanted for xmas, and I told het maybe I could cut down a few trees at the mother in laws place


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## Dill (Nov 21, 2008)

You have the correct size ball for the hitch right? And don't laugh I know a few people who have done this.
If the hitch is tight it might just be you saftey chains.


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## daveswoodhauler (Nov 21, 2008)

Yes, its a 1 7/8" and fits well. I don't notice much as a rattle while accelerating....mainly when coasting, slowing down.....when I have it parked and pull up on the trailer it recreates the same sound...so I think its just a matter of not any weight on the front of the trailer.
Safety chains don't seem to make the same noise.....maybe I'll just throw some weight in the front to see if there is any difference.
Thanks.


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## polaris (Nov 21, 2008)

I don't have  a lot of experiance with a trailer that small but all trailers make more noise when empty. It is a function of the light unloaded trailer bouncing up and down on the unloaded suspension. This is true for a 60,000 lb. CGVWR air over hydraulic tri axle as well as a 1500 lb. cap. 1 7/8" Harbor freight trailer and everything in between.( trailers sure are handy)


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## struggle (Nov 21, 2008)

If you look under the hitch tongue there should be a nut that you can tighten accordingly to make the fit on the ball a little more snug. 

That being said mine rattles like mad when empty but purs when full of wood.


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## daveswoodhauler (Nov 21, 2008)

Thanks much for the info...first trailer here, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

Checked the nut on the bottom...appears snug, and the guy I bought it from checked it too and was very safety conscious.

There is a tiny bit of play on it, but I think if I tightened it more, it would be a B%&^H to get on and off.

For those hauling wood in the trailers...should I feed a little more weight towards the front when loading? (Maybe it doesn't matter)

Thanks!


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## struggle (Nov 21, 2008)

My trailer is 5X10 and I load it full all the way around with it being lightly higher in the back as I have a gate.


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## daveswoodhauler (Nov 21, 2008)

Thanks for the advice struggle. Have a good weekend!


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## kevin j (Nov 21, 2008)

You want some positive tongue weight. Don't want it lifting up on the hitch as that affects handling.  With heavier loads, negative weight on tongue can create really ugly speed wobbles/weaves. One exapmle: I sold a heavy classic car to a guy who pulled the trailer with an S10 blazer. He stopped and moved the car backwards on the trailer as it felt too heavy on the hitch. Was uplifting quite a bit. Ran smooth many miles until a rising hill with slight bump at top set if off. Almost lost the whole mess. BTW, he never said a word, but his buddy with him told me later.

small firewood trailer, no big deal, but toss some weight in there it will be fine. 

k


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## daveswoodhauler (Nov 21, 2008)

Thanks Kevin..appreciate the help.
Have some relatives in Grand Forks, ND..maybe not too far from ya.
Enjoy your weekend!


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## pinewoodburner (Nov 22, 2008)

You want your tongue weight to be about 10% to 15% of the total weight of the trailer and cargo. The lighter the trailer, the higher the %. Example Weight of trailer and cargo 1000 lbs tongue weight should be about 15%, or 150 lbs. Weight of trailer and cargo is 5000 lbs, tongue weight should be 500 lbs. Your trailer is probably rattling when empty because there is play between the hitch and receiver and with little or no tongue weight, it moves abound and rattles. Also the suspension makes lots of rattles. Put a load on it, and it will be alot less noisy.


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## kruger (Nov 22, 2008)

Polaris is on the money.  Most trailers have movable parts (metal on metal).  When empty, these parts can clang and bang around.  I don't care what the trailer sounds like, if the hubs are cool, the suspension bolts are tight and the ball/tongue/hitch are sound, it can talk all it wants.


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## daveswoodhauler (Nov 22, 2008)

Well, just wanted to post back that all went well with the maiden voyage of my $300 trailer.
Saw an ad in craiglist for free wood, and when I got there, the guy even let me use his 20 ton splitter. Holy crap is all I could say.
I filled up the 5 X 7 trailer about 1 1/2 feet high stacked tightly, and all went well. (I have a small subaru, and was pretty pleased with the towing capacity)
I now know that I can probably fill it with a little more wood next time, just wanted to get one trip under my belt.
THanks for the advice.


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## computeruser (Nov 25, 2008)

Well done!  Nothing like the satisfaction of bringing home a trailer of free wood!

Since you're new to the trailer game, a bit of advice: make sure you keep your hubs and bearings in a proper state of maintenance.  The smaller axles/bearings on those lighter trailers are not as forgiving as the larger sets, and the cost of a new set of seals and a bit of Mobil1 grease sure beats having to replace a seized up bearing on the side of the road!



I agree with the above posts regarding the absence of tongue weight.  A few pounds up front tend to keep things quiet, and a few more keep things smooth over bumps; single axle trailers, by their nature, want to pitch up and down.  On a trailer the size of yours, a couple army surplus plastic water "jerry cans" would work; strap them to the front of the trailer to load the front, and then drain the water out when you load up with your firewood; they can ride back home in the car, weighing practically nothing and not taking up all that much space.  

I regularly buy and carry ballast when towing my heavily sprung 5x8 trailer long distances empty - it keeps it from getting airborne over bumps on the interstate, from rattling, and makes it track better.  Depending on my destination and the time of year, ballast could be a yard of top soil, a dozen bags of rock salt, or something like that.  Oftentimes I'll use something that would be of advantage to the people at my destination; my parents don't have a vehicle that they use to can pick up bulk landscaping materials, so a couple yards of shredded wood mulch make great ballast on a trip back to see the family, and beats having my mother load her car up with overpriced bags of shredded wood from Home Depot.  The improvement in the towing experience with as little as 300lbs of extra weight in the trailer makes the extra time/energy required to properly ballast and balance the trailer well worth it, in my experience!


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## daveswoodhauler (Nov 25, 2008)

Thanks so much for the info. I was going to try to check the hubs, but I am a relatively newbie and wasn't sure where to pry off the caps on the axle. I am going to try to post a picture, as I think it will be easier to describe.
Raining pretty hard out here today, so perhaps a little later....I want to check the bearings, but don't want to break off the housing either.
I purchased a small grease gun, and am ready to go....again, thanks for the help and loof for input on checking the bearings.
Thanks.


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## kruger (Nov 26, 2008)

If the bearings haven't been "packed" in a while, you'll want to do that.  I was suggesting after driving it loaded back from your site, to place your fingertips on the hub.  If the hub is luke warm, you're fine.  If they are any warmer, you'll want to repack those bearings.  If you don't you'll run the risk of the hub seizing to the spindle.  Check out youtube for some ideas.  It's pretty simple.  I would encourage you to pack the bearings with the, "grease in your palm" method if your hubs don't have grease zerks.  Hopefully that makes sense.


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## Gooserider (Nov 27, 2008)

One of the items that I like on any trailer, is a gizmo called a "bearing buddy" - IMHO they are absolutely essential for boat trailers that get plunged into the water regularly, and are well worth it on any other trailer.

Essentially they are replacement caps that are made with hollow tubes containing a spring loaded diaphram with a zerk fitting in the middle.  You pry off the existing caps, make sure the bearing has been adjusted properly and put the Bearing Buddy on instead, repeating for each wheel.

Once installed, you grab your grease gun and pump each zerk until the diaphram pushes out about 1/2 way.  Give them another lick or two any time you dunk the trailer in the water, or go on a long trip, or maybe once a year or so, depending on the (ab)use you put the trailer through.

The bearing buddy diaphram means that you are essentially always keeping the wheel bearings packed full of grease under slight pressure - means water and other contaminants can't get in, and that the bearing always is runnng in fresh grease.  Downside is that you will get some grease leakage out the seal on the inside of the wheel, which can be messy - Some folks also report the extra grease makes the hubs run a little bit warmer, and possibly reduce your gas mileage a tiny bit, however you will probably NEVER have to worry about servicing the bearings again.

Gooserider


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## polaris (Dec 1, 2008)

Gooserider said:
			
		

> One of the items that I like on any trailer, is a gizmo called a "bearing buddy" - IMHO they are absolutely essential for boat trailers that get plunged into the water regularly, and are well worth it on any other trailer.
> 
> Essentially they are replacement caps that are made with hollow tubes containing a spring loaded diaphram with a zerk fitting in the middle.  You pry off the existing caps, make sure the bearing has been adjusted properly and put the Bearing Buddy on instead, repeating for each wheel.
> 
> ...



 If you are getting grease on the backside then you may have over greaed the zerks and pushed out the seal in the rear. Only hit it a couple pumps at a time and pull outward slightly while doing so to keep from blowing out the rear seal.
    Joe


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## kevin j (Dec 1, 2008)

Bearing buddies can be added to an existing axle and the positive pressure keeps water and dirt out well. However, they don't actually relube the larger, most important and most loaded inner bearing. It can take years of time for the very slight leakage to move the fresh grease from the outer cavity to the inboard bearing. BB are however a VERY good addition to the axle. The pressurizing sure helps with the snow and salt ingression, even in axles never submerged in water. I would add them to your trailer. Clean and repack and inspect first.


Even better, if buying an axle or trailer from scratch, is the 'EZ Lube' system on some of the rubber torsion axles. My enclosed motorcycle trailer has this. There is a grease fitting in center of outer end of the spindle, similar looking to a bearing buddy but under the grease cap. A hole drilled through center of spindle (on the center axis has almost no effect on axle strength), connects to a radial hole (which does affect the spindle strength slightly) coming out inboard of the bearing, but outboard of the seal. i.e between seal and bearing. You pull the grease cap, and slowly pump in a half cartridge of mobil 1 synth lube. It goes down the center, outwards, then through the bearing and towards the outer bearing. Takes quite a bit of grease to actually purge fresh grease all the way to the outer small bearing, but the very first bit of new grease gets to the large inner bearing almost immediately, and that is the important place. Turning the wheel slowly while pumping in new grease moves the various rollers past the relube hole in the spindle and flushes that bearing really well. Have to be careful and slow so as not to over pressure the seal and either blow it out or cause too much friction on the lips. The cavity is not continually pressurized like the BB does, but the lube is fresh and clean. I give it maybe 10 pumps a couple times a year, check for clearances occasionally, but never open it up or repacking. I've had the trailer 12 years, maybe 20,000 miles, and it was used before that.


May is fishing opener here. On the major freeways heading 'up north' that weekend you could get boats, trailers, atv, campers, anything you want, parked along the highway with seized spindles. Literally one parked every couple miles sometimes. Probably wet from last season, stored out back all winter until the night before the big trip. Fill the boat with all the junk and cargo going to the cabin for the season, then hook up and head north. Little wheels, spinning 60 mph, heavily loaded, failed lube or even tiny rust pits. Expected life: minutes and hours. I am so thankful to so far never been in that situation.

k


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## ccwhite (Jan 6, 2009)

Trailers bounce and make noise when they are empty. That's just the way they are. Many times it isn't the coupler to ball that is making the racket but rather the ball mount rattling inside the hitch. There are a few solutions out there for this. Here is one.
http://www.etrailer.com/pc-SUMMERBG~51943.htm?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=ppc
I personally just let it make noise ... it isn't going to be empty for long anyway.


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## CowboyAndy (Jan 6, 2009)

Also consider if you have a reese hitch, where it goes into the reciever can he fairly loose. I have the same problem with mine.


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