I'm new to pulling a GN trailer and have a 3/4 F250 diesel and pull a 21' trailet with it.  There is alot of bounce in the truck from the trailer - I'm wondering if the neck needs to be adjusted to make the front higher. 

Any ideas why there'd be so much "bounce" in the truck from the trailer?

Are your shocks in good shape?  Since youre "new", how do you know there is a lot of bounce?  Know anyone experienced for a second opinion?

When the truck is sitting statically, are the blocks on the rear springs touching the helper springs? Or is there a small space between the blocks and spring ends?

If the load varies on and off the helper springs, sometimes you can get a bouncing motion on uneven road surfaces. Or if you have a particularly heavy load with a stock suspension, when the springs are heavily loaded, they can bounce on and off the axle blocks, again on an uneven road.

Most overload devices, air bags, Timbrens etc will prevent this from happening. You may also have worn out shocks in the back. Many OEM shocks have short life spans and need to be replaced early on. Most replacement units have a life time warranty. You didn't mention how old your truck was and if the rear suspension is in good repair.

We run the nose of our trailers 3"-4" high at the hitch. Unless your hitch is so high that the front axle is almost off the ground, I doubt that this would be a cause of your problem. I assume that your trailer is not nose low, which would increase the weight on the front axle and make the trailer behave erratically.

Check your rig empty and loaded on a level surface to determine the actual pitch. Check your tire pressures and at least have the rear tires inflated to the maximum sidewall rating. You will need good quality "E" range LT tires.

Your trailer is not abnormally heavy, and your truck should easily handle the load. Check those items and perhaps you will find your problem.

Gard

Is it power hopping? 

I have had that happen before when I towed a load.

Need more details...

When is it bouncing?

When stopping?

When starting?

While driving?...Does it happen when you drive over the expansion strips?

My truck is a 2004 (shortbed crewcab)and I haven't checked the springs but I certainly will.  I bought it with 14k on it and it was like new, never pulled anything.  My friend has a newer gas F250 and said her new goosneck does not do that to her truck.

The trailer pulls straight.

When I'm on the road and there are little bumps/grooves in the road it gets really bumpy in the truck.  When I bought it and drove it home from Indiana (about 100 mi) I got alot of bumping from the road - it was actually pretty bad.  For an example when you see those older cars that have bad shocks when they go over a bump and the back end is going up and down that's what it felt like inside the truck.

The people that had it before me had it adjusted for a taller truck so I'm thinking I need to drop the nose about 2-3 inches but want to get on level to see.

The bumps that cause it aren't large ones just the smaller ones that are close in proximity that seem to do it.  The more there are the worse it gets.

Sorry but I'm gooseneck illiterate right now so any info appreciated.

Im with the shocks  its said that they should be checked after 30 thousand miles  you could look to see if any are leaking oil  and the rubber bushes are ok, but i would fit some HD aftermarket shocks anyway,   good luck and happy hauling

I'll have the shocks checked out, I'm wondering if they're just underrated or something. 

 PS - thanks everyone for the comments. 

Hi karynzoo,

Like you, I'm rather new at pulling my 3-horse GN - 1 year under my belt.  I pull with a 3/4 GMC.  

The first time I pulled the trailer it bounced pretty bad.  We lowered the front a bit and worked on the air pressure in the tires of the trailer.  That did the trick and we travel smoothly down the highway now. 

Good luck - you'll love the GN

I was actually doing some research on air bags to see if that would be the best thing to do.  I'm taking it by my trailer guy for suggestions on Thursday.  I'm going to start with the tire pressure and adjusting the neck as I know it's currently adjusted for a much taller truck.

thanks everyone. 

Originally written by 30wheeler on 2008-05-19 11:54 PM

This may sound a little crazy to some. I have witnessed first hand a p.u. that bounced so violently down the highway. .You could see daylight under both the back wheels. (50mph)  There was a knot on one of the back tires. Since your  p.u. does not have many miles, it may be old new tires. Hope this helps.

VIDEO...WE WANT VIDEO...

Your trailer is not that big and an F250 should be more than capable of handling it. I have not seen anyone mention having the trailer axles checked!! Did you say the trailer was new or used?  Also, check the tires on both the truck and trailer.  On occassion I've gotten major vibration when towing and both times it turned out that one of the trailer tires had had a belt come loose.  Again, I would say have the axles and tires checked.  Hope this helps!!

I did the trailer checked out but was extremly dissatisfied with the trailer place I used for other reasons and have been questioning everything they've done since....

I take it to my regular trailer guy who is expensive but very thorough tomorrow.  Hopefully it's something simple.

Trailer guy say's " your truck is squatting and the trailer is adjusted pretty level and you need heavy duty springs"  He suggested the springs instead of the air bags as he said you always have to fiddle with the air bags. He also mentioned that Ford is notorious for putting softier springs in the SD trucks.  He's got a F350 himself.

Found that my tire pressure on the truck is low so I'll take care of that.  He didn't mention shocks.  He couldn't guarantee that it would be an end all cure all but would certainly help the situation.

Anyone tried this route?  results?

Note - Spring guy thought it might be better to put 2 leafs in the springs to get the stability while towing while keeping the ride when not more comfortable.  Still not sure what to do...more research.

Wow......that's funny. 

I just got off the phone with the big truck place down the road and he suggested that as well.  I'm going to fix the tire pressure situation, drop the neck down about 1-2" to be conservative and go down the road (they're close thank goodness) and check them out at their place.  He swears by them and did not reccomend beefing up the springs with either leafs or replacement HD's due to the ride.

28' overall, living quarter, 3 horse I'd say chocked full with 3 horses, tack, hay, etc...it's probably about 11000+