Post by marjim on Oct 1, 2021 14:47:52 GMT -5
Hey All,
Just returned from a local trip from STL to Hannibal, MO. My ASAM system was the only change from the last time I towed this trailer. It was packed the same way, same tank levels and same weight in the truck bed.
When leaving the house I noticed some bouncing of the truck and trailer. After 6 miles, I pulled over and let some air out of the ASAM. (ASAM dealer recommends 8psi for normal driving. So I had put in 20psi for the trailer as a baseline)
I have a certified gage for checking air pressure, so I let out some and took it from 20psi to 12psi. Since my normal psi is 8, after my trip, I am just leaving the bags at 12psi. The ride is just awesome.
Back on the road and the truck and trailer were smooth and stable. Once we got to Hannibal, we pulled off and drove some local roads. Bouncing started again, but not as bad. Hummm, so I started studying the pavement and just looking at the pavement divisions as I crossed them. At one point, near Eolia, I pulled into a Walmart Supercenter and drove around the smooth parking lot. Back out on the road and now I am convinced that road conditions were most of the cause of the bouncing.
Some of the pavement pads were in concrete and only 6-8' lengths so at 50mph you could hear the slap of tires crossing the pavement divider almost in perfect sync with the bouncing.
When switching MO counties (from one to another) the pavement changed from old concrete to new asphalt and the slapping and bouncing majiically disappeared.
At the campground I chatted with a few folks with bigger rigs. They were giving me the same story about older pavement vs new roads. Other factors were the speed at which the tires were balanced. (My father-in-law always maintained that balancing should be done based on the speed you want to drive and not just randomly. So if you balance at 50mph and drive at 65mph the tires can develop a harmonic wobble. Bouncing was an issue that most of the folks agreed was due to weight distribution between truck and trailer. A guy that used a V10 Expedition towed a 38' on ball hitch with WB. He had towed a 29' without WD and never had a problem. But with the extra length and weight, the TT dealer specifically demanded the WD. This seems really plausible given the circumstances between length/weight and the type of hitch.
A few guys with 5th wheels said they had experienced bounce, but usually from pavement changes.
In summary, I had my trailer tires rebalanced at 70mph. I keep a close watch on weight of the trailer (loading, tanks etc) and weight of my truck (Specifically how much I put in the bed - like extra gas, generator, small air-comp and tools)
Now I factor in the ASAM settings and I am good to go. Probably would have to go through the whole setup again if I get a different trailer length/weight)
Just throwing in some comments from my experiences and those I got from the campsite.
Bottom line, my rig is now sorted out, I use a certified air gage and keep things constant (from packing to tank levels) My last trip was short, but definately much smoother than my earlier multi-state trip.
Just returned from a local trip from STL to Hannibal, MO. My ASAM system was the only change from the last time I towed this trailer. It was packed the same way, same tank levels and same weight in the truck bed.
When leaving the house I noticed some bouncing of the truck and trailer. After 6 miles, I pulled over and let some air out of the ASAM. (ASAM dealer recommends 8psi for normal driving. So I had put in 20psi for the trailer as a baseline)
I have a certified gage for checking air pressure, so I let out some and took it from 20psi to 12psi. Since my normal psi is 8, after my trip, I am just leaving the bags at 12psi. The ride is just awesome.
Back on the road and the truck and trailer were smooth and stable. Once we got to Hannibal, we pulled off and drove some local roads. Bouncing started again, but not as bad. Hummm, so I started studying the pavement and just looking at the pavement divisions as I crossed them. At one point, near Eolia, I pulled into a Walmart Supercenter and drove around the smooth parking lot. Back out on the road and now I am convinced that road conditions were most of the cause of the bouncing.
Some of the pavement pads were in concrete and only 6-8' lengths so at 50mph you could hear the slap of tires crossing the pavement divider almost in perfect sync with the bouncing.
When switching MO counties (from one to another) the pavement changed from old concrete to new asphalt and the slapping and bouncing majiically disappeared.
At the campground I chatted with a few folks with bigger rigs. They were giving me the same story about older pavement vs new roads. Other factors were the speed at which the tires were balanced. (My father-in-law always maintained that balancing should be done based on the speed you want to drive and not just randomly. So if you balance at 50mph and drive at 65mph the tires can develop a harmonic wobble. Bouncing was an issue that most of the folks agreed was due to weight distribution between truck and trailer. A guy that used a V10 Expedition towed a 38' on ball hitch with WB. He had towed a 29' without WD and never had a problem. But with the extra length and weight, the TT dealer specifically demanded the WD. This seems really plausible given the circumstances between length/weight and the type of hitch.
A few guys with 5th wheels said they had experienced bounce, but usually from pavement changes.
In summary, I had my trailer tires rebalanced at 70mph. I keep a close watch on weight of the trailer (loading, tanks etc) and weight of my truck (Specifically how much I put in the bed - like extra gas, generator, small air-comp and tools)
Now I factor in the ASAM settings and I am good to go. Probably would have to go through the whole setup again if I get a different trailer length/weight)
Just throwing in some comments from my experiences and those I got from the campsite.
Bottom line, my rig is now sorted out, I use a certified air gage and keep things constant (from packing to tank levels) My last trip was short, but definately much smoother than my earlier multi-state trip.