towing ride
What causes a "bucking bronco" ride which is very hard to stop? Is it a throttle issue or a suspension issue or something else? This condition seems to start with bumpy roads and often at slower speeds.
Forum Discussion
- this question is most often geared toward travel trailers. Maybe you would get better responses in the 5th wheel category.
emillsboro wrote:
Saw a lot of good info to my concerns. Thanks. However, I just recently got into a new 5 wheel. Although the "porpoising" occurred with my previous travel trailer at times, it seems as though this 5 wheel is more prone to the condition. I will check my suspension components. I have a dealer installed Pull Rite auto slide hitch on 05 Chevy 2500 HD Duramax crew cab. Went on CAT scales and all weights are within range. But now pulling about 3000 more pounds then before. Many bad roads out there for sure. I-71 NB in downtown Cincinnati all ate up! Still seeking replies to 5 wheel "porpoising" condition.
5th wheel proposing:
Towing nose high
Light pin weight
Truck suspension --- springs flattened, worn shocks, type of tires, overloaded
You scaled it.....what is rear axle weight?
How much pin weight are you carrying?
Does 5vr tow level?
How much does 5vr weigh?- We had that problem with a Cougar and found the more fresh water we had the tank the worse it got. The fresh water tanks were behind the wheels and affected the pin weight. Even with the tank empty we had still had some porpoising so we installed a Mor-Ride pin which seem to help but we never did get the porpoising to zero.
- Saw a lot of good info to my concerns. Thanks. However, I just recently got into a new 5 wheel. Although the "porpoising" occurred with my previous travel trailer at times, it seems as though this 5 wheel is more prone to the condition. I will check my suspension components. I have a dealer installed Pull Rite auto slide hitch on 05 Chevy 2500 HD Duramax crew cab. Went on CAT scales and all weights are within range. But now pulling about 3000 more pounds then before. Many bad roads out there for sure. I-71 NB in downtown Cincinnati all ate up! Still seeking replies to 5 wheel "porpoising" condition.
- For me most of the time it`s poorly poured concrete. I88 and I355 are the worst! as soon as you hit blacktop it smooths out!
Old-Biscuit wrote:
Too light of tongue weight/pin weight
Short wheelbase
Overloaded
Too high spring rate
No shocks
Too high air pressure in tires
Improper hitch set up
I-10/1-40
Nice assessment!
Bilstein's for the TV.
Put shocks on the trailer.
Make sure you have that 12% to 15% hitch weight.
Inflate TV rear tires to match the weight you are carrying on it.
I am a 5er person can't tell you squat about setting up your WDH, but there is a sticky at the top of this header.
Stay Off I-10/I-40! :B- You get proposing because the weight is on the bumper. When you hit failing pavement, most often concrete at the expansion joints, the trailer starts bouncing. The faster you go, the more bounce you will get. It's physics. You can do some things to help control it, but you will never completely eliminate it. Very good shocks, a stiff enough spring pack, more than to just barely beat payload numbers, and properly inflated tires. Properly inflated does not necessarily mean aired to the max. It means aired to match the load. Speed is the easiest, fastest way to somewhat control it. Slow is not always safe either but sometimes the only alternative.
- Many attribute "porpoising" to light rear spring rates and too light or worn shocks, and I believe that is the case many times. 1/2 tons pulling too little tongue weight especially in a longer trailer seem to be a main culprit. I know mine, at 1100 lbs tongue and 34' feet long can get a little bouncy at times, but it generally doesn't last long and settles down quickly. If it doesn't, I pull a little manual brake to settle it. I've been on rough roads with a lot of seam bucking and have used the brake lever repeatedly to tame things down, but doesn't usually get that bad. It could also be hitch windup if your running near the max of your receiver. Could be "D", all the above. If it's constant all the time you need to start looking at the obvious stuff, shocks, tongue weight, tire pressure and work your way through it.
- Your profile indicates that you are pulling with crew cab pickup and the rig is 30 ft BH.
I would start by looking at your hitch setup.
Make sure you weigh the rig loaded for the rig.
You need to check your tongue weight. - Too light of tongue weight/pin weight
Short wheelbase
Overloaded
Too high spring rate
No shocks
Too high air pressure in tires
Improper hitch set up
I-10/1-40
