# Towing Problem, Any Ideas



## knauby (Aug 16, 2012)

Towed my 250RS for the first time with my new F150 over the weekend. Horsepower and pulling were not a problem at all. I did however experience a rhythmic bounce between 40 and 50 mph. I never had this problem before with my Tundra. No problems going under 40 and no problems going over 50. Does anyone have any clue what this may be? My vehicle was not overloaded, no gear and 2 people only in the truck and my trailer was empty except for essentials.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

The bounce typically occurs when you are matching a natural frequency of the truck/trailer combination with the road. Typically this happens on segmented concrete roads but can happen on other types of roads.

Based on your comment on how it was loaded I would say the tongue weight is too low or the weight distribution springs are set too tight. Did you reset the hitch when you moved it to the new truck?

Also did the F150 come with P or LT tires? If they are P then they could be contributing to the issue.


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## Dave-Gray (Jul 9, 2012)

In addition to what CamperAndy said, it would be a good idea to weigh your combination. Without knowing the details of your truck, you could be nearing or exceeding the the maximum towing capacity. There is a website with an improved towing weight calculator to assist you with knowing your true tongue weight. Go to FWS to learn more.


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## spidey (Aug 8, 2012)

I never thought about tires. I have the factory ones on my Avalanche and they are P rated. I am upgrading next summer to bigger rims, so will be getting 10 [ly tires. I had this happen to me a few times this summer as well, and just put it down to new trailer and truck and just figuring out what goes where for weight.


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## Bob in Virginia (Jul 15, 2010)

You might also want to check the tire pressures all around. Suspect that possibly the trailer has full pressure which is bouncing back towards the TV with lower pressures that are setting up the bounce. Adding some psi to the TV will probably make it pull better, but not over the max PSI on the tire sidewall.


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## knauby (Aug 16, 2012)

Well I reduced the tension on the WDH and verified tire pressures. Took her for short spin at the mentioned speeds, seemed to help. I wish I knew a reliable trailer shop to verify all my hitch settings. Not sure I can trust my RV dealer's service guys. Thanks everyone for the input, much appreciated!


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## hautevue (Mar 8, 2009)

Your info does not note where you are, but it is likely that there is a professional truck service stop somewhere in the area. Their weigh scales are great and cheap! I got weight of my TT, weight of the TV, weight of the TT attached to TV, and weight on the TT tongue. 4 weights, and cost $24.

Just call ahead and tell them what you want to do, because you will tie up the scales for 10 - 15 minutes while you weigh, back up or move forward, unhitch, re-hitch, etc. The guy was really nice and said to come at xx and they were usually very slow then...

and X2 w/CamperAndy on porpoising. Too light on the tongue causes sway and handling problems. Plus the road concrete laid today has not only a tilt to the side for water drainage, but often the middle of the slab (in the direction of travel) is actually a couple of inches higher than the ends where the joints are. Helps water drainage, they say, but can induce bounce.

North Carolina built a beautiful new bridge to the Outer Banks near Kitty Hawk, and the bounce was so bad that they had to come back the next year and grind the hell out of almost all the slabs to reduce if not eliminate the crown in the direction of travel. Cars were jumping all over the road!

The state had decided that water drainage would only be at the joints between slabs, so they crowned the slabs to get the water to flow forward or backward to the ends for drainage. Great idea, bad execution.


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## W.E.BGood (Jan 15, 2011)

I have had the same problem on some stretches of concrete-sectioned paved roads we travel to our regular campsites here in northern Iowa and southern Wisconsin, and some of the interstate around the south side of Madison is just unbelieveable. I've verified that my 10K Equalizer is properly adjusted.
I mitigated the problem by adding AirLift 5000 airbags to my Tundra and use the remote air pump control to pump them up to 25-35 lbs. when it starts happening...made a big difference.
The other benefit is they allow me to tow without the Equalizer bars set up, which I'll do for short jaunts and especially for negotiating tight corners and very steep approaches into sites. I don't hear the Equalizer bars screaming in protest.
Regards, BGood


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## knauby (Aug 16, 2012)

Dave-Gray said:


> In addition to what CamperAndy said, it would be a good idea to weigh your combination. Without knowing the details of your truck, you could be nearing or exceeding the the maximum towing capacity. There is a website with an improved towing weight calculator to assist you with knowing your true tongue weight. Go to FWS to learn more.


I'm absolutely 100% positive I'm no where near the maximum towing capacity of my truck. That said though, I have no idea what my true tongue weight is on the TT. As mentioned, my truck had no gear in it at all and only 2 passengers so I doubt I was pushing the weight capacity of my truck. I'm done camping for the winter so next spring I think I will pack up the TT and load everyone in the truck and stop by a scale (found one close by) and get some weights. I am still suspecting a hitch setup issue more than a weight issue though. Verification is the only way to be sure as I don't want to put my family or other motorists in danger. Thanks for the info!


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## jake's outback (Jul 24, 2010)

You know I had something very similar happen this past summer. I have a 2500HD and an outback 260FL and measured the tongue on the trailer at under 1000#. All measurement well with in Limits. I say it was the stretch of road I was on as I have not changed anything and was never able to repeat it. The road was in NY state coming back from Letchworth and I was close to the border. My experience for what its worth!


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## Santa Fe TX Bob (Oct 30, 2011)

To weigh I would use any CAT scale. You can find them at http://catscale.com/cat-scale-locator. It is only 10 bucks and they weigh all three axles at the same time.

Bob


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