I recently purchased a barely used 2018 Aluma 8216 tilt trailer with air deflector. Picture is attached towed with my 958 Cayenne S with air suspension . Trailer shows no sign of damage or any issues. Tires don't have any obvious tread separation or broken belts. 42lbs of air in trailer tires. They are Westlake 205s and are date coded 2016.

The issue:
Above 55mph I get vibrations from the trailer that get transferred to the SUV making for a very annoying ride. The vibrations are intermittent and for a few minutes here or there they go mostly away but then come back with a vengance. Changing speeds or on/off throttle doesn't seem to have an obvious direct correlation to frequency or intensity of the vibration. Open vs loaded doesn't make much of a change either.

Theories:
1. Tire balance or flatspotting tire. Something out of round or whatever.
2. Some kind of weird buffeting with the air deflector
3. Some sort of axle alignment issue or similar

Anyone have any thoughts or have a similar experience? Really made the ride back from the glen especially tiring, so I'd like to get it sorted before summit point.

Thanks all

 

I would start by inspecting the tires and making sure they are balanced and not flat spotted.

Next step is to make sure the two axles are aligned. I smacked my axles on a boulder (long story) and they needed to be replacement. It doesn't take much to take the out of alignment and that would give you vibration as well.

I do not think it is your shield or anything like that causing the vibration.

Does it do the same thing loaded or unloaded?

 

same thing loaded or unloaded.

This sucker has torsion axles so hopefully replacement is not needed as thats a royal *** pain from what I hear. Will check alignment though.

Will have a look at the tires. Doubtful, but is it possible a bad or insufficiently lubricated wheel bearing would cause this?

I have a feeling that since the trailer sat for so long, the tires are just out of round

Thanks for the help

 

I would start with the tires. Have them inspected then balanced, see what that does for you. At the same time they can check for wheel straightness.

 

Make sure you have the correct tongue weight (car in the right spot). My truck does not like a light or heavy tongue and it rides poorly if I don't get it right. However, I don't recall a problem running light.

Since it acts up unloaded, I'd remove the tires on one axle and see if it acts up or doesn't trail squarely. Then I would try the other axle. This could sort out an axle alignment issue. The nice thing about the torsion axles is they don't drop, so you can pull the trailer with only two tires and test one axle at a time.

 

I’d also suggest that you check the markings on your tires in terms of the required tire pressure for max load. 42 PSI sind’s a bit low but I run different tires so it could be correct. Once you rule out the tires, wheels and axles, your vibrations might be aero related to the large shield you have in front.

 

Thanks Frank.

Tires have 50psi max psi. I figured setting them at 42 cold was appropriate as my boxster is not super heavy or anywhere near max load.

My plan is:
0. check axles for straightness
1. have my buddy pull trailer with his lexus SUV to see if something funky is up with my cayenne
2. Assuming thats not the issue, I will pull the shield and reassess
3. If thats not it, I will swap tires from his trailer onto mine to eliminate that.

If none of that works, then I'd be fairly confused.

 

easiest thing to do would be tire pressure and check wheel bearings.
Have someone else pull your trailer and see what happens. If it does the same thing, then follow him in your own car and do a visual of the trailer, wheels, etc.
last year we ran 25.5M miles (private not for hire) and since you don’t have trailer air suspension most issues are: tire pressure, wheel bearings, bent wheels, and in winter time Brake freeze.
Once you have this sorted out, make sure that you have good US tires on your trailer.

 

If/when tires are done, I plan to put on goodyear marathon/endurance, which i've heard nothing but good things about

 

I recently bought a new Aluma 8218T, also with the high rock shield. I‘m getting the same thing. It’s really tiring on a long trip at speeds between 55-65. Runs smooth as long as I’m going faster than 65. I had the tires balanced, but that didn’t help. I’ve jacked it up and spun each wheel, and they seem to be running true. New Goodyears were going to be my next move, and maybe pull the shield off. Mine has Westlake tires on it now, date code 2419, which had not been on the ground until the day I bought the trailer. Please let me know if you come up with a fix!

 

Keep the tires inflated to 50.
150,000 miles on my trailex: I find most all issues are tires. If you whack a curb or a pothole, they get internal damage.
Other common problems are worn out rubber bushings.

 

One more puzzle piece. I downloaded a vibration analyzer app to my phone. I was thinking it might be driveshaft related, but the frequency calculated to trailer tire rotation speed.

 

4 year old tires are time to get replaced. Get some GY Endurance tires, which are load range D, good balance, and inflate to 70 psi for long life and less tire squirm.

Peter

 

What app did you use? I've been chasing a similar vibration on 3 separate 18' aluminum trailers ( 2 Mission & 1 ATC). I've gone from a 2005 2500 GMC to a 2013 2500 GMC and finally a 2018 2500 GMC. Similar vibration on all 3 trailers and all 3 trucks. I've replaced trailer tires in the past, balanced them with standard weights, tried using balance beads inside the tires once. I even put one of the trailers on my corner balance scales and loaded the car to get a perfect tongue weight- no difference. The only common thread between all these combinations has been the same 87 911 on the trailer.

 

It's simply called Vibration Analysis, from the IOS App Store.