Towing and Shaking

[Forrest Alley]

I have a 2020 laramie longhorn 2500 6.4 short bed 4x4. I have a 5 ton trailer I sometimes tow. When the trailer is empty it shakes the hell out of the truck, especially at lower speed, not as bad when the trailer is loaded. I don't have the rear air bags or load leveler as they are called.

Any idea what the problem is?, i don't have this problem when I tow it with my old 2500 Cummins. Did I screw up by not getting the air bags or what.

 

[b8ascrub]

Is this a travel trailer /rv? Weight distribution hitch? OEM tires? My 2021 1500 pulling a rv bounces like a boat. Pulling the same rv with my old 2000 1500 feels perfect. Only difference is leaf springs and aftermarket tires on the older ram. I just upgraded my tires on the new ram but haven’t towed yet.

 

[Forrest Alley]

No I don't haul an RV, I haul a 70 hp kubota tractor, sometime a smaller tractor. No leaf springs on new truck. Factory 10 ply tires on truck and trailer.

 

[b8ascrub]

Have to tried adjusting tire pressure on the rear tires? When I got my new ram with OEM tires my buddy suggested 48 psi and that helped a bit.

 

[Riccochet]

If it's bounce you're feeling pick up a set of Air Lift 1000 bags. They're like $90 for the kit. They install inside of the rear coil springs. They're not meant for load leveling, just load support. Basically making the coil springs stiffer.

 

[Joe_Ram73]

No I don't haul an RV, I haul a 70 hp kubota tractor, sometime a smaller tractor. No leaf springs on new truck. Factory 10 ply tires on truck and trailer.

The bouncing in your truck comes from the tires on your trailer being inflated to carry the load of the tractor and the fact that now you have coil springs instead of leaf springs. Make sure the tires on your truck are inflated to the manufacturer's recommendation and try lowering the tire pressure on your trailer. The airbag idea suggested a few posts earlier is in fact a great idea if you customize the installation by adding an air compressor, a 5-gallon air tank, a two-needles air gauge, electronic valves, and an outlet for an air hose. That way you can inflate tires with the outlet, and also inflate and empty the airbags from the comfort of your truck while monitoring the pressure of the tank and the bags. AND, since you already have the essentials covered, why not a train horn? Amazon has an airbag kit that has the compressor and everything you need for the airbags; however, the compressor is not strong enough to add a 5 gal tank to fill up tires. That is why I built my own kit. Let me know if this is something that interests you and I will send you links with everything you need with pictures and instructions of my installation for guidance.

 

[Ramtop]

Start with the trailer, before making changes to the truck if it is only doing it when the trailer is attached. Are the tires radials or biased ply? Are they trailer tires or mobile home tires? Mobile home tires will bounce because they are so stiff. If Biased then replace with radials. Check for out of round tires or even a broken cord in one. Have them balanced if the haven’t been. That makes a big difference. Make sure the trailer suspension is in good shape. Fixing the cause, in this case the trailer, will gain you more than adding bandaids to the truck.

 

[Forrest Alley]

I bought the trailer new 3 years ago, it has 10 ply radials. It doesn't shake at all when hook to the old 2500 long bed Cummins, that why I'm thinking it's the new 2500 short bed. And no leaf springs. But i should have the tires checked just to be sure.