Help fixing a rough tow with a Ram 2500 and 2810BH.

[Booch]

Need some help trying to fix a rough riding tow with a Ram 2500 and a Passport 2810BH.

Initially had this on a 1/2 ton Ram with a Husky round bar hitch. Dealer cranked it super tight, and it was a bit nose high, but really smooth... up until about 55 mph and then it swayed like crazy.

I switched to an Equalizer hitch which eliminated the sway, little rougher ride, but nothing to complain about.

Upgraded to a Ram 2500 diesel this year (because I wanted a little more freedom with payload), and it's a really rough ride and I can't figure out why. No sway or lack of control, just rattling rough over joints, city highways, etc.

Any thoughts or suggestions on what to look for or change? As far as I can tell the WDH is setup properly (even though I barely need it according to specs). I'm on the lowest hole of the shank so not much room to work with, but the TT is level and the front fenders back within 1/2". Truck tire psi's are at 65 when towing.

[Frank G]

I find it normal to experience a rougher, solid ride from a heavier suspended vehicle. You did not mention the year of your Ram 2500, if it is a 4th or 5th generation it has coil rear suspension and that is as good as it gets with HD trucks. The factory air ride may be a bit more comfortable, I've never been in one.

[jsb5717]

Look at the sticker inside the truck door. Is 65psi the recommended pressure? Seems like it should be more like 80psi.

I agree, though, that the 2500 is going to have an innately rougher ride than the 1500, especially if there isn't a lot of weight on the tail. Is the trailer still nose high? If it is you might want to correct that to level.

Edit - just re-read and saw you stated that the TT is level. How heavy is the loaded tongue weight of the TT?

[Booch]

I fully understand and accepted the rougher ride of the 2500. I'm okay with solid, but this is like "oh my gawd" rough according to the wife. Same wife that enjoys the empty ride of this truck better than the 1/2 ton I had before, which made her carsick at times from all the lateral movement.

It's a 2018 CC with the coils. TT is 5350lb dry, 565lb tongue weight. Never weighed it loaded (I know I should), but it's loaded the same as I did last year with most everything extra on or in front of the axles. I dropped to 65psi trying to smooth it a bit, since I'm well under max payload.

Not sure what I'm doing wrong. I had to be diligent with packing and setup with the 1/2 ton since I was pushing the payload, but figured things would just be easier and better with the 3/4 ton. And there's not much room to work with on the WDH since I'm on the bottom holes of the shank, and the truck still has about 1/2" of rake when hooked up.

[jsb5717]

It's been many years since I towed a TT vs a 5er so I'm just guessing out loud. I'm guessing that the 2500 sits higher than your 1500. Have you tried putting more lift torque on the WHD even though it will put you a little nose high? You might need a longer shank on the hitch so you can start a little lower and use more lift. Does the truck have air bags?

[JRTJH]

Everything I've ever understood about towing suggests that the nose of the trailer should be level or slightly lower then the trailer "level line". In other words, towing a trailer "nose high" is usually going to result in decreased performance and increased sway as the speed increases..

Having "tow vehicle rake" (front lower than the rear) may not affect the trailer attitude at all, in fact, lowering the tow vehicle front may raise the tow vehicle rear and make the trailer nose height even greater (worse).

If your new truck is "taller" than your old tow vehicle, you may be "fighting a losing battle" in trying to get the tongue of your trailer low enough to adjust the hitch and WD bars properly. You say that you're in the lowest holes on your hitch shank. You may need to buy a shank with more holes (one that will adjust lower).

Here's the Curt Hitch webpage on shanks: https://www.curtmfg.com/weight-distribution/replacement-parts/shanks There is also a good "data base" of information on the Curt site: https://www.curtmfg.com/understanding-towing

Equalizer also has some excellent information on "how to adjust your hitch when changing your tow vehicle or trailer" https://www.equalizerhitch.com/blog/08-25-2016/how-to-adjust-your-equal-i-zer-hitch-when-changing-your-tow-vehicle-or-trailer

[sourdough]

Some thoughts having gone from a Ram 1500 to a Ram 2500;

The increased height of the 2500 (both trucks were 4x4) required a new, longer shank to adjust the Equalizer properly. I could not get it set perfectly level so it sits approx. 1" low in the front. When towing I run 80psi rear/65psi front. Empty I run 65psi all around.

When empty the truck is much harsher than the 1/2 ton but we have gotten used to it. In fact, my next truck will be a 1 ton. When towing it is light years better than the 1/2 ton from a handling and ride perspective and I had made many "enhancements" to the 1/2 ton; new shocks, sway bar, air bags etc.

My tongue weight varies but not much; it's usually in the 1100 lb. range. Your tongue weight will (should) be several hundred lbs. lighter than mine. I'm thinking that the short shank is causing a bit of a weight distribution problem and having a "too light" load on the back of the truck might be contributing to the harsh ride. I also carry a lot of stuff in the bed when I travel so that is additional weight to smooth out the ride. I also upgraded the trailer tires from LRD to LRE which, inexplicably, really smoothed out the way the trailer rode which in turn translated into a smoother ride in the truck.

[smoore0449]

I also have a ram 2500. I pull a 272bhs with about 800 lbs on the tongue, and another 300 lbs in the bed. I run my tires on the tv at 60lbs on all four corners even when towing. 80 lbs in the rear is just too much. At 80lbs that gives 7200lbs of capacity on the rear axle. The rear axle on our trucks are only rated at 6500lbs. My truck rides smooth as glass in this configuration.

[spade117]

I leave the rear tires at 80 psi regardless if towing or not. I don't feel that the ride is that much more rough than my previous 1500. It is different, but not so bad that I feel the need to lower the tire pressure when not towing.

[Kylemcmahon1]

It is an hd truck. They are rough riding. Part of the draw backs to owning one.

[rhagfo]

I fully understand and accepted the rougher ride of the 2500. I'm okay with solid, but this is like "oh my gawd" rough according to the wife. Same wife that enjoys the empty ride of this truck better than the 1/2 ton I had before, which made her carsick at times from all the lateral movement.

It's a 2018 CC with the coils. TT is 5350lb dry, 565lb tongue weight. Never weighed it loaded (I know I should), but it's loaded the same as I did last year with most everything extra on or in front of the axles. I dropped to 65psi trying to smooth it a bit, since I'm well under max payload.

Not sure what I'm doing wrong. I had to be diligent with packing and setup with the 1/2 ton since I was pushing the payload, but figured things would just be easier and better with the 3/4 ton. And there's not much room to work with on the WDH since I'm on the bottom holes of the shank, and the truck still has about 1/2" of rake when hooked up.


I also have a ram 2500. I pull a 272bhs with about 800 lbs on the tongue, and another 300 lbs in the bed. I run my tires on the tv at 60lbs on all four corners even when towing. 80 lbs in the rear is just too much. At 80lbs that gives 7200lbs of capacity on the rear axle. The rear axle on our trucks are only rated at 6500lbs. My truck rides smooth as glass in this configuration.

With the weight of that TT and Tongue weight you really might try just enough bar to return the front axle weight. I doubt that even if you had 800# of tongue weigh the TV would squat much. Run your rear tires at 65 psi, unless your bed is full of firewood you are nowhere near your rear axle rating. You likely could tow that trailer without the bars.

[sourdough]

With the weight of that TT and Tongue weight you really might try just enough bar to return the front axle weight. I doubt that even if you had 800# of tongue weigh the TV would squat much. Run your rear tires at 65 psi, unless your bed is full of firewood you are nowhere near your rear axle rating. You likely could tow that trailer without the bars.


If the OPs setup is anything like mine you CAN tow it without the wdh/sway but I would highly recommend not doing it simple because of the "what ifs" that happen. The current truck tows this trailer as well without the bars as my 1/2 ton did WITH the Equalizer hooked up. I have done it but don't like to simply because of my prior statement. Plus, I've never noticed that the wdh makes any difference in the "ride" of the truck - 1/2 ton or HD.

[rhagfo]

With the weight of that TT and Tongue weight you really might try just enough bar to return the front axle weight. I doubt that even if you had 800# of tongue weigh the TV would squat much. Run your rear tires at 65 psi, unless your bed is full of firewood you are nowhere near your rear axle rating. You likely could tow that trailer without the bars.

If the OPs setup is anything like mine you CAN tow it without the wdh/sway but I would highly recommend not doing it simple because of the "what ifs" that happen. The current truck tows this trailer as well without the bars as my 1/2 ton did WITH the Equalizer hooked up. I have done it but don't like to simply because of my prior statement. Plus, I've never noticed that the wdh makes any difference in the "ride" of the truck - 1/2 ton or HD.

I made that statement to suggest that the OP doesn’t need much tension on the bars.
I would like to know just how much the rear drops and the front rises without bars.

[Snoking]

For those that want to set tire pressure based on load. Here is the inflation for the 18" and 20" tires RAM uses. I run 60 in the front all the time and 42-44 empty in the rear and 80 with the 5th wheel and 60 with the travel trailer. We have the bed of the truck chuck full of stuff BTW.

LT275/70R18 and LT285/60R20
PSI RATING
35 2070
40 2270
45 2470
50 2680
55 2840
60 3020
65 3195
70 3360
75 3530
80 3640

[LV_Tom]

Off Topic...rhagfo posted a picture of the Chocolate Factory in Las Vegas. Yes there is. Primarily since the west coast states that would normally house these factories are losing them to states like Nevada since these other states charge a huge corporate tax and Nevada has a zero corporate tax. Plus with Vegas having 44+ million visitors a year they sell a lot of candy here. We also have an Ocean Spray bottling plant, but no cranberry bogs within a 1,000 miles. What makes these possible is that a few decades ago they found a way to make hot air cold all the time. I think it's called Air Conditioning.

[rpatron95]

I have a 2005 F250 with an outback 320BH. When I switched from my Ram 1500 to the 250 I had some rough towing, very bouncy, feel every bump kind of stuff. I adjusted my weight distribution a couple times and found 2 chain links make the ride smooth. It was night and day difference between 3 and 2 links.

I'd suggest that on your next trip try adjusting your weight distribution by stopping at a couple rest areas.

[Northofu1]

FWIW "IF" the OP's truck is a power wagon, they have the worst payloads of any 2500's, hovering in the 1500 lb range.
Get a Blue ox sway pro, you won't regret it.

[Bamabox]

Think you need more tongue weight. Your trailer loaded and ready to roll especially with fresh water is likely up around 7000, meaning your tongue weight could be up around 800 easily. My 21rbs is about the same weight and I like the tongue weight up around 800-850 maybe even 900. Tow with a 2015 Ram 3500, which has leaf springs, much heavier suspension, a real kidney buster by itself. Just wear you out. Love the ride with the TT in tow. Needs the tongue weight to make the suspension work. My 2 cents.

[Brentw]

Check out sulastic shackles. . I liked them smoother ride when empty, also dropped my tire pressure if not towing for a while.

[Larrystegall]

switched out my 2013 1500 for a 16 2500HD. Was pulling a 2013 Aerolite 318BHSS, 7K empty and 9K max. Tongue 1350 lbs. After lots of trial with the WDH (Husky), just dropped it on the ball and drove away and it was like sailing on a glassy lake. DW insisted on sway control so that was my BD present that year. Didnt make any difference at all as there was no sway, so I sold it when we upgraded to the Cougar 359MBI 5ver.

That said, if your ball/trunion set up angles, increase it by a washer. Wont affect the height and will add a little tension on the bars. Best wishes

[KSH]

I recently read on perhaps another board that someone with a new 2500 had a rough ride because the shipping spacers were left in the rear shocks or something crazy like that. My 2018 2500 is very comfortable loaded or not. I do use a pro pride hitch.