Trailering P 7010 to dealer

KILWERBZZ · Oct 10, 2012

Not all easy jakes will raise all tires off the ground. So do a test on build up 2x4's on how high you need to raise the tire.

Gary Fowler · Oct 10, 2012

I dont know how much lower the back axle would shift on my trailer. The tire had about 2-3 inches of the rubber side walls (could just see a bit of the stamping of the tire size) left but the beads were still seated and the rim wasnt hurt. I dont know how far I had ran it flat but it was up when I left home and only got about 20 miles. I was really surprised that the rim wasnt hurt but the axle did drop at least 6" as that is about the amount of tire that was missing. Maybe for giggles, I will put a jack under the front axle and see how high I have to raise it to clear the rear tire.

vwnotrunning · Oct 10, 2012

If the trailer is loaded to the limit will the easy jake put to much load on the remaining axel and cause damage. Just curious because I have used that method before by I was never really loaded!

MrChris · Oct 10, 2012

vwnotrunning said:
If the trailer is loaded to the limit will the easy jake put to much load on the remaining axel and cause damage. Just curious because I have used that method before by I was never really loaded!

I had that thought as well, but I've read many reviews on several sites that sell the Trailer-Aid and no one mentioned an issue. Now I have personally been able to change a flat with 3 horses loaded in our 3 horse trailer with no damage. It only takes about 10 minutes to change a tire though. Now if you look at Gary's situation, which is somewhat normal, you may run a few miles on 3 tires before you realize and then stop and discover the trailer is setting on 3 tires. You essentially are holding the weight on 1 1/2 axles while you figure out what to do or wait for help. So I' m thinking the quicker you can redistribute the weight back on 4 tires the better.

vwnotrunning · Oct 10, 2012

Yes, that sounds reasonable!

Gary Fowler · Oct 10, 2012

The 12K trailer was pretty much at its rated limit, but the one tire seemed to be holding up the load OK. The tire was a bit warm though. I have my hi-lift jack in the truck now & a new spare tire mounted so I am ready. I dont think I will be plugging any more of my trailer tires. If I get another flat, I will have it patched from the inside.
Another question: Does anyone balance their trailer tires. I dont see any lead weights on any of mine including the spare I just bought. I didnt request a balance job when I bought it though.

Morning Wood · Oct 10, 2012

Most trailer tires aren't balanced. I've read online that people who do balance them like it.

Gary Fowler · Oct 11, 2012

I do feel a bit of vibration when on smooth surfaces (they just finished asphalting a section of I30 and it is super smooth) which I thought might be tire mis-balance on the trailer. I just hate to take them off or try to find a shop that will do them. Most of the shops around here have such a cramped entry that you can barely maneuver a long wheel based truck into them much less it and a 20 foot trailer.

Gary Fowler · Oct 12, 2012

UPDATE: Dealer called yesterday and repairs completed except for the tach/instrument cluster shorting out. They couldnt find any thing wrong which didnt surprise me. Sometimes it stops working for several hours, sometimes on a few minutes. Hydraulic pressures were normal so no real repairs other than the new seat bracket and drawbar attachments. I guess they tightened up the coupling that was leaking on the FEL distribution block and my joystick was loose so maybe they found the lock nut to snug that down.
I asked them to keep it and run it a bit to see if they could get the tach to stop working since I dont particularly need it at the moment.