Surging/Bucking while towing TT

[ShadowsPapa]

Steve, If the the trailer is balance evenly it is like a teeter totter with the axle being the fulcrum. The tongue weight should be heavier than the tail and typically 10-15% of the weight of the trailer. If it is too light it will buck up and down at the ball. So if your trailer weighs 3500# you should have a tongue weight of 350# plus, depending how much stuff you take with you.

Well said.
I've seen people pack these things with food and clothing and put it all in the back to avoid loading the truck - bad, very bad. It's another thing to watch for. I'd figure 350 to 400 tongue weight for a 3500 pound trailer. Too light and you get what you mention, also can sway and be unstable.

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[goose464]

NO. IF your trailer has electric brakes, you must have a TRAILER brake controller on your truck. There's nothing going back to the trailer brake wire in that connector without a controller in the truck. It's the brake controller that sends power to the electric brakes on the trailer.
So you need a Curt, Redarc, Mopar, etc. trailer brake controller installed in your truck.
(If it has surge brakes, that's different)
Otherwise, with electric trailer brakes, your trailer may have brakes but they are not working at all - they are just sitting there.
The harder you brake with your truck the brake controller senses that and sends a stronger signal or more power to the trailer brakes. Light braking the trailer brake controller in the truck sends less power to the trailer brakes. It has a device inside that senses acceleration and deceleration and the harder you decelerate, the more power it sends to the trailer brakes.

Without the trailer brake controller in your truck - there's nothing sensing the braking and sending power.
That's assuming your trailer has ELECTRIC brakes.
The sales person is a fool for not advising you on brakes on that thing. That's just plain negligent, IMO.
You need to give them some crap and ask them WHAT type of brakes your trailer has - surge, electric, etc. and why they never talked to you and taught you about that.

Thanks for the information. Bought from a friend, not a dealer. I've planned to add a brake controller regardless, but wanted to understand better how to address the push/pull feeling I described in my first post.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Thanks for the information. Bought from a friend, not a dealer. I've planned to add a brake controller regardless, but wanted to understand better how to address the push/pull feeling I described in my first post.

Lots of good tips here - like tongue weight, brakes/controllers, loading the trailer, etc.
All anyone here wants is - be safe, keep on Jeepin'.

 

[goose464]

Steve, If the the trailer is balance evenly it is like a teeter totter with the axle being the fulcrum. The tongue weight should be heavier than the tail and typically 10-15% of the weight of the trailer. If it is too light it will buck up and down at the ball. So if your trailer weighs 3500# you should have a tongue weight of 350# plus, depending how much stuff you take with you.

I'll add, you can check your ball hitch bar in the receptible and see how much play is in it. Some can be pretty sloppy but you can deal with that easily.

Thanks for the reply. I actually put everything in the truck bed because I didn't want it to shift around in the TT. Do you think I should put more weight in the TT in front to help?

 

[goose464]

Lots of good tips here - like tongue weight, brakes/controllers, loading the trailer, etc.
All anyone here wants is - be safe, keep on Jeepin'.

It is much appreciated. Not to be a sap but lost my dad in November and he is the one I would call with these kind of questions.

 

[lrtexasman]

Check for a local RV forum group on FB in your area and have one of the guys/gal swing by to help you set up properly. A lot of boat trailers have surge brakes (brake detects weight going forward and activates brakes on trailer) to work with your vehicle brakes. I’m not sure on RVs. Most of the RVs I’ve seen require electric brakes on your vehicle hooked to the trailer to set up the amount of brake you want on the trailer. They can also assist you with a weight distributing hitch and explain how to set up. From there you ca check your sag and tow ball height. Lastly someone can show you how to properly weigh/balance your trailer and cargo loads.

 

[KVJ]

Do you think I should put more weight in the TT in front to help?

Yes you can but don't go crazy, when packing for a trip just keep in mind how your balancing the weight over the tires.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

.............and keep weight LOW. Don't fill high cupboards, don't put weight up high. That makes things worse. Keep weight low, keep is spread out, and keep it so that more is to the front than to the rear of the axle, single axles especially have more tendency to rock a bit on that axle. I have a booklet from a company that sells towing accessories and they make some good points. I keep thinking about contacting them and seeing if they have a PDF version or would give permission to copy a couple of pages and post them.

 

[Gren71]

I didn’t read through all of the posts so someone may have covered this already.

While towing I noticed that if I hit any bumps in the road there was a lot of bounce in the back that made the truck feel like it was surging...having never pulled a TT I actually had a friend drive next to me so he could see wtf was happening. My tongue weight is only 450-500lbs.

I ended up installing the air lift bags and I run them at 30 to 35 psi every time I pull my trailer and it pulls like a dream. Absolutely no issues ever, with those bags you may not even need a weight distribution hitch to be honest.

i sit just a little tail high, if not exactly level, with the TT on and bags +wdh installed.

i also use the curt echo Bluetooth break controller. Pulled for long and short trips and never once had an issue with it. Inexpensive and no hassle to install since you just plug it into the truck.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

The WDH does more than "anti-bounce" - it literally transfers weight forward on the truck. Air bags keep the weight on the rear, and on the tongue. WDH moves it forward on the truck, rearward on the trailer. The bags stiffen the rear suspension. IMO, not a substitute.

 

[goose464]

I didn’t read through all of the posts so someone may have covered this already.

While towing I noticed that if I hit any bumps in the road there was a lot of bounce in the back that made the truck feel like it was surging...having never pulled a TT I actually had a friend drive next to me so he could see wtf was happening. My tongue weight is only 450-500lbs.

I ended up installing the air lift bags and I run them at 30 to 35 psi every time I pull my trailer and it pulls like a dream. Absolutely no issues ever, with those bags you may not even need a weight distribution hitch to be honest.

i sit just a little tail high, if not exactly level, with the TT on and bags +wdh installed.

i also use the curt echo Bluetooth break controller. Pulled for long and short trips and never once had an issue with it. Inexpensive and no hassle to install since you just plug it into the truck.

Thanks for the info. I had originally written off the CURT. I thought it was manual only since it wasn't plugging into the harness up front. Based on their marketing, seems like it will auto apply brakes when you brake and with hazards on

 

[Gren71]

Thanks for the info. I had originally written off the CURT. I thought it was manual only since it wasn't plugging into the harness up front. Based on their marketing, seems like it will auto apply brakes when you brake and with hazards on

It sure does. Works just like a regular brake controller. They also sell an additional little buttton you can stick on your dash to apply emergency breaks. The app has a button but unless you have your phone open and in front of you that wont help in a pinch.

a note as a lesson learned. The app runs in the background so the phone doesn’t need to be “on” the entire time. Also..if for some reason the phone looses connectivity to the brake controller, the controller will use the last set of programmed parameters without fail. Even if the controller is unplugged, powered down, and replugged in.

Ive plugged it all in before and forgot to start the app…didnt realize it until 50miles or so into a trip. Brakes worked just fine that entire time.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

It sure does. Works just like a regular brake controller. They also sell an additional little buttton you can stick on your dash to apply emergency breaks. The app has a button but unless you have your phone open and in front of you that wont help in a pinch.

a note as a lesson learned. The app runs in the background so the phone doesn’t need to be “on” the entire time. Also..if for some reason the phone looses connectivity to the brake controller, the controller will use the last set of programmed parameters without fail. Ive plugged it all in before and forgot to start the app…didnt realize it until 50miles or so into a trip. Brakes worked just fine that entire time.

And unless conditions change - the weight of your trailer and truck should remain the same so you set the brakes how you want them to apply and should not have to change it until next trip - if even then. Even those with dials on the dash generally set it before the trip and leave it be. The button on the dash is a great idea in case you need to apply trailer brakes only to pull out of a sway or skid or something but otherwise even that wouldn't be common (or shouldn't be)
Like most electronic devices, it has a memory, retains your last settings, so phone shouldn't be needed.

 

[danielspivey]

You have to be careful with these single axel TTs. A girl from work totaled One when towing with a highlander. She had a brake controller but no WDH and sway control. She said the state trooper tell her that he’s seen tons of wrecks w TTs and they were all single axel ones…

Point being, do your due diligence w brake controller, WDH w sway control built in. A single axel will sway before a tandem axel trailer. Dealers are known to tell people they will be fine with smaller TTs and the reality is they can be way dangerous that large TTs, especially when not set up properly.

 

[goose464]

Minor update for anyone still interested. I think my drop hitch was too low. After having a buddy drive while my TT was hooked up he noticed the same squishy-ness. We tried a few different drop hitches. I had 8" drop when this all started, tried 5 1/4 then 3 1/4. 3 1/4 removed a lot of the bounce as the weight shifted back to the axle. He also said that some of the squishy-ness will come from my 35" tires on 17" rims. A lot of sidewall means more tire wiggle.

I have a controller and anti-sway. Still considering a WDH though I've gotten a lot of mixed messages. Some saying it is overkill for towing less than half max tow weight.

Have now considered to maybe go with 20" rims.

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