Towing trouble, advice please New Ford vibrates, Solved post#22

[walkers60]

Ah I posted this off course but think it’s better here. Hope I’m not breaking a rule.

Towing expert please advise, new ford with the shakes!

Oct. 29, 2019, 05:16 PM
My old pickup was done in by an oak tree falling on it so I need to use my 2018 Expedition for towing my old Trailer BP (perfect condition).
On the way to the hitch place the Ford was vibrating pulling the empty BP but I thought having the hitch aligned with the trailer would fix the problem. No ,even with the WDH and perfect alignment the Ford shakes when towing an EMPTY trailer. Took it with trailer attached to the Ford dealer and they had no ideas. I tried a friends BP and same results. I went on-line and there were several older angry ford threads on vibration with towing but Ford150 yet the Expedition is pretty much the same engine and body.
Does anyone have any clues? The tires are goodand balanced on trailer, bearings have been repacked and replaced recently. Where I took it for hitch work they been in business for 30 years and used to build trailers. They have no clue.
What to do? The Expedition drives fine without the trailer but I’m at a loss what to do. It’s strong enough certainly to tow an empty tailer. I won’t try it with horses it shakes to badly.

I was surprised to find all the threads on Ford 150 forums. I guess I’ll never buy another Ford but I can’t buy a new truck as I hardly even trailer anymore…

Help?

[4LeafCloverFarm]

Is the shaking/vibration at low speeds (say 25/30MPH) or high speeds (55/60MPH) or both?

What is the gross weight of the trailer you are towing?

[walkers60]

The shaking get worse the faster I go. The empty trailer is about 2000pounds.

[downen]

We had a vibration issued with our 2004 Expedition. Spent a BUNCH of money on the front end, with no luck. I did a little googling and it said the Cooper tires that came standard with the Expedition were known to get flat spots. Changed out all the tires and never had the vibration again.

Not sure if that applies to you since it seems to only happen when towing, but it might be something to look at.

Good luck!

[4LeafCloverFarm]

There should be a small plaque on the trailer that lists the exact weight of the trailer and the tongue load (if it is missing, contact the manufacturer if you can’t find an exact match online). On your hitch there should also be a plague or sticker that lists the max towing weight, tongue load, etc. You just want to make sure that those numbers don’t contradict one another. I assume this is a factory installed hitch?

The 2018 Ford Expedition is rated for 6,000 pounds towing and max 610 pounds tongue load (but the engine and model may make that # higher). But the hitch system may also affects towing too, especially if it is after market.

If the tongue load of your horse trailer, for example, is 850 pounds, then you have your answer.

[4LeafCloverFarm]

This flier from Ford, may (or may not) be helpful.

https://www.ford.com/cmslibs/content/dam/brand_ford/en_us/brand/resources/general/pdf/guides/18RV&TT_Ford_Expedition_Oct5.pdf

[stargzng386]

I bought a new F150 in 2013 and ended up having the same issue right off the lot. Mine ended up being from the truck tires. I upgraded and instantly it was gone. It used to be that around 55 it felt like you couldn’t feel steering wheel it was shaking so much.

[DinkyDonk]

@downen

We had a vibration issued with our 2004 Expedition. Spent a BUNCH of money on the front end, with no luck. I did a little googling and it said the Cooper tires that came standard with the Expedition were known to get flat spots. Changed out all the tires and never had the vibration again.

Not sure if that applies to you since it seems to only happen when towing, but it might be something to look at.

Good luck!

I had the same issue at low speeds with a Cutlass Supreme (yes, I am ancient). Tires looked great, but they were the cause. Changed them for a different brand and never had the problem again. FWIW, the tires that made the car shake were Goodyear…I’ve never had a problem with Coopers, but these days nothing is what it used to be.

[walkers60]

Stargnzer
Did you have this trouble only when towing. The Expedition is fairly new 2018 and only vibrates when pulling the trailer

[walkers60]

4LeafcloverFarm
All the issue you raised are not the problem, everything is exactly correct and done by the best hitch people on the planet. This started immediately when I used the trailer for the first time after my truck was totaled by the tree.
The trailer was empty , Aluminum weighs about 2K unloaded.
Thats why this is such a mystery, the trailer/hitch people and the Thanks mechanic at the Ford place have no clue.
Thanks

[stargzng386]

@walkers60

Stargnzer
Did you have this trouble only when towing. The Expedition is fairly new 2018 and only vibrates when pulling the trailer

Yes I only had the issue while towing. It was completely fine without a trailer but when hooked up with it without a horse loaded it vibrates like crazy. I took it to a few shops they couldn’t find anything and finally someone suggested replacing the tires and it fixed it.

[walkers60]

Thanks everyone, darn I don’t want to buy new tires these only have 7K miles on them ,Expedition is just a year old. The trailer I bougth new 20 years ago and have mainyence done yearly. Anyway no problem when I used the old Ram 1500 and also pulled it before that with a Tahoe.
The expedition should pull an empty trailer with no problem. I’m not riding much so I can’t justify getting another truck.
Thanks again , ideas? .you guys are great.

[downen]

@walkers60

Thanks everyone, darn I don’t want to buy new tires these only have 7K miles on them ,Expedition is just a year old. The trailer I bougth new 20 years ago and have mainyence done yearly. Anyway no problem when I used the old Ram 1500 and also pulled it before that with a Tahoe.
The expedition should pull an empty trailer with no problem. I’m not riding much so I can’t justify getting another truck.
Thanks again , ideas? .you guys are great.

I hauled a two-horse Merhow bumper pull for years with my Expedition. I only hauled locally, flat roads, but it hauled very well. As I said, the vibration I experienced was related to the tires, and we remedied that before I even tried to haul with it.

Hope you figure it out!

[OverandOnward]

If it’s a 2018 with a manufacture problem, it’s probably still under warranty. Don’t delay getting a certified Ford mechanic (probably a dealer shop, especially the one you got it from) to look it over thoroughly, under the hood and everywhere.

If you drive (and especially tow) with these issues, you may be voiding the warranty. Do. not. delay. your trip to the Ford-certified mechanic.

Don’t fool around and waste time with internet opinions or friend &/or family opinions, because they don’t matter a flip. Only the certified pros can diagnose the problem and then sort out what is warranty and what is not. And time is of the essence because of the warranty.

As I read your description of the issue, one thing that will cause that feeling while driving are pistons that are not firing correctly. Especially that it is more noticeable at higher speeds. If so, in a 2018 I would think that is definitely under warranty, but only Ford can answer that for you. And the good news is that this is very fix-able (as are many other things).

Hopefully this is solved for you without too much angst and pain. Good luck!

[walkers60]

Thanks OverandOnward
Buried in my first post is that I took the Expedition with trailer to the Ford dealer, they drove with me ,experienced the vibration and did a few things with the controls but it ended with them saying they had no clue as to what is wrong. This was the service manager.
I was left with no help from Ford. I’m not towing, couldn’t tow this way and would never even try it with the horses since it vibrates so much when empty as did my friends BP.

[clanter]

@walkers60

Thanks everyone, darn I don’t want to buy new tires these only have 7K miles on them ,Expedition is just a year old. The trailer I bougth new 20 years ago and have mainyence done yearly. Anyway no problem when I used the old Ram 1500 and also pulled it before that with a Tahoe.
The expedition should pull an empty trailer with no problem. I’m not riding much so I can’t justify getting another truck.
Thanks again , ideas? .you guys are great.

contact the shop you where you got the tires… the company we use has a no question buy back program that prorates the cost. I had to have one car’s tires replaced at not cost since the tires were worthless on wet roads, the shop exchanged the tires giving full credit

[4LeafCloverFarm]

@clanter

contact the shop you where you got the tires…

I’m guessing on a 2018 model, those are the tires that came on the SUV when the OP bought it. And dealerships (theses days) don’t seem near as accommodating as they once were in fixing these types of issues. But that is just my experience.

[Corey94]

Is it possible there is something askew with the trailer now? Maybe find another truck to borrow and see if the trailer is the issue? I think you said you towed it regularly with the truck that was damaged by the tree, but maybe the lighter weight puller is showing trailer issues more clearly?

Wups, see now that you’ve had the problem with another trailer, nevermind…

[OverandOnward]

@walkers60

Thanks OverandOnward
Buried in my first post is that I took the Expedition with trailer to the Ford dealer, they drove with me ,experienced the vibration and did a few things with the controls but it ended with them saying they had no clue as to what is wrong. This was the service manager.
I was left with no help from Ford. I’m not towing, couldn’t tow this way and would never even try it with the horses since it vibrates so much when empty as did my friends BP.

“We have no clue” is not an acceptable answer from the Ford service personnel. It is their job to know, or find someone who does. Time to escalate up the chain with Ford. It’s a PITA for sure, but you need a definitive diagnosis of the problem, and then to learn where it is re the warranty.

I suspected that might have been the case, that service personnel are over their heads. That doesn’t excuse the Ford company from its obligation to honor the warranty. If there is a non-dealer shop with more experience, find out if Ford would honor the warranty with their work. If not, then Ford has to find the service personnel who can do this.

Good luck!

[Kmacht]

I see two possibilities. One is the tires and that is an easy one to check yourself. If you have a bad rear tire that is vibrating with some weight on it you can try swapping your tires front to back to see if the problem goes away. You can also add or remove tire pressure on each tire one at a time to see if it gets better or worse. If swapping tires or changing tire pressure affects the vibration then get two new tires. There is no need to replace all 4 unless they are worn and need replacement anyway. It isn’t unusual to have one tire to have a bad internal belt but it is very unusual to have 4. The other option that could be causing this is a bad U-joint on one side of the driveshaft. As weight is put on the bed of the truck and it squats down the angle of the u-joint changes and can cause a vibration. To test for this you can put some weight in the bed and try to get it to squat about the same amount as it does when the trailer is attached. If it vibrates with weight in the bed and no trailer connected then bring it either back to the dealer or an independent shop and have them fix it.