Truck and Trailer Roll

[EricG]

Hi,
Not sure if I used the correct term "roll" - but what I meant is that the truck acts as if the shocks are bad - it rolls front to back (not side to side).

Boat and Trailer weigh just under 8K lbs (estimate). Vehicle is a 05Dodge Ram 2500 Hemi - it can tow that weight (actually could do better) but what I don't like is the roll.

Not sure if an air lift kit for the rear would help as I'm not sure why it is doing this.

Any help is much appreciated.
Eric

 

[JB]

Re: Truck and Trailer Roll

First make sure that the tongue weight is 7-10% of the weight of the tow. You may need to shift your axles to achieve correct trailer balance.

If that doesn't fix the pitch go to a weight distributing hitch to get some of that weight on the front axle of your truck.

Good luck.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Truck and Trailer Roll

7 - 10% is probably a little heavy for a tandem axle as they can get by with a little less. But because of the tongue weight the truck will pitch as you describe. It may also benefit from rear shocks with a little more damping ability -- not that yours are worn out. All shocks are not created equal. Air shocks may help but they are not generally the most durable. Shocks by themselves do not support any weight -- they simply dampen suspension oscillation which is what you are experiencing.