Hello to all! We are newbies and just bought a 2014 chevy Silverado Z71 1/2 ton with towing package and a 32 foot 7000lb Springdale Travel Trailer. We love the TT but the ride towing is miserable! We can't even place our 9 yr old daughter in the truck while towing. The truck pushes and pulls and bumps so badly that we can't even speak to one another from the vibrations and being nauseated. We have a sway control hitch. Is there anything we can do to smoothen the ride and stop the pushing and pulling feeling or do you think we need a 3/4 ton truck? Please help! Thank you for your thoughts! :)

Nothing much you can do but get a heavier vehicle. As an interim fix you could carry dead weights, like barrels of water.You have what's known as 'the tail wagging the dog.'

The first thing is to take your truck and trailer to a scale and weigh the set up....steer axle, truck rear axle, and trailer axle weight. then weigh just the truck without trailer attached. This will help with fine tuning the weight distributing hitch. Post those numbers here and you will get lots of help.The second thing you need to do is get rid of those "P" rated tires on your pick up and install "LT" rated tires. That alone may just solve your problem.

DownTheAvenue wrote:The first thing is to take your truck and trailer to a scale and weigh the set up....steer axle, truck rear axle, and trailer axle weight. then weigh just the truck without trailer attached. This will help with fine tuning the weight distributing hitch. Post those numbers here and you will get lots of help.The second thing you need to do is get rid of those "P" rated tires on your pick up and install "LT" rated tires. That alone may just solve your problem.Question is does he even have a WD hitch.....he doesn't mention one??

I went thru that for 2.5 years and 10,000 miles with our Heartland North Trail 26LRSS. Truck was a 2010 F150 Max Tow 7650lb GVW Super Crew. Trailer weighed 7300lbs loaded @31' OAL. For the majority of towing early on I ran a 10,000/1000lb EQ hitch with the built in 4pt sway. I tried every trick in the book, but could never get rid of the front to back jerking. I ended up getting a Ram 2500 CTD CC LB. That helped with the control part but not totally with the jerking. JMO here but I am a firm believer that some TT's just don't tow as well as others. I would suspect that those RV transporters would back that up. I was on here with my troubles and tried everything that was suggested. LT tires, Bilstiens shocks, SuperSprings in the rear, etc. None totally alleviated the problem. I had the proper TW at 900-950lbs. Had the proper weight transfer. The interesting part was that it didn't matter what WD or for that matter even not using one ever made a difference. Best thing that worked was my 2500 and the new Anderson WD hitch. This is not to say that you're not adjusted properly or have the right WD hitch. You may get it smoothed out. I never could. Good luck.

So a 3/4 ton will fix the problem? Thanks!

Horrible Bumpy Ride in 1/2 ton pulling TT | Good Sam Community

107 Replies

TomG2
Explorer
Dec 05, 2014
Deleted. Too far off topic, even for me.
hawkeye-08
Explorer III
Dec 05, 2014
Desert Captain wrote:
"Be careful with the Ford. They have had issues with the High Pressure Fuel pump in the last few years. Has been a common problem and they don't stand behind the warranty and will cost you a pile of cash to fix if you run into a problem. Not sure if they have fixed it for 2015 or not."

Would you care to provide some (any?), documentation to support this claim? :R

Manufacturers (to include Ford), simply do not have the option of "not standing behind their warranties". I have a 2011 V-10 and have not seen word one on any fuel pump problems. :h

Well known problem with the Ford 6.7 PSD. The fuel quality in the US does not meet the requirements for the Bosch high pressure fuel pump used on these engines. Ford has been rejecting warranty stating that the fuel had water or other contaminants in it. It was discussed in length a back when this engine first came out and the problems started. Please note, this is the same fuel pump used on the Duramax, but GM was not rejecting warranty claims. One of the loudest voices was a Ford loyal customer that ended up going to Ram truck. The repair bill runs up to $10,000 by the time they replace all the fuel system components. I haven't heard much about it for a year or 2 so perhaps they changed their tune and are not rejecting warranty. VW also had the problem with their diesel cars in US.
JIMNLIN
Explorer III
Dec 05, 2014
TomG2 wrote:
bigcitypopo wrote:
...snip.........the short bed really limits payload due to the weight bridging between the axles...

First time that I have seen that bit of information. I am pretty well versed in physics and mechanics yet fail to make that generalization. Especially as it applies to travel trailers, which is what the OP has.

Yeah even Rams body builder guide shows his 2500 cc 2wd short bed big horn has a 2540 lb payload. Same truck with a long bed has a 2410 lb payload.

IMO he has the 3500 SRW long bed vs 2500 short bed mix up.
TomG2
Explorer
Dec 05, 2014
bigcitypopo wrote:
...snip.........the short bed really limits payload due to the weight bridging between the axles...

First time that I have seen that bit of information. I am pretty well versed in physics and mechanics yet fail to make that generalization. Especially as it applies to travel trailers, which is what the OP has.
bigcitypopo
Explorer II
Dec 05, 2014
my Ram 2500 CC Big Horn 4x2 short bed has a 2500lb payload... the 4x4 same config has 2246lb. the 3500 CC short bed is 3100/2800 respectivly... as related to my current truck config.

just food for thought... If i were to buy a 3500 it would be a long bed... to get the max payload.... the short bed really limits payload due to the weight bridging between the axles...
RedRocket204
Explorer
Dec 05, 2014
I don't believe any of you flat-landers caught it...the OP stated they want to be towing around in elevation and that is definitely better accomplished with forced induction. Now, forced induction does not have to be a diesel but it is what is currently available in 3/4 and 1 ton packages.
netaq
Explorer
Dec 05, 2014
love2rvcamp wrote:
We have a 2014 F250 6.2 (gas). It is a daily driving vehicle as well as the tow vehicle. Around town here in Atlanta getting around 14 mpg, highway non towng around 16 mpg and towing our trailer 9.5 to 10 mpg.

The ride is great non towing as well as towing. Even the wife will drive it instead of her luxury car.

Might be a consideration instead of a diesel.

I second that!
TomG2
Explorer
Dec 05, 2014
I stand corrected. From the Ford website, a regular cab F-150 is 227.9 inches long and a F-250 is listed as 227.6 inches. Both have eight foot boxes.
goducks10
Explorer
Dec 05, 2014
dodge guy wrote:
A diesel will be happier pulling a load than just putting around town, and coming from a diesel mechanic.....it is better for it to have a load behind it more often than not!

All true. I don't think very many people buy a diesel to just put around town. Most buy to tow and DD. I've had mine for 2.5 years and DD around town and tow when the seasons here. Zero issues.
goducks10
Explorer
Dec 05, 2014
Spanousis wrote:
Thank you all for your suggestions! We will test all 3 diesels today. Hubby insists on a diesel for resale value and we may want to upgrade our TT to a 5th one day so that's why we are only testing diesels. Thanks!

JMO but as an owner of a 3/4 ton diesel I would suggest you look at 3500's. They're only $800-1000.00 more. Payload will be way higher. Problem with 3/4 ton diesels is because of the extra weight of the diesel motor the payload drops big time. Add to that an upper trim level like Laramie/Lariat and it's even lower. If you're looking to get a 5th wheel then you'll need all the payload you can get.

I would suggest driving a 2500 and 3500 to see the difference. Another thing to check is the tires PSI. More than likely it's not right while sitting on the dealers lot. I run 45psi as recommended in the rear tires. That provides a nicer ride than 65-70psi.