Rear Trailer Axle is Up Off the Ground Even After Unloading Trailer

Updated 08/27/2020 | Published 07/21/2015

Question:

I was hauling a load of furniture a d realized the rear two tires were not touching the ground. Once I unloaded the trailer, the rear tires still do not touch the ground. Any suggestions as to how to correct the problem?

asked by: Oscar M

Expert Reply:

It sounds like most of the weight was forward of the trailer axles which could cause the rear axle to pivot up towards the bottom of the trailer at the equalizers. Sort of like in the picture I have included.

You can manually pry it back into position using a long steel bar and a lot of pushing. Sometimes they just fix themselves. I would definitely inspect the suspension components because something could be corroded/worn causing things to bind up.

expert reply by: Michael H

click to enlarge

Frank P.

4/28/2020

Howdy, I have the same thing. Had it before after hitting a huge pothole, now again, so to clarify, are you prying the front axle tire down? Using your pic for ref. Previous trailer peeps fixed but noted that how they did it was contrary to the obvious solution, so just needed to clarify..Thanks, youre a god send.. heheh, trailer gets a little wobbly on just the one front tire..thanks..

Chris R.

4/30/2020

Exactly - you could manually (and carefully) try to just pry the raised axle back down to get the equalizer back where it needs to be. Like Michael mentioned above too, sometimes this kind of thing also corrects itself without a little more driving. If it becomes a frequent problem I would definitely have your suspension checked - you could have some worn out leaf springs that are ready for replacement or something else that needs attention.

Frank P.

4/30/2020

Ok, thanks much. Im an old Geezer and tried the pry thing, but will be getting a bottle jack and try to push up the lower one up to pop the other side.. Much appreciate the reply... Hava good one.. Cheers..

Jim S.

6/16/2020

I have 6x16 utility I noticed the front tires up off ground 1/2 inch and the trailer is sitting level, I checked everything looks good, it's not hooked up on flat surface, why?

Chris R.

6/19/2020

There has to be something off on the suspension to cause that to happen. Did you check the equalizer to see if it's cranked up like in the above picture?

Ronnie

8/13/2020

My two front tires come up off the ground when I'm pulling my double axle trailer wound it hurt anything if I got a load on it pulling it down the road

Jon G.

8/27/2020

You really shouldn't be experiencing that at all and while adding some weight to the front of your trailer could help remedy this problem it would be like adding a bandage to something that needs more help. Do you have the correct ball mount or is your trailer really nose-high when you're towing? If it sits nose-high then I recommend checking out the attached article about ball mounts to make sure you have your towing rig set up properly.

Helpful Links

faq-ballmount.aspx