Almost had disaster towing. Advice Please!

[james t]

Check the wheel bearings on the trailer. One or more bad bearings will allow a tire(s) to camber in slightly and cause the "trailer death wobble". As long as you've got about 500lbs. tongue weight with that setup (it looks like you do), it shouldnt be an issue. Have you tried the trailer/car behind anything else? Im thinking its the trailer..... either a bad bearing or an axle out of square. Try pulling the trailer behind another truck and see if it does anything.

Take that money others have suggested on load distribution stuff and get brakes on it first.

I have towed with my 5 liter (before it was lifted) many a mile and never had a problem. Several times with more of a load than what you are towing.

 

[Brian_B]

Check the trailer brakes first as james suggested. I would think that could be a major player in the scare. They may not even be working to begin with.

 

[spindlecone]

Botton line is IMO at 117 k miles, you got S$$t for suspension, upgrade it, be done with it

 

[mechanix]

Spend some $$$ and buy a Dodge 2500 with a Cummins. You can set cruise at 80 and not even know the trailer is back there.

 

[Bullitt5094]

Spend some $$$ and buy a Dodge 2500 with a Cummins. You can set cruise at 80 and not even know the trailer is back there.

If you haven't noticed, I'm a Blue Oval kind of guy. I would go with a Powerstroke. Towed this same car/trailer behind a Powerstroke to Atlanta and back for a magazine thing and it was cruise control all the way. I just pull my measley 10.90/125mph daily driver to the track on rare occasions/events. Not anywhere near worth the truck investment to do that.
I really don't believe there is a problem with this trailer. It is used all the time behind the trailer owners F-150 with no issues. He has a dedicated race car that he hauls all over the place on this trailer.

 

[mechanix]

Looks like there is alot of space between the front axle of the trailer and the rear axle of the Explorer. I would suggest for tounge weight as many have suggested. The trailer does seem to have a longer than usual tounge imo. Hope this helps.