Side to side bounce while pulling

[Mr. Merk]

Our 2007 Safari seems to somewhat rapidly bounce side to side over bumps when pulling. I seem to notice it more in my mirrors than feeling it in the tow vehicle. Despite being much higher than our Keystone trailer, the Airstream otherwise pulls better and doesn't bounce front to back as much.

Could this be from failed shocks or is it pretty normal for silver bullets?

Pics just because

[waninae39]

do you have both WD and sway control?

with these two setup correctly , you should not expect these issue.

check the towing sub forum for details and help

[Dan and Liz]

Should never happen! Hitch setup? Excess tire pressure? Something heavy in trailer on one side?

[Wabbiteer]

If* tow vehicle front tire pressures let the sidewalls lean & sway then 'tail wagging the dog' side-to-side oscillations happen.. that was amplified in my 4" lifted short bed F150, bumping up tire pressure helped it a lot.



And, note - I upped the tire size on my new diesel van, with 'door pillar sticker' pressures for OEM tires the front axle wiggles side to side like jello, even from just moving around inside. Both tires are rated at 3200~lb load but the jump from 225 to 245 added in sidewall flex - so again I have to bump up tire pressure to stop the jello quiver factor.. .

[Mr. Merk]

Originally Posted by waninae39

do you have both WD and sway control?

with these two setup correctly , you should not expect these issue.

check the towing sub forum for details and help

Using Andersen, but you bring up a good point....I need to shorten the chains due to the bracket placement on this trailer being closer to ball than our Keystone was.

Moderator feel free to move thread to Towing Sub-Forum.

[JFRINALDI]

Check your shock brackets as well. We experienced the same issue with our new Classic and found that a screw holding one of the shocks to the bracket had backed off and wasn’t providing any control.

[jrwayne]

Towing our 26' I had to put Michelin 10 ply E rated tires on my F150 (up to 80 psi) to go along with the Helwig rear sway bar and helper springs I already put on the truck. Something else to look for is to turn off the vehicle sway control. This fights with the sway control on the hitch and trailer. The factory tires had squishy sidewalls. The new 10 plys are the best.

[guskmg]

I would air uo all the tires (TT & TV) to the Mfg's max. side wall rating and go from there. Especially, if the combination feels squishy.
guskmg

[Camper Crazy]

Well, I loved the pictures the best! My dream, to have a travel trailer for all needs and moods. Is it possible fluid in holding tanks causing sway? Thanks for the pics.
CC

[tjdonahoe]

Light p rated tires on tv...

[Mr. Merk]

Just to clarify; The Tow Vehicle isn't bouncing. Just the trailer. Happens with either tow vehicle. And it's a pretty rapid side to side wiggle on center access. Not a swaying feeling.

My impression is shocks. Next time I'm out there I'm going to take a look at the brackets and inspect for any leaks.

[GCinSC2]

Did it always behave that way?

If not, any known change to trailer that triggered it? Hitch work, tire work rotate etc.

How about hooking up like normal and have a separate vehicle watch from behind, maybe pull up along side look at tires are they bouncing around and then look at hitch and watch for ????

If you do the test drive safety safety etc etc etc.

Gary

[Lumatic]

You might try riding in the trailer while it is being towed on a rough road.

[Dan and Liz]

Tire unbalanced or out of round?

[Moflash]

Not enough information to help.
What is your tow vehicle?
How long is your trailer?
What tires are you using on your tow vehicle?
What tires are you using on your Airstream?
Do you have a recent photo of the two hooked up?
Some additional information will help.

[Mr. Merk]

I tow with both a GMC Sierra 1/2 and a Cayenne Turbo. Trailer does it with both.
Airstream is 25'. Our Keystone is 24'.
P tires on both vehicles.
GYE on both trailers.

We used the same tires and hitch when towing our Keystone 4000 miles one week to Banff and back.

A tire balance or out of round wouldn't cause a reaction to bumpy roads. Tire balance causes vibration at certain speeds. This is a direct result of bumpy roads leading me to believe it has something to do with trailer suspension.

[JayTheCPA]

Originally Posted by Mr. Merk

Our 2007 Safari seems to somewhat rapidly bounce side to side over bumps when pulling. I seem to notice it more in my mirrors than feeling it in the tow vehicle.

Am currently getting this well and suspect it is the trailer's suspension bottoming-out. Behavior is that rather than the trailer floating, it is bouncing laterally side-to-side without this sensation translating into the tow vehicle.

Granted mine is a bit older than yours. Main factor that has me focusing on suspension on my trailer is that both of the two axles are original to the trailer and show a 4,000 pound rating (which I recently learned when I crawled under the belly) for a trailer with a 8,500 gross (not sure how that math worked). As the trailer sits, it weighs slightly under the gross weight when the fresh water tank is full yet turns out that this weight is above the axles' rating. So between age and axle rating, my money is going into a new set of axles that have a rating to carry the correct amount of weight.

Bringing this full circle, might want to take a look at the axle ratings and how the arms look. Under-powered suspension or worn-out torsion might play into your observation.

[Dan and Liz]

What year trailer? If each axle is rated at 4,000 and you subtract tongue weight of 800 pounds or more ...

But if it’s old enough that the axles have petrified ...