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.

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 downMy 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)

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.

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.

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.

What is your tongue weight percentage?

Poor tow vehicle ride pulling trailer on certain highways

coolbikeman1
Explorer
Jun 15, 2015
W.E.BGood wrote:
Coolbikeman...I have the same ride experiences with my '08 Tundra and Keystone Outback 250RS (6K dry) on various concrete paved-sectioned highways. What improved things considerably was proper adjustment and setup of my Equal-i-zer WDH. Adding Firestone airbags have also helped for some sections, and simply slowing down was the only thing that made a real difference in certain circumstances. My previous TT was a 21 foot relatively low-profiled hybrid...it also bucked on some sections of Wisconsin and Iowa roads even with the WDH.

I'm in agreement with tll's post at the bottom of page 2.

Thanks, I have come to about the same conclusion also. Those Lippert accessories to the suspension look like they might help some.
W_E_BGood
Explorer
Jun 15, 2015
Coolbikeman...I have the same ride experiences with my '08 Tundra and Keystone Outback 250RS (6K dry) on various concrete paved-sectioned highways. What improved things considerably was proper adjustment and setup of my Equal-i-zer WDH. Adding Firestone airbags have also helped for some sections, and simply slowing down was the only thing that made a real difference in certain circumstances. My previous TT was a 21 foot relatively low-profiled hybrid...it also bucked on some sections of Wisconsin and Iowa roads even with the WDH.

I'm in agreement with tll's post at the bottom of page 2.
coolbikeman1
Explorer
Jun 15, 2015
Thanks to everyone for all the input. I am considering an Airstream trailer. Does anyone have experience pulling one on these same type roads? Just wondering if their lower center of gravity and different type suspension would make any difference?
dwayneb236
Explorer
Jun 15, 2015
On I45 South going through Houston is terrible. The last time I towed to the coast it was a seriously bouncy ride, only in that area. Concrete sections are not leveled with each other I'm assuming. Only place it did that on that trip.
fil564
Explorer
Jun 15, 2015
I had a similar experience with my Tundra an a section of road coming in to town but on one of our trips I experienced it and so did our friends that were with us in his F-250. It is just something you deal with for that stretch of road since I have only towed it home once with my F-350 I did not pay that much attention to it but I will find out for sure in a few weeks.
danimal53
Explorer
Jun 15, 2015
i did experience this bouncing, but not on smooth highways at about 60mph, more so on the streets heading to the highway, where it was a little more bumpy.

I'm wondering, however, if my WDH isn't quite setup properly. I had the dealer install when I bought my TT, and they gave me 10,000lb bars on my e2 hitch. With a max trailer weight of 3700, this seems like way overkill, and it actually seems there's a slight inverted v shape between my TV and TT. Would this lead to the extra bouncing? Seems it might take too much weight off my TV, so as the trailer bounces the trailers weight comes down on the TV? does that make sense? and should i call the dealer to get different WDH bars?
Mark_and_Linda
Explorer
Jun 15, 2015
If you want a bounce try I-16 from Macon, GA to Savannah. I came through Chattanooga, TN the other day...hate the bounce on I-24. I always draw my seat belt tight.
69_Avion
Explorer
Jun 14, 2015
Sometimes the bad ride is from a concrete freeway with the expansion joints at a distance that doesn't work well with the distance from the rear wheels of the TV to the TT axles.
coolbikeman1
Explorer
Jun 14, 2015
tll wrote:
I've had this happen on a variety of concrete highways. Even a brand new one just a few months old, and it was the worst I have ever seen. When the concrete drys it sometimes "cups" a bit. The high points are at the expansion joints. This causes the problem. It has nothing to do with truck, trailer, or tongue weights (unless too light). Having the WD hitch adjusted properly and the correct tongue weight will help. The most successful fixes to this problem is to install shocks on the trailer or a product like the Lippert equa-flex. The equa-flex (and others)is designed specifically to reduce the problem.

Thanks everyone for the input. This is exactly what is happening. Drove home today, and all roads south of Kansas City were fine, no porpoising. I agree a 3/4 ton truck would probably be better for the tongue weight issue.
tll
Explorer
Jun 13, 2015
I've had this happen on a variety of concrete highways. Even a brand new one just a few months old, and it was the worst I have ever seen. When the concrete drys it sometimes "cups" a bit. The high points are at the expansion joints. This causes the problem. It has nothing to do with truck, trailer, or tongue weights (unless too light). Having the WD hitch adjusted properly and the correct tongue weight will help. The most successful fixes to this problem is to install shocks on the trailer or a product like the Lippert equa-flex. The equa-flex (and others)is designed specifically to reduce the problem.

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Poor tow vehicle ride pulling trailer on certain highways

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