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Old 08-08-2012, 02:33 PM   #1
twindman
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truck/trailer bucking

I always thought 'bucking' was bouncing up and down due to weak springs, etc. But I just went from a 2006 Silverado to a 2012 Silverado. It sits 1-1 1/2 inches higher and the bed rails are another 2 inches higher. So I installed a 'riser' (?) on my hitch to get the trailer overhang back up to 6-7 inches over the truck bed. But now the trailer is about 5 inches higher than on the old truck.
Anyway, I never had a bucking problem with the 2006 in over 60,000 miles of towing. This summer I have had what I assume to be bucking, occur twice when I was braking fairly hard. Could it be because the trailer is much higher?
Any advice will be appreciated.
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Old 08-08-2012, 04:21 PM   #2
Bill-N-Donna
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It sounds to me that by raising the front it shifted some of the weight from the hitch to the axles. With the hitch being lighter on the back axle of the truck (In My Opinion) it may be causing the bucking. If you eliminated the bed rails would you be able to adjust the hitch to a lower position and possibly shift some of the weight back to the front? My understanding is that the fifth wheel should be level when towing.
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Old 08-08-2012, 04:34 PM   #3
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Bill is right on having a percentage of weight in the box. also, where is the pin located on your new truck? it should be over or 1-2 inches forward of the axle. too far back and that will also cause bucking
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Old 08-08-2012, 05:28 PM   #4
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by racerjoe

Bill is right on having a percentage of weight in the box. also, where is the pin located on your new truck? it should be over or 1-2 inches forward of the axle. too far back and that will also cause bucking
X2. After checking hitch location make sure you are towing the rig level and not high in the front.
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Old 08-08-2012, 08:48 PM   #5
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The only time I had anything like that happen while braking it was a faulty brake controller. This was not a bouncing up and down but jerking as the brakes went on,off,on,etc.
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Old 08-09-2012, 04:25 AM   #6
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As noted in an earlier post, Moryde told us that the truck and trailer had to be level (look at it while hitched) to avoid what you describe as "bucking". We had the same problem until I adjusted the air bags on my truck to achieve a level truck/trailer.

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Old 08-09-2012, 08:41 AM   #7
Art-n-Marge
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Being too nose high will cause the rear axles of a trailer to carry more weight than the front and can cause a trailer problem. It is documented that if you do not tow with as close to level as possible one risks problems with their tow and maybe this is what you are experiencing.

I just spent the last two days replacing rear springs on my BIL's SOB. He got a new truck and had a very nose high problem that he mostly ignored until a rear axle leaf spring broke (probably too much weight on that axle). As we got new springs and were about to replace them, we found that when the leaf spring broke the axle twisted and this caused the spring hanger on the other side of the axle to twist and break. We had to get a mobile welder to fix this for us so we could complete the repair.

He was very lucky that when it happened he was close to my house and was able to limp to my house and we could complete the repairs (he lives over 100 miles away and the CG was about 20 miles away). You cannot believe how lucky we were he failed so close to my house. The repair cost $200 for the mobile welding and about $100 in leaf springs and hardware, but now he rides more level! How lucky is that?

We have a concern about our repair and what we did to level the rig, but I'll post it as another topic.
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