Posted 2013-07-10 11:31 AM (#153268 - in reply to #153138) Subject: RE: bucking trailer
Expert
Posts: 3802 Location: Rocky Mount N.C.
Originally written by bjhouten on 2013-07-04 10:15 AM
Yes, the bucking only happens on rough roads. It stops true on a smooth surface. When I pull it with a different truck(s) the problem goes away. So, I'm comfortable saying the issue is with the truck. I did get up to the dealer on Wednesday with both the truck and trailer. The shop manager went with me on a test drive. We found a road to reproduce the problem on. He got in the bed of the truck and had me stop. He says the hitch in the truck bed in moving. He said it scared the *** out of him. The hitch was installed as part of the truck purchase. It is a B&W. The dealership contacted the hitch installer and I'm taking the truck in on Monday morning. When I talked to the hitch guy, he sounded pretty doubtful, but that we would inspect the hitch and tighten the bolts if needed. I also have some doubts on this, but it is all part of the process. I don't understand if the hitch is loose, then why doesn't it not happen all the time? So my trailer is grounded till after the hitch inspection. One thing I haven't done, which I will do after the hitch inspection is unplug the trailer from the truck (electrical) and do my test stop.
Well... What did you find out? I got two GM 3500 trucks and a 2500 GMC, (two with integrated brake controllers) several horse, stock, flatbed dump, etc. trailers and have never had any "bucking" issues... All the hitches are also tight to the frame, nothing moving except what suppose to move. Two of the hitches are B&W Turnoverball Gooseneck Hitches and one is an old Draw-Tite Remove-A-Ball Gooseneck Hitch....
Posted 2013-07-10 12:20 PM (#153271 - in reply to #151662) Subject: RE: bucking trailer
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 560 Location: Mena, AR
The hitch checked out. Not lose, installed correctly. I learned that the B&W bolt into factory holes in the truck frame for that purpose, so they are impossible to install incorrectly.I talked to the dealership. The next thing is I am going to do the test stop without the trailer plugged (electrical) into the truck at all and see if that makes a different. The dealer has agreed to look the truck brake rotors and pads. The hitch place said they could put in an after market brake controller. If the truck/trailer stops good without the electrical connection between the two, then that is what I will do.(install a different brake controller) I have also starting looking for a trailer of a similar size to tow with my truck to see what happens. I am really at a bit of a lost why I am having this strange problem.
Posted 2013-07-10 3:48 PM (#153278 - in reply to #151662) Subject: RE: bucking trailer
Expert
Posts: 3802 Location: Rocky Mount N.C.
Does your trailer happen to have electric over hydraulic brakes? If so, the GM integrated controller doesn't like that system, not compatible... Alot of folks with electric over hydraulic have installed aftermarket brake controllers. A Tekonsha P3Proportionalbrake controller would be a good choice if you're heading in that direction.
Now... What was it that the GM service guy was seeing move/seemed loose/moved about, when going down the road, he said the hitch was loose on the truck's frame, hitch guy says it is all tight... Somebody's being a little careless with the truth there...!!
Posted 2013-07-18 11:09 AM (#153424 - in reply to #151662) Subject: RE: bucking trailer
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 560 Location: Mena, AR
I took the trailer out for another test drive. This time I turned the gain on the controller down to zero and still had the bucking problem. Then I disconnected the trailer and did my stops on the rough surfaces, and no problem! Since I have towed the trailer with two other trucks that did not have the problem I feel like this tells me that problem is electrical, and not in the trailer. I called the dealer and said I would pay for a new brake controller, and asked if it fixed the problem, would they reimburse me for it? The service rep is checking with management and hopefully I will hear back from them soon. I'm still looking for trailer of a similar size to test tow with.
Posted 2013-07-19 8:58 AM (#153440 - in reply to #153424) Subject: RE: bucking trailer
Veteran
Posts: 203 Location: Lander WY
Originally written by bjhouten on 2013-07-18 11:09 AM
I took the trailer out for another test drive. This time I turned the gain on the controller down to zero and still had the bucking problem. Then I disconnected the trailer and did my stops on the rough surfaces, and no problem! Since I have towed the trailer with two other trucks that did not have the problem I feel like this tells me that problem is electrical, and not in the trailer. I called the dealer and said I would pay for a new brake controller, and asked if it fixed the problem, would they reimburse me for it? The service rep is checking with management and hopefully I will hear back from them soon. I'm still looking for trailer of a similar size to test tow with.
After a long road- It sounds like you have closure.
Posted 2013-07-26 3:36 PM (#153573 - in reply to #151662) Subject: RE: bucking trailer
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 560 Location: Mena, AR
New integrated brake controller, at my expense, did not fix my problem. Chevy has no more ideas, and won't put an after market brake controller in it. So I'm fixing it with a new 2013 black Dodge SLT 4x4 1-ton single axle on Monday. I think the Dodge dealer in McKinney, TX is the only winner here. LoL
Posted 2013-07-26 4:01 PM (#153574 - in reply to #153573) Subject: RE: bucking trailer
Veteran
Posts: 203 Location: Lander WY
Originally written by bjhouten on 2013-07-26 3:36 PM
New integrated brake controller, at my expense, did not fix my problem. Chevy has no more ideas, and won't put an after market brake controller in it. So I'm fixing it with a new 2013 black Dodge SLT 4x4 1-ton single axle on Monday. I think the Dodge dealer in McKinney, TX is the only winner here. LoL
Posted 2013-07-27 8:16 AM (#153589 - in reply to #151662) Subject: RE: bucking trailer
Elite Veteran
Posts: 720
Congrats on the truck.
Did we ever hear what kind of brakes are actually on the trailer in question? Electric drum, or some type of electric over hydraulic? And if EH, what brand of actuator?
Posted 2013-07-27 1:27 PM (#153605 - in reply to #151662) Subject: RE: bucking trailer
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 560 Location: Mena, AR
The brakes are on the trailer are Electric Drum. I think the shop guy said they were Dexter axles, but not certain. He did say they are 8K axles however. He said something about the brakes being the bigger brakes, because of the 8K axles?, and when the time came to replace the assembly it would be pricy. But he also said they are in very good shape and should last a good long time. How would I tell what kind of actuator is there? I can also check the paper work on the trailer and see if the information is there. My thoughts on the Chevy is that there has got to be a short or a connector problem somewhere in the harness. I like the Chevy and would have been happy to keep it for a very long time if I didn't have the braking problem, which I think is limited to this truck, and not all Chevy's. Lots of people are towing with this truck with no problems.
Looking forward to getting my new truck on Monday and hitting the road again.
Posted 2013-07-29 4:45 PM (#153642 - in reply to #151662) Subject: RE: bucking trailer
Elite Veteran
Posts: 720
BJH- I was just asking as I have heard of some of the hydraulics having issues with certain trucks. But if yours are basic electric, there is no actuator and no way the trailer was causing your issues.
Posted 2013-07-30 10:02 AM (#153670 - in reply to #151662) Subject: RE: bucking trailer
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 560 Location: Mena, AR
Got my new truck Monday afternoon and took it right home and hooked up to the trailer and took it for a test tow. No problems!! I'll admit I did have some concerns that I had overlooked something. So thrilled it just worked. The best news is that the owner manual says to break it in under heavy load, so I can tow right away. Dodge City in McKinney, TX was great. I worked with Brent. I drove 4 trucks and changed my mind at least 3 times, and he stuck with me. They gave me a good trade-in value for my truck and threw in the GN hitch at no charge, found some extra rebates and gave me a 2.9% interest rate. I was worried about getting a 4x4 because of the height, but the bed was the same height as my 2500, so no problems. It's got some cool multi-media features. Can connect my phone via Bluetooth and it downloads my address book and I can add favorite contacts for one touch dialing and voice dialing. Can change radio stations with voice commands. My husband is a knob guy so he was happy to see that the A/C and radio supports knobs as well as the touch screen. It has several exhaust breaking levels, and Smart Electric Breaking settings for hills and such. On the way home it was showing 26 mpg on the highway and towing was 12.5 mpg. A great start in that department also. I am so happy that I can safely tow and STOP my truck and trailer now.
Posted 2013-08-12 9:02 PM (#153971 - in reply to #153670) Subject: RE: bucking trailer
Expert
Posts: 2615
Wow,glad that fix worked for you.would have been a pretty pricey thing had it not,and,we're not able to fix our problem with a new truck.I hope we can find the issue,too,because,a new truck is NOT the fix for us at this time.Dually paid for.Dont' want another payment book going around here.
It is a scary feeling,I know what you mean.Ours did not always do this,either.
Posted 2013-08-13 2:41 PM (#153989 - in reply to #151662) Subject: RE: bucking trailer
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 560 Location: Mena, AR
I did not want to spend the money for a new truck. I owed very little on the 2012 Chevy 2500 and it was suppose to be my last truck purchase. (Yeah right) But I had to have a truck to use. I made a 100 mile trip this last weekend and it worked out really well. (I'm getting 13mpg on average towing, it goes up from there if I don't have to stop.) It's very scary not to be able to stop. Hope your able to solve your problem and don't have an accident in-between now & then. Seems like it would be helpful to have some sort of device that could be put in the ckt to tell what is going on.
Try towing with different trucks and a different trailer if you can. That will help narrow it down.
Posted 2014-02-12 9:56 AM (#157452 - in reply to #151662) Subject: RE: bucking trailer
New User
Posts: 2
Location: San Juan Capistrano, CA
I wanted to share our experience. We have a 2011 GMC 3500 long bed dually. In 2011 we pulled a 4 horse Platinum, 14 foot LQ all across 8 states for 11 weeks and had no issues. The truck pulled like a dream. Fast forward to 2013, we sold the 4 horse trailer and bought a 3 horse, 12 ft, Logan LQ with slide. We had issues towing immediately. The trailer and truck would buck frequently and a couple times we had a violent episode while braking in traffic. Very Scary. Our dealer recommended to block the axles and raise the trailer (which is something we were going to do anyway as we go off road frequently). That didn't help. He then was recommending to put air bags on our truck and also suggested that our leaf springs were bad.My husband contacted Star Hitches and he offered a guarantee with his hitch. If it didn't work, he would take it back with full refund. http://www.sphitch.com/The guy at Star mentioned that different trucks and different trailers tow different and it all has to do with the "geometry" or physics of combining the two. I think he said something about GMC moving the hitch forward or back a couple inches and it caused some problems. We didn't want to buy a different truck as we really like our truck, so we tried the Star Hitch. I have to say we are extremely pleased with the result. It eliminated all of the bucking and it tows very nice now. We are happy customers.
bucking trailer
