Unusual tugging while towing a trailer

Hey peeps. Not sure who's up right now that can help but I'm on a road trip with The Traveler right now and were having a slight towing problem.

Every now and then we get a slight tug backward. It feels something like a very slight transmission slip. Engine doesn't make any noticeable sounds when it happens. Feel it the most when going uphill.
This is the first time this truck has towed anything and this trailer has about a 200 tongue weight, and weighs about 1300 unloaded (which it is).

Truck is an '10 4x4 sr5 with a 3" lift and 80k miles.
Anybody got any ideas as to what might be causing it?

P.s. the slip also feels kind of like wheel slipping, just to elaborate.

 

going up hill. sounds like it's coming out of T/C lockup. As your slowing down and you step on the gas more (or maybe not) you might feel a slight bump.
Are you in "D" ? Try dropping down a notch to experiment .

 

Could you also could be feeling slop in your hitch / trailer setup ? First time towing so she's going to feel different. Your not towing per say but it does make the trans work different with 1300 extra pounds.

 

Is there play between the drawbar and the hitch? You'll get some play when slowing down and the accelerating if there is.

 

Hey thanks for the responses guys. Work with me a bit here I don't know my tow terminology well. When you say T/C do you mean traction control?
The little jolts need happen when we're at a slow acceleration going uphill, no braking so I don't think the trailer is slop.
We were mainly in drive since the transmission has been "hunting" quite a bit on these hills.
It goes away when we slow down and downshift.

It's not a huge concern right now but when were actually hauling on the way back, it may be a bigger problem.

 

2x
Either that or your muffler bearing is on its way out!

 

Sorry Brad

T/C is the torque converter.

i think your feeling the trans downshift.

Try taking it out of D on hilly portions.
If you have more questions i'll be here for another 30 min.
PM me your phone # if you want and i can answer your questions better.

 

either your ball mount is to low or high. flip the ball to the opposite side and try that, it does make a difference. sounds like your truck is chugging.

 

T/C I bet means torque converter.

If the auto tranny is hunting, downshift to the next gear. Hunting is not good over the long run for trannies, it builds up heat and excessive wear and tear.

 

Wow thanks for the responses guys. Lot of good responses here. I will see if at the next gas station we an flip the ball hitch. I've never heard anything about a muffler bearing, lol, troll?
Chugging is a term I'm unfamiliar with but sounds like it would be the right term! We tried downshifting but it sill happens once in awhile, I think with a little more power.
This truck off roads a lot and never pulls so maybe it just needs to be "broken in" a bit more

 

Based on what you are towing: 1300 lbs total. You should have 7-10% of that weight on your hitch. You MAY have too much weight on the hitch.

 

I hope you have a big wrench to flip the ball on the drawbar, they are torqued down real tight.

 

you should have a dropped draw bar with your lift. trailer tongue should sit almost level with slight rake up toward the hitch. your torque converter is going from lock to unlocked going up an incline, should see your rpm's go up, almost feels like a downshift but not as hard. this is normal when towing, after a while you will get use to the feel and want pay attention to it. my truck is lifted and had to get a 4" drop draw bar, when towing with a load you want the weight forward so the trailer doesn't lift the backend of the truck. I guess you figured out the muffler bearings, most are chrome. lol. just messing with you.

 

Doubt it too much weight on hitch. I had around 800-1000 on mine a month ago with our enclosed snowmobile trailer with a sled in the nose of it! Didn't do that are you a single axle trailer??? Could be you feeling it going over a bump. And since everything is taunt it's transitioning threw the frame to your butt and making your brain think something. Is wrong.

 

I think I know this feeling and its pretty common. Just the weight of the trailer pushing and pulling as you are moving. You would think the trailer would stay the exact same speed as the truck, but now and then the trailers weights increases and decreases just sligbtly. Hope this helps..

 

He has an over built u-haul tandem trailer with surge brakes so he's going to feel more movement in the setup. As far as his tongue weight, it's level and so he will be right on q when he loads it even front and rear. He shouldn't have a problem and he's going to haul back out of OD. The only problem he was having was wearing shorts on a cold morning, hehehehehe. I imagine he will post at some point on his trip.