Trouble Shooting of Towing a Tandem Trailer

[redspeckle]

I tow my boat up to sunny coast yesterday it felt like i was skull draging it it never felt like it before bearings where done under six months ago with boating grease i got out four times to check the bearings they never got hot on the way up their & felt same way back .
So i am asking you Aus Fishers out their can you tell me whats wrong ???.
I give your's some details its Belco Tandem Trailer the tyre pressure was all the same at 30 psi on 13 inch rims total weight Trailer Boat +Outborad is 1.3 tonnes mechincal braked.
Here is some ? do tyres have to be balance on a Tandem Trailer, how do you check wheel alinement , and so on .

[propdinger]

first thing i would do is jack up each tyre and spin it and see if the bearings are still ok i know they never got hot and etc but i would check that then look at the brakes settings and then tyre sizes and so on

jeff

[redspeckle]

Propdinger i have already jack up the trailer and done what you said and check the grease which wasn 't burnt done eariler today

[Brooksy]

Tyres/wheels on a trailer don't need to be balanced. To check the axles are still where they should be (wheel alignment) measure back to the wheel centres or rim edges, it doesn,t really matter which from a standard point on each side of the trailer, should be the same on both sides.

Steve

[MAL]

I had a similar problem (checked trailer all ok), found out it was restricted air supply to diesel engine on the toyota land cruiser. Checked and found it had sucked a piece of plastic into the air intake, removed and all ok. Might want to check air filters and fuel filters. Cheers Mal. 8)

[Morlers]

Were tyre pressures correct ot 30psi or should perhaps they have been higher (ie riding too soft)?



Morlers

[Big_Kev]

Are the brakes draging because a wheel bearing is loose and letting the wheel lean a bit and rub the disc on the pad?
I had this with an old boat once.
If all checks out at the trailer I would look at the tow truck.
But don't forget that when you travel north you are heading uphill, LOL.
Cheers Kev.

[bugman]

If it's anything like my rig - a head wind will make a big difference.

I've got quite a large bulky boat and a head wind will knock 20ks off my travelling speed if strong enough.

Bugman

[basserman]

i'm with reel hard or the bug here
i would check that the mech breaks aren't too tight or got jamed on or could of just been a hard drive
i have them type day in the truck where it feels like it take forever to get up to speed just the way thing feel sometime i guess (like if your in a hurry you always feel as if your going to slow)

[nictim]

I run my tyres at 45psi, runs cooler and less drag
Check axle U bolts that they have not moved could be crabbing
Has the height of your towing point changed?
( up the coast uphill down the coast downhill )

cheers Steve

[mini696]

Did you use more fuel than usual? That would suggest something dragging.

Mickk

[peterbo3]

I am with Morlers & Nictim. I run light truck tyres at 60 psi (max is 64) under a 1500 kg gross tlr. I had a slow leak on one side & it felt like I had an anchor out. If a brake is grabbing you should be able to hear it at low speed.