4520lbs isn't much. I tow a trailer that is probably close to that and I don't have any issues. What tires are you running? If they are LT tires have you increased the PSI from minimum?

 

They are LT tires. I have them filled to whatever is printed on the tire. I think it's 35psi.

 

35psi....I run mine between 50 and 65..depending on season and type. I tow periodically, often over capacity. It's difficult to tell from the description, but are you certain you're not just feeling the fact that with a trailer, you feel the subtle bumps and dips in the road twice? You state you've never towed anything before..it feels way different than just cruising about.The rear springs are soft, but that's because it's a half-ton With that weight you should have no issues with stock springs unless you pull it constantly.

 

It could very well be normal. Since this is my first time I just don't know. I've asked around and only found one person that has felt what I have and he drives a 3/4 ton dodge.

 

It well could be something. It's something pretty hard to translate into text. Have someone who's used to towing with a LT to give it a spin and get an opinion there. Some things need to be experienced firsthand to be troubleshot.

 

i'm getting this rocking motion....A problem with the trailer suspension.

I'll bet you're getting a feeling like a shove coming from the back of the seat. This is caused by the spring equalizers on the trailer. They haven't worn in enough to have some compliance. Once they wear in, that motion will diminish a lot.

Do you think the titan springs are too soft?

No. The stock shocks are somewhat squishy, the snubbing is a little too light for trailer towing. I suggest getting a set of Bilsteins on it, tell the guy who's selling them to you that you are going to be towing a trailer. Don't allow anyone to sell you "coil-over" shocks, or other load-leveling crap, including air bags. That's totally unnecessary with the Titan. Coil-over shocks especially are hard on shock mounts.

I've been towing a 7000# travel trailer with about 800-850# tongue weight with the truck for 11+ years, now. No problems.

 

I do have Bilsteins on the rear. Put em' on years ago and they made a huge difference.

But yes, it does feel like a soft shove. Nothing serious. Just annoying.

 

LT tires have a PSI range. The lower part of the range is appropriate for when you have no load. The more load you have the higher the PSI needs to be. Try bumping up the PSI to the middle of the tires range and see if it feels different.

Your Bilsteins should be just fine unless they have worn out.

 

What are you using for a Brake Controller??? Maybe the Controller is surging or set too strongly...

 

Tekonsha prodigy P3. I started out at a setting of 6 when I took the trailer home. By the time I got home I had it adjusted to 7.5

When I took it out last week I got it up to 10.5, just before wheel lock up which is what the directions said to do. I had the issue no matter what the controller was set at.

 

The issue is there regardless of brake controller setting.

Yes, I have the 10k equal-i-zer

My truck is not lifted. When I initially hooked the trailer up it was noticeably lifted in the front. To keep the trailer level I had to order a new shank. I measured front and back from the frame to the ground. The coupler on the hitch just sits really low. And to get the entire hitch head assembly under that coupler I needed the lowest drop shank equal-i-zer sells.

I setup everything again after getting the new shank. The trailer now sits perfectly level front and back and the front and back of the truck barely moved from the uncoupled measurements.

You can see the coupler here. The trailer is leveled in this pic and is not parallel to the ground. To make it parellel i'd have to lower the front end.

 

another pic of the trailer

 

Manually engage the trailer brakes using the controller. Put the truck in drive and let up on the foot brake while keeping the trailer brakes engaged. Then shift to reverse, while still keeping the trailer brakes engaged. How much of a "gap" was there between when you let off the foot brake and you felt the trailer hold you back?

 

It has nothing to do with the brake controller..
1. You shoud be running the rear truck tires 5psi under the cold MAX psi when towing & they should be E rated tires, not the crappie P factory tires..
2. It wouldn't hurt to be running rear air bags.
3. Bucking like that is mostly caused by the trailer not being balanced properly ( The WD not set right )
4. Trailer tires should always be kept at the Cold MAX psi. More trailer tires fail due to under inflation than anything else. Trailer tires take alot of abuse, every time you make a turn the side walls flex & they get dragged around corners, not to metion the rubber breaks down from sitting for long periods.

 

It's a ticky/tacky argument to make, but I would argue that the trailer tires should always at the max PSI. As I recall, on the two trailers that I tow the tires have a single PSI rating, not a range. My trailers are perhaps not a good sample of everything else that's out there.

No major disagreement with your first three points.

 

I'll look everything over and make the changes. My LT tires were at 35psi. I have sinced filled them to 50psi. The rating on them says 80psi Max Cold.

The trailer tires came at 50psi. I'll need to check the limit on those.

I would have a thought a stock, empty trailer would be balanced? I'll be putting more weight in it when next I test it out. Probably next weekend.

 

Did you dial in your WDH? Did you set it up using the measuring method?? Have you taken it to the CAT scales to make sure that your weights are good? If you're having some porpoising, I would think you may need to tighten your bars and/or tilt your hitch head back to get more weight transferred.

 

The hitch is perfectly dialed in per the instructions. I have no idea where any scales are. But I still need to get more weight in the trailer to test with.

 

Truck Stops, landscaping Rock places, some concrete & Asphalt plants, scrap metal places. Dumps, ect ect ect

 

Porpoising is different than rocking or feeling pushed. Porpoising is the truck lifting in the rear as the trailer dips in front. It occurs when hitting bumps or waves in the pavement. Usually pretty rythmic as well. Like the truck is bouncing up and down. That is generally cured with tongue weight and WD hitch adjustments.

Is there play in your hitch where it meets the receiver? Might be the draw bar moving a little bit.

50-55psi in your rear tires if they are LT's should be just fine for that camper. Air bags are unnecessary as well. I added a Roadmaster Active Suspension set up on my truck primarily to eliminate axle wrap plus my trailer weighsquite a bit more than yours dry. My previous 2 towed just fine.

 

10% is not enough tongue weight. You can try a couple ways to get it up. Get the trailer slightly nose down, which doesn't sound possible since your coupler is low. Load the front storage heavy. This will probably cause another adjustment on the hitch, but that is to be expected.

Not to sound silly, but you're not running around with half full tanks are you? Water sloshing around causes lots of movement.

 

To follow up, i've now had the trailer out a few times. I've weighed every item i've put into it. I've towed at 9% tongue weight and just recently at 15%.

What i'm getting, no matter the tongue weight, is teeter tottering which is what's causing the sensation i'm feeling.

I've tried many different settings on the equal-i-zer. Different L bar bracket positions, hitch head height positions as well as differing amounts of spacer washers and I still cannot get rid of the teetering tottering. I can reduce it though. But it's most noticeable over bumps and other road conditions. Crosswinds make for some white knuckle driving.
I've had so much weight distrubution on the hitch that the bars have a pretty good bend in them when hooked up. I've tried them more parallel to the frame but I got a real good amount of teeter tottering along with sway on a freeway interchange so I moved the L bar brackets up one position.

I like to go with fewer spacer washers as the more I add the more difficult it is to couple/de-couple.

I've heard others say on their setups that they can't even tell they are pulling a trailer. Oh I can tell! I can feel the thing moving around back there. I have to think that's somewhat normal? Perhaps i'm just being paranoid?

Maybe something like the roadmaster active suspension would help? A WD hitch does transfer some of the weight to the front of the truck, would better coilovers help there? I'm still on the stock suspension in the front and it's pretty soft.

 

Maybe.
How much air pressure in the trailer tires?
Upgraded trailer tires to light truck tires might make a difference.

 

50 PSI in trailer tires which is their max limit.

 

Try them at 42. Sounds to me like something needs to soften you up and air pressure is an easy test.

 

The Porpoising or rocking motion of both vehicles that I have experience over my towing years has always been caused by not strong enough rear leaf springs, I once had a Coachman Catalina lite Trailer which was same weight and length as yours that I pulled with a Ford E-150 van and the problem was solved with a extra leaf spring in the rear springs that was installed. I always run Trailer tire PSI to the max u could also run air bags.

 

Add a leafs won't stop porpoising as soft springs aren't a cause. In fact they could make things worse. Have you verified your tongue weight versus your WD bar ratings? Were there any liquids in your holding tanks? Are you loaded evenly? DO NOT assume a trailer come built with a 50/50 weight balance. They most certainly do not. My current trailer tows much nicer than my previous with all the same hook up equipment. Some trailers with things like rear kitchens are more rear weight biased than others and you would need to add more weight loaded towards the front to get your tongue weight proper.

If someone tows a TT and tells you "I can't even tell it is back there", the are full of it.

 

If someone tows a TT and tells you "I can't even tell it is back there", the are full of it.

Ain't that the truth? Even my Ranger 900 XP SxS ATV is heavy enough to let the Titan know that it's there.

 

The equal-i-zer setup I got is rated at 10k lbs. I have plenty of room before I hit that. I have weighed every item put into that front pass through as well as what we brought into the interior. And then added additional weight in the form of sand bags to get it up to 15%. I've done my best to balance the load side to side and have made adjustments each time i've had it out.

All water tanks have always been empty every time i've had it out.

The kitchen is smack dab in the middle of the trailer with the fridge sitting right above the axles.

I have balanced the weight several different ways but it doesn't seem to make a difference. And I make a change to the WD setup every time in an attempt to improve things. It's slightly better now but the issue still remains.

 

I have balanced the weight several different ways but it doesn't seem to make a difference. And I make a change to the WD setup every time in an attempt to improve things. It's slightly better now but the issue still remains.

At this point, if it was me in your situation, I would find a friend with a 1/2 ton truck and use it to tow your RV. Just to see if it is the Titan or the RV that is the problem. I would even find another RV to do a test pull against with your Titan to see if you notice a difference.

You need to eliminate the Titan or the RV as the problem.