Back end of truck bouncing up and down while towing

[scubieman]

by dry. The rv was weighted by the dealership I bought it from. They don't believe in factory dry weight.

it's a 2011 forest river cherkoee grey wolf 28BHKS

link is here: Model 28BHKS Bunkhouse Travel Trailer

[acadianbob]

Originally Posted by M109Rrider

When I first got my 6800lb Keystone TT I had this problem. The rear suspension on my 1500 dodge was too light so I adjusted the hitch for a lot of WD. The porposing was caused by too much rebound in the spring bars. Once I put more weight on the rear wheels it almost completely stopped.

Wouldn't you be using LESS weight distribution to put more of the weight on the rear? Ultimately, you would be using no weight distribution?

[M109Rrider]

That's what I was saying. I had too much WD which caused porposing, when I took it out it went away.

[acadianbob]

That's interesting. I'll have to try that. The flip side is that I feel the truck gets "swimmy" when the rear is heavy and the front is light. I guess it is a a trade-off that each person needs to decide for themselves. I also wonder if rear shocks are a factor.

[M109Rrider]

There's a fine line. It will probably never go away completely but if your bouncing like a basketball after every bump that will reduce it drastically. Problem is a lot of people don't read or they skim through the owners manuals for their hitches. Or they let the dealer set it up and never fine tune it. Too many people try to level their trucks using the hitch. My experience with a 1500 Dodge and a camper with an advertised 800lbs of tongue weight, without something like airbags a 1/2 the truck will never sit even close to level if the hitch is adjusted properly. There's just too much weight. Also, a lot people blame that "swimmy" feeling on the tires. I never really noticed it on my 1500 but I also had 20" wheels with lower profile tires.

[acadianbob]

I see your point. I've been unhappy with a little too much bouncing and went the other direction putting more pressue on the WD hitch; thinking that there was too much weight on the back. But I've also been unhappy with the swimmy feeling when I lower the WD pressure. Hmmmmm. . . . . Well, I need new tires so maybe LTs would help. But maybe airbags would make some sense. Thanks for giving me a different perspective on this issue. I think additional experimentation is definitely in order here.

[M109Rrider]

I pulled my TT for 2.5 years with my 1500 then .5 years with my 2500 before I got the 5er. The dealer and I set up my equalizer IAW the manual and then I spent alot of time in rest area's tuning my hitch to fit my needs and pretty much got it perfect. When I got the 2500 I started all over again. You could spend the time and money going to the scales and getting it perfect on paper but IMO every truck/trailer is different and regardless what the scales say it won't replace your "seat of the pants" feeling. There's too many variables.

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by M109Rrider

Too many people try to level their trucks using the hitch. My experience with a 1500 Dodge and a camper with an advertised 800lbs of tongue weight, without something like airbags a 1/2 the truck will never sit even close to level if the hitch is adjusted properly. There's just too much weight. Also, a lot people blame that "swimmy" feeling on the tires. I never really noticed it on my 1500 but I also had 20" wheels with lower profile tires.

I have been thinking about this post over the last couple of days, and feel a need to respond.

I agree that the purpose of a WDH is not to level the TV. The purpose is to get some of the weight off of the rear TV axle, and put some of that weight back on the front axle of the TV, and that in turns puts some weight back on the trailer axle. The weight distributing will in turn tend to level out the TV. Once someone gets the appropriate weight distributed, the TV may still be rear low, level, or even rear high (we are talking tow vehicle here. ). A lot depends on that particular vehicle's springs.

I am not familiar with airbags, but I don't think they should be used on a 1/2 ton truck to "beef up" the rear axle. I would be afraid of someone using those, and going over the rear GAWR. Air bags will not give someone a higher GAWR just because it levels out the TV.

I don't have the 800 lb. tongue weight that M109Rider refers to, but I do have 700 lbs. Here is a photo of my rig riding level on a dry camping trip......fresh water tank full, generator, fire wood, and plenty of other stuff in the bed:



Depending on what exactly is in the bed, it sometimes looks like I am slightly rear low, level, or rear high. I have done the scale weigh-ins, and I am at 89% of my front GAWR, 88% of my rear GAWR, and 68% of my trailer GAWR. If I need to add something else to the bed, I should have enough leeway to still be within stats.

I believe that if a WDH cannot get the axles within manufacturers weight ratings, then a bigger truck is needed. Even with a lite trailer that weighs 57% of my tow vehicle maximum towing weight, I am still approaching the maximum axle weights, as well as my maximum GVWR (93%). MIght have to leave the dog and missus home on some trips.

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by M109Rrider

I pulled my TT for 2.5 years with my 1500 then .5 years with my 2500 before I got the 5er. The dealer and I set up my equalizer IAW the manual and then I spent alot of time in rest area's tuning my hitch to fit my needs and pretty much got it perfect. When I got the 2500 I started all over again. You could spend the time and money going to the scales and getting it perfect on paper but IMO every truck/trailer is different and regardless what the scales say it won't replace your "seat of the pants" feeling. There's too many variables.

I too spent plenty of time tweaking my hitch. I have flipped the hitch bar, tried heavier spring bars (went back to the lighter ones), used a different raised ball (to remedy a spring bar rub problem), and have tilted and retilted the ball platform, and tried different chain lengths. I have done the fender measurements, and have made numerous trips to the local quarry and the Lowe's parking lot (nice and level). The numbers and the "seat of my pants feeling" tell me that I finally have it dialed in just right.