Vibration When Towing?

[WEAK_E90]

Hello friends.

This past weekend towing my sled from green bay back to home (100 miles roughly) I noticed a pulsing vibration in my car when i jumped on the highway. I checked all the tire pressures on the trailer all are exact to spec. Checked hitch connection just in case and that all seemed normal.

It could have been the excessive speed I was doing... Seems like the vibration comes in between 73-80mph (our speed limit was 70mph) - yes i understand trailers are sometimes rated to be towed at no more than 65.

The Pulsing:
It was weird not a constant vibration... It would come for a second... then go away for a second or 2... then come for a second and go away. My friend who was riding with me and owned a 5th gen also mentioned his too wold do the same exact thing at the same speeds...

Dropped down to 70 the pulsing was gone (or over 80 - didnt mean to one of those look down and didnt realize how fast you were going).

I used to tow this with my wifes forrester (would do 75-80 no issues no vibration) so I dont think its a trailer issue otherwise it would have been doing it on her car too...

Was thinking maybe since my 4runner is lifted (2"f 1.25"r) the trailer does do a slight incline where it meets the ball or hitch where on my wifes car it is flat. Thinking maybe this has something to do with it? Was going to try a drop itch to see if that helps.


Anyone else ever have this issue?

 

[Titanpat57]

I would never tow over 65...but that's just me.

If your snowmobile sled has 12" rims, it's probably out of balance at 80...those small tires would spinning like 16,473 RPM's....anything goes wrong you zero chance to respond, and everything just basically disintegrates anyway.

 

[flyinhawaiian01]

Did you run the 4r in the snow? Could just be snow inside the rims that's creating an unbalanced wheel (or wheels) and you notice it as a pulsating vibration.

Check all the tires air pressure and see if any snow or ice has built up inside the wheel itself, then drive the vehicle without the trailer, see if it still does it.

If its gone, do the same to the trailer's wheels and take it back out. If its gone, that was the problem, if its still there, but only with the trailer, its possible the trailer and 4r are creating two different frequencies that are amplifying and cancelling each other out at certain speeds. Can't think of the term for this, but its sort of common on towed vehicles and trailers.

 

[Ptpdub]

At those speeds pulling a trailer - the vibration are the least of your issues.

 

[WEAK_E90]

thanks for the responses!

Ill double check the 4R tires.

I understand the speed was excessive. :boink: After this occurred I did drop down to 68 for the remaining part of the trip.