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Old 04-25-2012, 02:07 AM   #1
billc1949
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Bouncing Fifth Wheeler

Has anyone experienced heavy bouncing up and down of their fifth wheeler. Yesterday on I 95 going towards Williamsburg, we experienced bouncing up and down like a yo-yo for about ten seconds. I was going about 60 mph, maybe it was just a bump, pretty scary.
 
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Old 04-25-2012, 02:15 AM   #2
racerjoe
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It most likely was a bad section of road. But one question, do you have your pin center over your axle? If it is to far back it will create a good bounce
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Old 04-25-2012, 02:37 AM   #3
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The way you have your fiver loaded (cargo / amount of fresh water in tank), shocks, tire pressure, and location of hitch in TV all effect your concern. Occasionally you will encounter a patch in a road that does make an interesting bounce for a few seconds ... it shouldn't be a frequent issue although.
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Old 04-25-2012, 02:55 AM   #4
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IF that was a first time experience and no reoccurance, I would blame it on the road.
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Old 04-25-2012, 04:11 AM   #5
billc1949
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Thanks to all for the info, my pin center is over the axel, so I'm hoping it was a one time occurrence.
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Old 04-25-2012, 04:26 AM   #6
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I have noticed on some roads (particularly concrete or those concrete roads that have been paved over) the road can actually cause this phenomenon if you hit the concrete seams at just the right speed. Usually either slightly accelerating or slightly slowing will eliminate what can be evidenced as a resonation of the rig in synchronous harmony with the daggone road bumps!! (I did not use a dictionary or a thesaurus for this post and I don't believe any animals were harmed either!! )
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Old 04-25-2012, 04:28 AM   #7
Captain Joe
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Was it over an overpass or bridge? If so, trucks will cause dips in these road structures that will cause a porpoising effect. Very common in CA. I once had a trailer jump off of my hitch. Slowing down can minimize the effect.
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Old 04-25-2012, 04:28 AM   #8
steelpony5555
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I had the same problem when I picked mine up it would bounce like a basketball. We broke more dishes on that 150 mile trip then I have in the previous 4 years. But at the time I did not have any water in the tank and was only half loaded. I only did 60 mph at the time since I still had Marathon tires on. Since that time I now am fully loaded and carry at least a half a tank of fresh water. The other thing is I changed to LT tires. I have gone back over the same route and have put 700-800 miles on it and have not had the same bounce as before. I am now back up to my normal hwy speed of 65-70 mph so speed was not a factor. I still think LT tires helped some but mainly you need some weight. You can see in my sig I have a rear kitchen which is the worst thing to have if your trailer bounces like a basketball. I am still looking to put on EZ Flex or Mor-Ryde suspension down the road but for now it is riding nice.
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Old 04-25-2012, 04:30 AM   #9
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Are you sure you were on 95 and not 64 headed to Williamsburg. If you were part of the road was concrete and bounced bad. They repaved the road but not under bridges so the clearance did not change, and they still give you a bounce on some of them.
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Old 04-25-2012, 04:34 AM   #10
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We found that when we went to G614's and putting a little water in the tank reduced any incidents like that.
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Old 04-25-2012, 05:24 AM   #11
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There is a bridge on I95 going north just south of the bypass for Richmond that will tear you up if you hit it at 60 to 65 MPH. If you are doing 52MPH or so, it's a lot better. Don't ask me how I know. I had to call the trucker behind me on my CB to ask if the bikes were still on the rear of the trailer.
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Old 04-25-2012, 02:38 PM   #12
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NC Fischers - X2 - We hit the same bridge - it scared the daylights out of me and the wife - we were rocking and rolling for a few seconds - hit it at 65 mph. Funny you mentioned the bikes - we had the same worry.
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Old 04-25-2012, 03:44 PM   #13
billc1949
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by NCFischers

There is a bridge on I95 going north just south of the bypass for Richmond that will tear you up if you hit it at 60 to 65 MPH. If you are doing 52MPH or so, it's a lot better. Don't ask me how I know. I had to call the trucker behind me on my CB to ask if the bikes were still on the rear of the trailer.
This is the exact place we had the incident and there was a tractor trailer behind me too,
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Old 04-26-2012, 11:21 AM   #14
kylec2
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When I was younger the rig bouncing was a bigger concern, but any more I brag when it does.
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Old 04-26-2012, 12:08 PM   #15
NCFischers
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Understood
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Old 04-26-2012, 12:17 PM   #16
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I just travelled to Florida from NJ and the 295 loop around Richmond is horrible! I though that my entire rig was coming apart at 60 mph there and in the first part of SC. It's the road if the bouncing stopped.
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Old 04-27-2012, 02:57 AM   #17
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There are several roads in that area that give you that affect.
Feels like a flat tire at times as well.

And that bridge on 95 in Richmond! I did the bypass this past trip to avoid it.

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Old 04-27-2012, 03:39 AM   #18
NCFischers
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That bridge is on 95 north just south of the bypass. A nasty SOB.
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Old 05-02-2012, 04:16 PM   #19
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We had the exact same problem going around the Richmond bypass. A very scary experience to. The Mor-Ryde suspension and hitch pin didn't seem to make any difference. I did notice the road was concrete, and the worst part was southbound about 25 miles north of Petersburg. We really thought we were going to go airborne. Speed was 65-70, but next time I'll be prepared. Also, 2 tanks were empty, and only about 10 gallons of water in the other.
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Old 05-03-2012, 04:44 AM   #20
Bill and Lisa
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Sounds like an isolated incident. Your signature doesn't list your Tow Vehicle. I tow a 2007 3000RK with a Chevy 2500 HD. I found adding firestone airbags to my tow vehicle really helped with the bouncing and chucking.
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