For some reason when I'm towing my car, my truck feels like it has a wheel out of balance. I had the tires re-balanced and the truck aligned, because the tires were showing some signs of cupping. However, I'm not real convinced my Toyota dealer actually did an alignment, because the rusted-up alignment bolts didn't look like they had been touched. With the torque they they need to break lose & set, they should have had some wrench marking on them. And, yes I did address this with them. Anyway, the tires have also been rotated and the truck still has this shake going on. The trailer tires have not been balanced, a tire shop I spoke with said it wasn't necessary, but I gotta do something about this. I'll be towing 7-hrs up to Watkins Glen at the end of the month and I don't think I can deal with it for that long. So is this a truck alignment issue, trailer tire balance issue or a trailer load issue? Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

Apart from checking the obvious in your truck (alignment and tire balance) check your tongue weight. Could be that its too high and the resulting lower weight over the front axle (or change in the angle of your tow vehicle) is "changing" your alignment.

 

+1 on tongue weight... But I would also get the trailer checked out, bearings, brakes, lugs...

 

+2 on tongue weight. make sure your trailer is not only properly balanced in terms of weight, but also that it is riding flat when it is completely lowered on the truck. I see people with major height differences between front and rear all the time.

 

Balanced trailer tires do make a difference. But I don't know if this is the answer.

 

What year and model is your Toyota truck? Does it have the TRD Off-Road suspension?

 

It's a '00 4x4 with the TRD package.

 

I have a '06 tundra with the TRD package. The open Featherlite trailer I have acts like it has wheels out of balance. It doesn't, and the axles are also perfectly true. We finally traced the problem to the TRD suspension on the truck. Its just not ideal for towing and tends to "hop" slightly at certain speeds. I haven't done a fix yet, but I suspect that may be your problem also.

 

Tire rotation is also important to keep the tires from cupping like that. That will definitely feel like a wheel out of balance.

 

Could the tires themselves be out of round? I have a set of Khumos that have driven me crazy. Had them balanced and rotated twice, replaced the rotors, then had the drive shaft balanced. Took the truck to Gran Turismo while I was in Atlanta and the mgr said it was the tires. You could see them going up and down slightly. No balancing will fix that.

 

Hopping is sometimes the feeling I got from the steering wheel. I have a 2200# full deck steel trailer and the car rolls in a little under that. Maybe I'll get on the Tundra forum and see what alignment numbers I can come up with.

 

Yeah, I get some noise and maybe a little vibration from the tires because of the cupping, but the shaking I believe is either coming from the alignment or a trailer issue. In a few more Ks I'll have the Tundra's tires flipped on the wheels and try to balance out the wear.

 

I don't think so on the truck, but that could be a possibility on the trailer.

 

Once they cup they are toast -- it's like doing burnouts trying to get rid of flat spots on track tires -- doesn't work. I've replaced several tires for this reason on my truck. Usually the front ones cup and you can lessen the effect by putting them on the rear.

 

Hmmm...

Apart from weight balance/tongue weight issues, I'd have to say the main problem is that it is not an ideal tow vehicle. Might not make you happy, but that is the truth. The only way to make these little trucks work is to use some fairly heavy distributor bars. Even then, they are marginal at best.