Forum Discussion

coolbikeman1's avatar
coolbikeman1
Explorer
Jun 13, 2015

Poor tow vehicle ride pulling trailer on certain highways

Just checking if others have experienced very violent bobbing, jerky, bouncy ride in tow vehicle while pulling a travel trailer? I have experienced this with our Tundra pulling two different Holiday Rambler trailers. One with a Reese W/D hitch and my current one with a Equalizer 4 point hitch. The trailer and truck a perfectly level as far as setup, and there isn't much if any sway at all. Is it something we put up with, or can something be done about it? It doesn't happen on all highways, but it happened on the perfectly smooth concrete I-29 highway going towards South Dakota. I am assuming the expansion joints where each section of concrete road come together were a little higher than the rest of the concrete section and a weight distribution hitch making the tow vehicle and trailer as one long vehicle is the cause. When the trailer wheels hit the expansion joints, it jerks our tow vehicle, and probably our tow vehicle does the same to our trailer. It really can bounce around contents inside our cabinets if we don't arrange them to avoid this and makes for an uncomfortable ride during those times.

Don't know if all trailers are like this( thinking about an Airstream in the future) or not. What about 5th wheels, do they experience the same problem?

Thanks for your input and experiences.

28 Replies

  • therink wrote:
    What is the weight of the trailer loaded? If the rear Springs on the tow vehicle are maxed out, the can make the ride very rough.
    There always will be some bouncing due to the axle and expansion jpint spacing.


    It is around 8500 lbs. Weight limit on trailer is 10,000 lbs. Dry weight 7780 lbs. The suspension isn't bottomed out, but I can see where this would be a cause if it were.
  • I pull my 2015 Lance 1985 with my 2013 F150 (WD hitch). First trip out this year we had a very bouncy ride across a crappy Massachusetts Rte 128. On the way back I loosened my WD by 1 link on the chain and the ride smoothed out. Don't want it too loose because that will defeat the positive affects of a good WD distribution system. But don't want to be too tight. Also take a look at how you load your "stuff" in both the trailer and the truck. Maybe you need to spread the loaded weight out a little better. An occasional bounce due to conditions is probably normal. But you should be able to adjust a lot of bounce out of you're ride
  • With a 31' trailer I would say your maxed out with your Toyota. Do you have the weight rating of the trailer and have you weighed the tongue?

    A Holiday Rambler 31' is probably in 3/4 ton truck territory.

    I would say you don't have enough truck for the size of the trailer.
  • Concrete road are terrible towing or not. Trucks that are designed to give a nice ride verses being a work truck have a different suspension I believe to give a better ride everyday so while towing it is not as stiff. My 350 probably bounces more not towing as the suspension is so stiff.
  • The weight depends on the stiffness of the springs too. Our flatbed trailer rides much smoother with 8000 pounds on it than it does empty.

    That's why I mentioned the kinetic energy. It takes a lot more effort to get 9400 pounds moving than 1400 pounds.
  • What is the weight of the trailer loaded? If the rear Springs on the tow vehicle are maxed out, the can make the ride very rough.
    There always will be some bouncing due to the axle and expansion jpint spacing.
  • Try driving on I-10 through Louisiana. We drive back and forth all the time with the same TV and differing trailers enough to know for which sections of road to slow down

    My theory; Its all due to the perfect combination of 1-speed, 2- axle distance, and 3- weight (kinetic energy) EDIT 4- the stiffness of the veehickle springs (and shocks / struts)