Hey all,

I have an 06 f-150 FX4 and I am towing a Chaparral 246 which weighs about 5k lbs full and while going down the road the trailer will start to "Buck" and bounce when I go over some bumps in the road. Now it has gotten kinds scary depending on speed . Now I have slowed down to reduce the bounce but what else can I do?
I am thinking about stiffer coil over shocks to reduce the bounce but I would like some other input from you all. Thanks in advance

 

What is your tongue weight? Do you have a weight distributing hitch?

Check the trailer springs, shocks, and tire pressure.

You shouldn't exceed 65 mph when towing.

 

Not sure what my TW is and I dont have a weight distributing hitch, done a little reading and evidently they dont go well with surge breaks. I will check the trailer springs and all that. my speeds are well below 65 mph about 45-50 I drive on the back roads to the lake. I appreciate your input and advice thanks

 

Surge brakes? They may be out of adjustment and the "bucking" you feel may be the brakes applying and releasing.

 

I think glc is on the right track with the first post. The tongue weight should be roughly 8-10%of the weight of the trailer. At 5000lbs, you shouldn't be able to manually lift the tongue of the trailer. If you can, then you need to move the boat forward on the trailer and maybe readjust the bunks. You'll probably only move it a couple of inches to get the weight right.

 

Lab - I think the actual ratio should be between 10-15% to prevent trailer sway, usually around 12%. Regardless, I think the OP should be using a Weight Distributing Hitch (WDH) with a trailer that heavy too. Without it, virtually ALL of the tongue weight of his trailer is being carried by the rear axle of his truck. Depending on what his tongue weight actually is, the rear axle and wheels could be overloaded. Note to OP: Airbags or similar devices don't correct this. You need a WDH to transfer some of that weight to the front axle of the truck.

A WDH would also reduce the "bouncyness" of the truck trailer combination, because it effectively increases the wheelbase of the system. (Forms a semi-rigid bridge from the truck's front axle to the trailer's axle(s).)

- Jack

 

You need to figure your tongue weight and trailer gross weight.

Go to a truck scale and weigh the rig, get the weights for each axle (truck front, truck rear, trailer). Then drop the trailer and weigh again. Do the math - see how much less the truck weighs without the trailer, that's the tongue weight. Trailer axle weight plus tongue weight is trailer gross weight.

 

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