new to towing - slight bucking or dolphin like movement?

[Edward 1959]

Originally Posted by harvest

... Both before and after the new tires/brakes/sway control it felt the same. I noticed it mostly on the road that is two lane flat, somewhat windy road where we drove from 50-60 mph. Sometimes it felt like the car was hesitating or bucking a little, it didn't feel smooth or great, but it was subtle. I think it felt like this when the trailer moved more because of the road... It is like a slight hesitating/bucking/jerking/less-more power feeling in the car... only weighs about 2k, doesn't have much water in it I don't think...

My first guess would be water sloshing.

1. I would drain the fresh, grey, and black waters.
2. I would then test drive with the fresh water tank empty, then half filled, and then fully filled for the experience.

If the "subtle" "bucking a little"... only happens with partially filled tanks, you are welcome to buy me a full cup of coffee.

[Edward 1959]

https://escapetrailer.com/escape-17B-features/

20 Gal + 26 Gal + 19 Gal = 65 Gal
65 Gal / 2 = 32.5 Gal
32.5 x 8 lbs/Gal = 260 lbs
At 1 g-force horizontal, there would be 260 lbs of alternating push and pull on the hitch that could be discribed as "bucking".

[CarlD]

Originally Posted by gordon2

So.. you have received some good advice that will solve your problem... IF you have a problem


In light of your statement it seems to me a good idea to find someone more experienced towing and ask them to go for a ride with you. There is no substitute for having a second (or third) set of eyes and ears with towing experience involved.

This is the best advice yet. No sense fixing something that is not broken. All trailers affect the tow vehicle ride and there is nothing you can do to completely eliminate it! The smoothest towing trailer I have towed is my Lil Hauley which weighs 3000 lbs with 300 lbs tongue weight. No WDH, no anti-sway. The tongue is long and flexible which provides a lot of isolation between the TV and trailer. I tow with a Tacoma and only have porpoising on major bumps and because of the geometry of the trailer there is no sway.

In a nutshell take someone with RV towing experience for a ride and see what they think.

[harvest]

The comments are so extremely helpful, even though we haven't towed it since! I purchased a hitch tightener, and we will put it on next time we tow (hopefully this weekend) and we will load the front area of the camper with stuff that has some weight to it. There was nothing there essentially when we towed it. I am hoping these two things help! I will report back here after we take it out again.

[harvest]

Originally Posted by gordon2

So.. you have received some good advice that will solve your problem... IF you have a problem.

But I am not sure you do.

Sometimes while cruising down the road I can forgot the trailer is back there. But in all my towing experience, at some point in the trip I get reminded. Just before coming to a complete stop there is a slight kick. As mentioned, the joints in the pavement can get into resonance with your speed and wheelbase, creating a rougher ride. Those are not a concern.

A slightly loose drawbar might go "clank" and that's not an immediate concern but after many thousands of miles the draw bar and / or receiver will have some wear and it will get worse. A hitch tighter will help here.

A WDH is likely not needed but it depends on the weights involved, especially the tongue weight and tug rear end capacity and condition. Same for any "Rear Suspension Enhancement System."

Which brings me to your comment...



In light of your statement it seems to me a good idea to find someone more experienced towing and ask them to go for a ride with you. There is no substitute for having a second (or third) set of eyes and ears with towing experience involved.

I was just wishing/thinking this. I don't know anyone where we are really, but I will ask around to see. I will ask an rv shop perhaps or an rv repair person, perhaps that I could pay to spend 30 min driving with me and sharing their opinion.

[Paul O.]

I agree that somebody who has experience and comes for a ride could provide really good help and perspective.


Some concrete roadways have a wave built in (in addition to the gaps) and that could cause this "bucking". My Scamp19 tows really rock solid (as a fifth wheel should), except on highway 285 near Conifer, CO, which is an example of the concrete way with the wave built in. It is not the only one with this problem. Over the years we encountered other stretches like that, pretty much all on concrete roads, but I do not have a list. The machines that finish the surface are totally different between blacktop and concrete.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by harvest

... we will load the front area of the camper with stuff that has some weight to it. There was nothing there essentially when we towed it. ....

Best thing to do is to load it as you normally would for a trip then take it to a scales and get the total weight and the tongue weight. (Lots of Howtos online).

Normally loaded it might indeed ride smoother... but adding weight only up front could be a problem.

[canyon Rafter]

I decided that installing a good WDH would be a good idea to increase safety issues while towing my Fiberstream down the road. I towed it before with a 79 3/4 ton Chevy pickup with no safety issues at all but now I have a 2014 Dodge Durango as a tow vehicle and decided to add anti sway and WDH. I found the anti sway and WDH on offer up and I bought all the equipment from a man who had switched from bumper towing to 5th wheel towing. He sold me top of the line anti sway and WDH for pennies on the dollar. I am not sure but I am under the impression that this equipment takes a whole lot of towing to wear out so I bought and installed. With this equipment installed towing is a breeze !

[canyon Rafter]

Originally Posted by gordon2

Best thing to do is to load it as you normally would for a trip then take it to a scales and get the total weight and the tongue weight. (Lots of Howtos online).

Normally loaded it might indeed ride smoother... but adding weight only up front could be a problem.

You might give one of these a try.

https://www.etrailer.com/Tools/Curt/C51701.html.
It is a scale that you plug into your cars datalink connector.

[AlanKilian]

[QUOTE=canyon Rafter;817147]You might give one of these a try.[QUOTE]

I was going to get one of those, but I watched this guy's video and decided it wasn't really going to work properly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5WoW5SmGFk

Also, you need to know the ACTUAL car weight, and that might be a guess also.

[canyon Rafter]

[QUOTE=AlanKilian;817157][QUOTE=canyon Rafter;817147]You might give one of these a try.

I was going to get one of those, but I watched this guy's video and decided it wasn't really going to work properly.

Also, you need to know the ACTUAL car weight, and that might be a guess also.

I watched that video and that guy actually called the techs to come out and watch his test. Very impressive! I think maybe there might be a bug or two with that particular device .
I also watched the etrailer video and it was a little more positive about the product. It does seem to be a little set up intensive to be practical for me also. The old school tongue weight measurer you see in the etrailer video might be the best way to go!