TrailManor Owner's Forum - View Single Post - Questions about my new-to-me 2012 2417 Sport

**Bill** · 03-16-2021, 11:17 AM

Sounds like you have a number of things going on. I'll try to add some comments, but many members will have better answers than I. To get you started -

BaconLover's comment about trailer leveling is a good one. And there are some associated thoughts that may help.

You might check this article from Good Sam, which seems pretty good.
https://blog.goodsam.com/porpoising-...ow-to-stop-it/

I doubt that the brake controller is involved unless the wireless link is just on the edge of losing its connection. The Curt unit is a proportional controller, which is good. You might try (carefully) turning off the controller for a few miles, to see if anything changes.

It also sounds like you may have loaded the trailer too heavy in the back. The trailer's hitch weight should be 10% of the total trailer weight at an absolute minimum. TMs are built to run with a heavier hitch weight - 14% is typical. So if your loaded trailer weighs 3600 pounds, the hitch weight should be around 450-500 pounds. In other words, 3 or 4 strong people should not be able to lift it. If the hitch weight is too light, the common result is trailer sway, but porpoising can happen, too.

Another common cause of porpoising is older concrete roads. Unlike asphalt, concrete roads were usually laid as a series of slabs, and as the concrete settles and cures, the center of the slab settles more than the ends. The result is an up-and-down bounce as you go over the joints, and at certain speeds, the bounce happens at a resonant speed of your rig. A good test is to find an asphalt road, and see if that changes things. Or, on a troublesome road, change your speed by 10-15 mph, and see if the problem changes.

You have a rather heavy vehicle and a rather light trailer, usually a good combo. In this situation, you probably don't need a WDH. And as Bacon Lover mentioned, a misadjusted WDH can cause weird things to happen. Once you get your rig leveled, setting up your WDH to the right tension is not complicated. Make sure it isn't lifting too much.

Take a look at these two articles in the TrailManor Technical Library.
https://www.trailmanorowners.com/for...ead.php?t=2922
https://www.trailmanorowners.com/for...ead.php?t=2616

Are the shocks on your truck good? How long (miles) since they have been replaced? On a bigger truck, you may not notice when shocks start going bad.

Do you have air shocks on the truck? If so, can you defeat them?

I hope some of this will help. Let us know.

Bill

03-16-2021, 11:17 AM	#3
Bill Site Team Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: The mountains of Scottsdale, AZ, and the beaches of Maine Posts: 10,119	Sounds like you have a number of things going on. I'll try to add some comments, but many members will have better answers than I. To get you started - BaconLover's comment about trailer leveling is a good one. And there are some associated thoughts that may help. You might check this article from Good Sam, which seems pretty good. https://blog.goodsam.com/porpoising-...ow-to-stop-it/ I doubt that the brake controller is involved unless the wireless link is just on the edge of losing its connection. The Curt unit is a proportional controller, which is good. You might try (carefully) turning off the controller for a few miles, to see if anything changes. It also sounds like you may have loaded the trailer too heavy in the back. The trailer's hitch weight should be 10% of the total trailer weight at an absolute minimum. TMs are built to run with a heavier hitch weight - 14% is typical. So if your loaded trailer weighs 3600 pounds, the hitch weight should be around 450-500 pounds. In other words, 3 or 4 strong people should not be able to lift it. If the hitch weight is too light, the common result is trailer sway, but porpoising can happen, too. Another common cause of porpoising is older concrete roads. Unlike asphalt, concrete roads were usually laid as a series of slabs, and as the concrete settles and cures, the center of the slab settles more than the ends. The result is an up-and-down bounce as you go over the joints, and at certain speeds, the bounce happens at a resonant speed of your rig. A good test is to find an asphalt road, and see if that changes things. Or, on a troublesome road, change your speed by 10-15 mph, and see if the problem changes. You have a rather heavy vehicle and a rather light trailer, usually a good combo. In this situation, you probably don't need a WDH. And as Bacon Lover mentioned, a misadjusted WDH can cause weird things to happen. Once you get your rig leveled, setting up your WDH to the right tension is not complicated. Make sure it isn't lifting too much. Take a look at these two articles in the TrailManor Technical Library. https://www.trailmanorowners.com/for...ead.php?t=2922 https://www.trailmanorowners.com/for...ead.php?t=2616 Are the shocks on your truck good? How long (miles) since they have been replaced? On a bigger truck, you may not notice when shocks start going bad. Do you have air shocks on the truck? If so, can you defeat them? I hope some of this will help. Let us know. Bill __________________ 2020 2720QS (aka 2720SL) 2014 Ford F-150 4WD 5.0L Bill's Tech Stuff album