Steering Wheel Shakes in Vehicle While Towing Trailer

Updated 09/18/2018 | Published 09/17/2018

Question:

I bought a New A-Frame 6 x 12 single axle Utility trailer to haul my new Utv side by side 1300lbs. Being pulled by a 2016 13000miles Toyota Tacoma 4x4 Crew cab. When pulling trailer wth utv on it there is a vibration in steering wheel of truck over 65. It will stop for a very short distance and start back. Not highway been on different ones. Not Tuck without trailer because I drove in same overdrive gear as I did with trailer and even got to 80mph and steering wheel was smooth. Thought maybe having tires Balanced would help. Any advise.

asked by: Steve

Helpful Expert Reply:

There are a few different causes for the steering wheel to shake while towing. The tires as you mentioned could be out of balance but they would have to be pretty far off in order to shake the vehicle's steering wheel. The way the trailer is loaded is also a potential cause. The trailer needs to be loaded so that 60% of the weight is in front and 40% is in the back. Have you tried to load the UTV further forward or backward? The last potential cause I can see is a stiff suspension. If the leaf springs have not yet broken in then this could be what is casing the shanking as the suspension is not absorbing road shock and is then transferring that back onto the vehicle.

I would first try to move the weight around on the trailer and then balance the tires if moving the weight around does not help. The last option would be to take the trailer back to the dealer and have them look it over for you.

expert reply by: Conner L