Bouncy Ride

[swanson]

My Passport has a VERY bad bounce while I am pulling it. It's so bad that I can't keep anything hanging in the closet, even the water (just enough to keep a seal) in the commode comes out. Is this normal? If it is then any suggestions on smoothing it out. Thinking of maybe shocks?

[chuckster57]

Lots of different factors will affect how the trailer rides down the road. How much stuff, where it's loaded, road conditions, hitch height, W/D setting, tire pressures,and probably something else I'm forgetting.

First off no need for any water in the commode as you travel, even a smooth riding trailer will slosh it out. If your having odor issues, then the seal may be failing. Next, look at where you stow all the gear. Is there any water in the fresh tank? If so where is it located. When your hitched up, is the tow vehicle and trailer level? Are you using a weight distribution hitch? If so are you "loading" the bars. Is the road your traveling on smooth and level?

If you can tell us what your using to tow with, what you put in the tow vehicle and where, what you put in the trailer and where, we can start there. More information makes it easier to make an educated guess using the looking glass of my monitor.

[swanson]

I'm using a 2014 Ram 1500 Limited to pull with with a w/d, anti-sway hitch. When hooked up both units are level. Weight in the truck: myself, wife and 10 lbs dog, leveling blocks in the bed of the truck.
I have the tires aired up to 65 psi, this is full psi by sidewall. Fresh water tank is in the front I carry 1/4 to 1/3 tank full, enough incase it's needed on the road. The storage is in a pass though in the front and I keep the "camping" gear in it: water hose, wheel chucks, electric cords, etc. Black and gray tanks are in the back I run them empty on the road.

Can't think of anything else.

[chuckster57]

Back off the trailer tire pressure a bit, I try to run at 80% of sidewall data. Shocks on the trailer may help, how's the truck ride without anything in the bed? Leveling blocks may be causing a "stiffer" ride in the back and the truck may not be able to absorb some of the road bounce.

[cruisegrandma]

We have a 23RB also and had the same problem last trip. New to camping/campers, it was only our second trip. both to the same place about 45 minutes away. On our trip home, nothing seemed unusual or different from our other trips and the same route was used. When we arrived home, the drawers under the counter that comes out into the room, came unscrewed from the floor (only one screw!!!) and fell forward. Also, the burner grate on the stove "popped" out of the grate holders and scraped up the Corian. We have a 2015 F150 ecoboost with max tow package. Tires are at proper pressure and truck and trailer are balanced. Not sure about the hitch height. all waters tanks are empty. So as you can see, I have been wondering what the issue is myself. When we bought the trailer last month, the salesman said that the shock absorbers were new and would have to "loosen up". I was surprised to see this posting swanson. Anxious to hear what you find. We are taking ours out again next week and I will et you know if anything else happens.

[goldtr8]

Back off the trailer tire pressure a bit, I try to run at 80% of sidewall data. Shocks on the trailer may help, how's the truck ride without anything in the bed? Leveling blocks may be causing a "stiffer" ride in the back and the truck may not be able to absorb some of the road bounce.

Do not run lower air pressure you will have tire problems. This is wrong advice for trailer tires do some research on how fast the load rating drops.

[chuckster57]

Been doing it that way since '89, without issue.

[audio1der]

I don't think that makes it right. Their load rating capacity is only at the maximum cold inflation.

[JRTJH]

We have a 23RB also ... When we bought the trailer last month, the salesman said that the shock absorbers were new and would have to "loosen up". I was surprised to see this posting swanson. Anxious to hear what you find. We are taking ours out again next week and I will et you know if anything else happens.

I'm not sure what your salesman told you or even what he was thinking, but Keystone doesn't install shock absorbers on their entry level or their mid level brands. I'd urge you to take a peek under your trailer, you won't find shock absorbers on the axles on your Passport.

[notanlines]

I would be very, very wary of running my trailer tires at less than recommended pressure. I don't really want to start that battle again, but serious tire trouble is in the background running 20 percent less. Keep them at recommended pressure and check them regularly.

[SteveC7010]

When we bought the trailer last month, the salesman said that the shock absorbers were new and would have to "loosen up". I was surprised to see this posting swanson. Anxious to hear what you find. We are taking ours out again next week and I will et you know if anything else happens.


Have you looked to see if the trailer actually has shocks? It's pretty easy to tell. If there's anything there besides springs, shackles, axles, brakes and tires, you might have shocks.

[Ken / Claudia]

Remember what those suspension parts do. Springs either leaf or coil allow the vehicle (in this case trailer) to ride as smooth as possible over the road. Shocks are put on to control the bounce that the springs cause. Some trailers come with shocks but not very many. I bet there are not any on that trailer. Take the shocks off the rear of your truck and drive around the block and you will feel what I mean. Why all travel trailers and 5ers do not come with shocks, ask a service manager. My opinion is that because we do not ride in them the company's believe the bounce that they have is OK. As others said there are things that can be changed or adjusted to help when you do not have shocks. I will include speed to that also, faster or slower speeds over the same roads may make the bounce more or less.

[Javi]

Okay, I'm going against the grain here but I notice a couple of things when looking at your trailer's floorplan...

First the bath and thus the toilet are in the rear, behind the axles.... That's the roughest ride in the whole trailer... And

Second.. all the weight is in the rear, behind the axles... a formula for a tricky and picky hitch set up...

Third, I'll bet you have "P" tires on your pickup..


Before you do to much tweaking of air pressures in the trailer tires or spending a bunch of un-necessary on shocks for the trailer.... TRY this...


Since your freshwater tank is most likely under the bed at the front of your trailer... Completely fill the FW tank and take the trailer for a ride.. see if that helped..

If it does... you need to hit a Cat Scale and do a bit of tweaking on your hitch setup... I notice you said the rig sits level... that ain't always the best ride..

Ideally you want the load on the front tires to be very close to the same when hitch or un-hitched... regardless of the ride height of the rear of the TV... and usually the best ride is found with the trailer ever so slightly nose down..

[swanson]

Javi thanks for the thoughts.
I wouldn't lower the tire pressure until I checked the manufactures website: weight to psi.

I will try the full water tank and see what happens.

Ken / Claudia
I agree with you on the shocks/springs. This is the only trailer I've had that has this big of an issue.

[theeyres]

I swear that 90% of these problems are because there isn't enough weight on the hitch. I think Javi is alluding to this and he may be spot on. A Cat scale will answer this issue. The full water tanks may also.

[slow]

I have a 2015 23RB and have found the following:

The actual loaded tongue weight is high for a relatively short trailer (axles are far back from the CofG) with the fresh water tank under the front bed and loading the front compartment. I have moved weight to the rear (bumper mounted box for various items, and two storage tubes behind the axle; one for a ladder and the second for the sewer hose.) to get under a 20% tongue weight.

When we first towed with our 2001 F150, I used air bags and the bags took out the bounce. We have since upgraded to a 2015 F250 (no air bags) and just completed a 7,200 mile trip to the Atlantic over some of the worst roads I have ever trailered on and had no bounce problem. BTW: with both trucks we run a heavy Propride hitch with 1000 lb bars (127 lbs extra on the tongue) which amplifies the bounce issue. Also both the F150 and F250 run LT tires at 65 psi.

My point of reference; twice a year I tow to or from the trailer storage facility without my ProPride hitch, but rather a Reese round bar setup with 600 pound ratings. Even with a completely empty trailer, I get bounce with this set up.

I suspect that your rear suspensions are too soft on your TVs, the TV tires need to be aired up if rated to do so, and/or your weight distribution bars are too low a rating for your actual tongue weight. Unfortunately, when dealers recommend which bars to use, they use the dry trailer tongue weight not the actual loaded TW. In the case of the 23RB the actual tongue weight is much higher than dry. I suspect weight distribution bars rated for 1000 to 1200 lbs are needed, LT tires on the TV and/or air bags are required on the TV.

BTW #1: the 23RB does not come from the factory with shocks, nor do I believe they are required.

BTW #2: when I installed metal valve stems and TPMS on my trailer tires, I had them balanced. I was amazed how much balance weight was added. Therefore, if you have cabinets and other interior items being damaged, I recommend getting your trailer tires balanced as a precaution.

[scott24]

We have a Passport 2250RB. We have always had what we thought was a great ride when pulling. I had filled our gray water tank to 1/2 full. What a difference that made. Pulled totally different. I had mentioned that to the dealer. He had said that's not the first time he's heard that before.

[Western Traveler]

We had a problem leaving water in our Cougar 21RBS toilet and couldn't keep clothes hanging in the rear wardrobe to the point we were covering the bowl with saran wrap and using a piece of black foam pipe insulation split in half lengthwise wedged between the clothes rod and ceiling.

Then the last long tow all the problems disappeared. Here are the two changes we made prior to our trip;
(1) upgraded our trailer tires to G rated Maxxis, balanced and max cold inflation.
(2) ran with 1/3 tank fresh water (tank located forward of the axles).
Which was the solution? One or both? Don't know but it was a marked change and we did many miles on dirt roads along the way. We didn't have a single problem with either in over 2500 miles of towing.

[cruisegrandma]

I'm not sure what your salesman told you or even what he was thinking, but Keystone doesn't install shock absorbers on their entry level or their mid level brands. I'd urge you to take a peek under your trailer, you won't find shock absorbers on the axles on your Passport.
Thank you. I'm going a step further. I'm going to call the sales guy on it. It could be that I misunderstood him, but I don't think so.

[GrumpyG]

We have a Passport 2250RB. We have always had what we thought was a great ride when pulling. I had filled our gray water tank to 1/2 full. What a difference that made. Pulled totally different. I had mentioned that to the dealer. He had said that's not the first time he's heard that before.

Made a difference for better or worse? Was your gray tank more or less full before?

[GrumpyG]

We had a problem leaving water in our Cougar 21RBS toilet and couldn't keep clothes hanging in the rear wardrobe to the point we were covering the bowl with saran wrap and using a piece of black foam pipe insulation split in half lengthwise wedged between the clothes rod and ceiling.

Then the last long tow all the problems disappeared. Here are the two changes we made prior to our trip;
(1) upgraded our trailer tires to G rated Maxxis, balanced and max cold inflation.
(2) ran with 1/3 tank fresh water (tank located forward of the axles).
Which was the solution? One or both? Don't know but it was a marked change and we did many miles on dirt roads along the way. We didn't have a single problem with either in over 2500 miles of towing.

Was your fresh water tank more or less full before these changes? Helps to know if you increased to 1/3 or decreased to 1/3 to improve the ride.

[scott24]

Made a difference for better or worse? Was your gray tank more or less full before?

We had always had it empty. I wondered what it would do to the ride with more weight in the back. Made for a really nice ride. We went to a campground that was an hour and a half away. Next trip out, left the tank empty. Pulled much more nicer with the gray tank at 1/3.

[Western Traveler]

Was your fresh water tank more or less full before these changes? Helps to know if you increased to 1/3 or decreased to 1/3 to improve the ride.
Sorry I wasn't more clear. We have always towed with near empty tanks, starting with 5 gallons in FW tank for cooking, washing and toilet use when traveling. Never wanted to deal with unnecessary weight. Our Western Edition has a 60 Gallon FW tank so we last towed with 20 gallons+ and noticed a difference but I believe the tire change helped as well. The Maxxis tires have a noticeably better profile.

[mfifield01]

It seems odd that Keystone put load range D tires on the 23RB. They put load range C on trailers that have a higher weight capacity.

[slow]

It seems odd that Keystone put load range D tires on the 23RB. They put load range C on trailers that have a higher weight capacity.

I am happy they did. :D

I suspect the 15 inch D range is part of the Elite trim level.

[JRTJH]

It seems odd that Keystone put load range D tires on the 23RB. They put load range C on trailers that have a higher weight capacity.

I am happy they did. :D

I suspect the 15 inch D range is part of the Elite trim level.

Slow is correct. From what I can find, the Passport Express (entry level) and Grand Touring (upgrade level) are both equipped with 14" LRC tires. Only the Elite series trailers are equipped with the 15" LRD tires.

It's pretty much a matter of "pay more/get more". All manufacturers offer "upgraded equipment for additional cost" and "less equipment/upgrades" on the standard models. It's more a matter of positioning sales prices in a "price point" with the competition. That's a marketing strategy that all manufacturers use.

Pretty much the same as Ford's XL, XLT, Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum lines on the Superduty. What's "standard" on the "high end models" may not even be available on the "entry level models". That includes tire/wheel options as well as other upgrades. As an example, you can't even order an XL superduty with leather seats and navigation package, but those are "standard" on the Platinum. (So is the extra $20K sticker price)

All of the tires meet "minimum standards" (some just barely) but to "exceed standards" means optional packages from the factory and more money from the buyer.