Oh yea! Mine started vibrating at 50 or 55 MPH without the sunfish on it. With the sunfish on it it started vibrating about 60 mph. Not as severe but still very dissappointing. My boat is now "Up North" (Douglas Lake) and I now only use the trailer as a dolly. I thought I would take the wheels in to get them balanced to see if the problem is due to the wheels or tires.Ok, I dropped the big money for the Cadillac of boat trailers for my new sunfish, a Trailex SUT-200-S. The trailer was shipped via UPS without a problem, assembled per instructions, all fasteners torqued per specs, tire pressure set at 15 psi.
I just made my first test run, empty trailer, no boat. From about 30 mph on up, the trailer shakes, vibrates, and even jumps off the ground (without hitting any bumps - smooth road). The vibration was so severe at times, it even blurred the mirrors on my little truck. At times it would settle down, then the vibration kicks back in, almost like some sort of harmonic vibration running up and down the whole trailer. Total test run, maybe 5 miles.
At this point, I'm afraid to even attempt to tow my boat on this trailer. I understand the trailer is designed to flex, to help absorb road shock, but does this trailer dampen road shock, or does the boat absorb the trailers vibration?
It's Saturday so I can't contact Trailex until next week. Has anyone else experienced this problem?
I contacted Trailex today and was informed that 2 new tires would be shipped my way today - at no charge. Now that is the way to maintain customer loyalty and satisfaction.
Hey MichFish. I put on one set of the new tires today and the vibration problem did not occur.Thanks everyone for your replies. Contaced Trailex yesterday morning (Monday) and they asked me to check a couple of items; confirm the bearings were not loose = ok. Check the tires to make sure they run true = ooohhhhh, not good. Left side tire about 1/2" run out side to side, close to a 3/4" up and down. Right side tire about 1" side to side run out, about 1/2" up and down. Rims are nice a true.
Trailex said they had an issue with their tire supplier, and are shipping a new set of tires right away. The trailer should tow nice and smooth, loaded or unloaded.
I'll report back as soon as the new tires are on.
Morning everyone,
Received my new tires from Trailex last week, and finally installed them on the trailer late friday evening. Took off on a test run just before dark,figers crossed. Empty trailer,,,,, 20 mph,,,,,, 40 mph,,,,, 50mph,,,,, then 70 mph,,,,, smooth as can be.
Loaded the fish on the trailer Saturday morning, another test drive,,, nice and smooth. Problem solved.
Offramp, sent you a PM.
Rick