Problems pulling a portable squeeze chute

[rockcreekfarm]

I bought a portable Priefert squeeze chute so I could work cattle on rented land without having to haul them to our main working area. It worked really well this past summer when we had a massive pinkeye outbreak. The only problem I have with it is when you pull it on the road you cannot go over 20 mph or it starts wobbling/fish tailing all over the road. We have tried putting more air in the tires and also letting air out of the tires but nothing seems to help. Does anyone know if this is just what portable chutes do or if there is something I can do besides driving slow to keep it from fishtailing? I've tried looking online but I haven't found any helpful information. Thanks for any advise.

 

[M-5]

Have you got a pic of where the axle is under it . I'm thinking it's to far forward or too narrow and its a balance issue with the chute being top heavy

 

[Bigfoot]

I've had tongue wagons not trail good. I've never had a single axle anything not trail good. I thought it was impossible for them to sway.

 

[M-5]

Bf 2 wheels trailers will sway if the balance is off or too narrow of track. Someone smarter than me can explain the why but I do know if it does not have good tongue weight and a wide track it tends to sway more. It's width vs height issue

 

[Till-Hill]

If you have the Priefert transport I had same problem and brought it into shop and tightened up wheel bearings. They were loose enough I turned but with my fingers. Try that....

 

[Bez__]

Have you got a pic of where the axle is under it . I'm thinking it's to far forward or too narrow and its a balance issue with the chute being top heavy

You got it M-5. Pretty smart for an old guy.

Rockcreekfarm - Almost any time a trailer starts to "walk on you" it means the tongue is too light. This can happen with a dual axle as well.

Bet you a buck you either move that chute forward, move the axle back or put a couple hundred pounds on the front half of that trailer (ahead of the axle) and the tow will improve dramatically.

And make sure that tow bar is level - not sloped back - this can happen if your hitch is too high and the trailer looks like a ski slope. You can get the same thing happening with a tall and narrow load if your hitch angle is steep.

 

[Deepsouth]

I know a guy who bought a bumper pull cattle trailer that was fish tailing bad. We talked about it at work and figured he needed to lower his hitch. He carried by a camper and trailer sales place and they told him to raise his hitch. He fixed the problem. I understand what dash is saying but I can't imagine priefert selling a portable chute that wouldn't pull right. I bet it's a hitch hight problem.

 

[lavacarancher]

This is usually caused by not having enough tongue weight (axle not placed in the right place) but can also be caused by the axle not being perpendicular to the trailer.

 

[M-5]

I know a guy who bought a bumper pull cattle trailer that was fish tailing bad. We talked about it at work and figured he needed to lower his hitch. He carried by a camper and trailer sales place and they told him to raise his hitch. He fixed the problem. I understand what dash is saying but I can't imagine priefert selling a portable chute that wouldn't pull right. I bet it's a hitch hight problem.

DS by raising the hitch height it put more weight on the tongue. A simple remedy for those situations is to hang a couple of tractor weights on the tongue after you get it level

 

[Black and Good]

I have an older Preifert squeeze chute that trails great behind my 2500 Ram 4x4. That truck has a 4" drop hitch on it. B&G

 

[dun]

I brought a 12 foot disc home hooked behind the truck. 8 mph tops, usually 6 mph. Everytime it hit a bump it would start to sway. 40 miles at 6-8 mph takes forever when you have to stop every mile or so to get it to quit swaying. Hooked it behind th tractor to haul to another farm, 25 mph all the way with no problems.

 

[rockcreekfarm]

Thanks for the replies. I am posting 2 pictures of the chute we have. I have never posted a picture on here so if it doesn't work I'll try again.

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The tongue of the trailer is really light. Till-Hill I will have to check out the wheel bearings and see if that's it.

 

[littletom]

We have a foremost it trailes fine. It may set lower than prefert

 

[Texas PaPaw]

Thanks for the replies. I am posting 2 pictures of the chute we have. I have never posted a picture on here so if it doesn't work I'll try again.

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The tongue of the trailer is really light. Till-Hill I will have to check out the wheel bearings and see if that's it.

Since you mention tongue weight being really light, pretty sure that is the problem. Just put some weight in the front of chute like bags of feed/mineral, tractor weigh, junk iron, etc. Would think 50-100 lb in floor of chute immediately behind the headgate would do the job.