Will Air bags make a big difference?

opnspaces wrote:
Hi Gary, when you say your tires have a max load of 35 PSI where are you getting that number? Is that on the sticker on the drivers door jamb or on the tire itself? The tires should have a max pressure of 45PSI cold embossed directly on the sidewall of the tire.

I would at least put the rear truck tires at max cold (max cold is first thing in the morning before you drive more than a few blocks) But as Grit says if the 45 is still not right you can try 65 PSI and drive it for a few miles for a test.

Oh boy, now I'm feeling REALLY stupid. I could swear I saw it on the tire, 35 max PSI, but you are right, it says 44 PSI. I will be airing them up shortly.

GaryS1953 wrote:
To Grit dog, By the way, forgot to mention that the previous owner had flipped the axle on this trailer. Not sure why. Seems to me with adjustable hitches it really only makes sense to do it on 5th wheels, not TTs. In any case, could that be contributing to our issues?

Flipping TT axles helps with ground clearance. The previous owner may have had a parking space with a steep angled driveway to back into.

What is the weight rating on the side of the tire? If 35psi is the max pressure, the tires may have a lower rating than the rear axle. Soft squishy car tires may be fine running around empty but overload them and the ride can get squirrely and you risk a blowout.

Hi Gary, when you say your tires have a max load of 35 PSI where are you getting that number? Is that on the sticker on the drivers door jamb or on the tire itself? The tires should have a max pressure of 45PSI cold embossed directly on the sidewall of the tire.

I would at least put the rear truck tires at max cold (max cold is first thing in the morning before you drive more than a few blocks) But as Grit says if the 45 is still not right you can try 65 PSI and drive it for a few miles for a test.

GaryS1953 wrote:
To Grit dog, By the way, forgot to mention that the previous owner had flipped the axle on this trailer. Not sure why. Seems to me with adjustable hitches it really only makes sense to do it on 5th wheels, not TTs. In any case, could that be contributing to our issues?

That can really make a difference in the way a trailer handles. If done right, raising COG is never a good thing. Add the fact it would be hard to be sure it was done right.

To Grit dog, By the way, forgot to mention that the previous owner had flipped the axle on this trailer. Not sure why. Seems to me with adjustable hitches it really only makes sense to do it on 5th wheels, not TTs. In any case, could that be contributing to our issues?

^No worries.
Couple thoughts.
I’m not publicly advocating overfilling tires even though I’ve done it when needed for the same reason. But doing it as a test to prove to you that 35psi in a little factory half ton tire is not enough and how much improvement you’ll see.
Maybe you’re not willing to do that, so go buy good truck tires then.
I also suggested since you confirmed you don’t have an overload spring to shim, the cheapest option is an easily installed and removed add on helper leaf.

I don’t know how else to explain that having a stiff rear suspension and stiff sidewalls will help a bunch.
Now people’s opinions differ and I can’t tell if you or your wife expect a Cadillac ride or ???
We just drove 1000mi in an empty lifted 3/4 ton on cheap stuff springs today. Don’t bother me but some may have too soft of keisters or a sensitive tummy…

Trying a HD truck is a good idea if you want to simulate how your truck would handle with better tires and stiffer springs. Except then you don’t have to have a new truck. You just have to do more than nothing to yours to make it handle better.

Grit dog wrote:
Gary, not sure why you’re still on the “throw the baby out with the bath water kick”.
Look at the title of your thread.
And your assessment before and after the new hitch.
You seem to have cured the “sway”? Which sounds like just the typical little “wiggles” of hauling a long bp trailer that likely has enough weight in the tail to wag the dog just a little.
If you had sway problems, you’d have had to stop and clean your shorts and then you’d have been drivin miss daisy at about 45-50mph the rest of the way.
The bouncing/bucking CAN be helped greatly with a stiffer rear suspension and as I recommended like 5 pages ago, riding on cushy tires makes it even more pronounced.

If you’re still with me here, you can simulate both better tires AND a stiffer suspension for FREE.
Do this. First, pump up your rear tires to idk, 55-60 psi (don’t freak out, they won’t pop) and take a test drive with simulated higher capacity tires.
Now if your truck has a separate lower overload spring, go back and pick up the back of the truck a bit above unloaded stance with the trailer jack, like you’re hooking up the bars. Or you can do it by jacking up the truck with a jack under the stinger. Wedge the overload tight to the leaf pack so it takes load instantly. This is the equivalent of adding some spring capacity.

If your leaf pack is all clipped together you can’t do the last thing, so spend the $100-150 on a pair of overload helper leafs off Amazon and slap them on the springs and crank em up.
You may keep them or you can refund them easy peasy.

This is a difficult conversation since you continually jump back to needing a heavier truck rather than even attempting to improve the one you have. Makes my brain hurt and it should make yours hurt too if you don’t think you’re “able” to get a 3/4 ton.

I can promise you I’ve towed 1000s or 10000s of miles with half tons pulling trailers that make yours look like little tinkerbell from a weight standpoint. Now some/many TTs don’t tow ideally due to a greater % of weight aft of the axles. But so be it. Although I just can’t see not doing anything and throwing the white flag.

Grit Dog - Wow, thank YOU for hanging in there for me. I've been busy with company the last couple days and haven't been on the computer, but I really appreciate your detailed effort to help.

My use of the term "sway" may have been simply misunderstanding of what I was experiencing, and lack of proper terminology. Now that I've wasted money on the hitch, I think the "sway" problem was mostly caused by having too much weight in the back of my truck, and slightly under inflated truck tires. Having removed close to 600 lbs of weight seems to have helped with the sway feeling, but NOT with the bucking. We had some of that with the 5th wheel, but nothing like we experienced with the TT. My truck tires are Michelin XLTs, 265/75 R18, and the max PSI is 35. You're suggesting I inflate them to 55? That's a little scary... My truck does not have overload springs as near as I can tell, with just 3 leafs. Is there anything else I could try, cheaply or free? My cousin suggested adding another leaf spring, but I haven't looked into that yet, and would be reluctant to throw money at it not knowing it would work. The wife has said she WILL NOT ride in the truck with the camper bucking like it was, so it really has to be a major improvement. The one thought that I had was to try towing it with a 3/4 truck to see if the ride would be acceptable, and then I would at least know that suspension improvements on our current truck could make the difference. I'm going to try to do that tomorrow.

By the way, the trailer tires are ST 225/75 R15s, and the max PSI stamped on the tire is 80. Supposedly they were new last year. The freshwater tank is squarely between the axles, and the black and gray tanks are behind it. I rarely travel with much in the black and gray, but often carry a full tank of fresh water as we do some boondocking and or stopping at Cracker barrels along our route. I don't know if you saw it in the specs, but this trailer has a factory platform rack on the back that pulls out, basically an extension of the frame with the bumper attached to the end. The spare tire is mounted to this, but it makes a GREAT bike rack, incredibly sturdy. We did travel with two bikes on that rack platform.

Again, I really appreciate your tolerance of my ignorance on this subject, and willingness to help.

mkirsch wrote:
If you can't get the front end any lower, it's already down on the front jounce bumpers and trying to compress it farther will only damage the truck. Lifting the rear will only give you less traction in back and make handling worse.

Are you replying to the wrong conversation or???

If you can't get the front end any lower, it's already down on the front jounce bumpers and trying to compress it farther will only damage the truck. Lifting the rear will only give you less traction in back and make handling worse.