I agree with what others have said about tying the cable up.
As for the axle situation, is it possible that you were turning as you backed into your yard or driveway? If you have a tandem axle trailer when turning the two axles turn at different turning angles and will make a lot of noise and look off centered until going straight for a short distance. I have noticed this on my son's boat trailers. Both of his are tandem trailers and they both do the same thing. Sometimes he doesn't have to turn much for it to happen. Just a thought.