brake and bouncing issue on a 36' 5er

elm_tx · Jun 17, 2006

Hey All,

We picked up our 36' 5er today. It rained like crazy all the way into Houston, totally sucked, but we got here in one piece. So that's a plus. Once we got hooked up and drove a bit, it did not take long to realize that y'all were right. Don't pull it into the Cul-De-Sac. It just did not seem like there would be enough space to turn it around without trying to back up.

There are a couple of things that really concern me, one is the 5er brakes grabbing my @$$ hard, I suspect that is because I need to adjust the break controller?(Prodigy - Tekonsha). We hooked up and left, no time to adjust the controller, I plan to tweak the controller tomorrow. Does the 5er Yanking Hard on the back of the truck sound right for an unadjusted brake controller?

AND, the hitch (16k Reese Slide) is set at it's highest setting(vertically) , which has the front of the trailer sitting higher then the rear by maybe 6 to 12 inches. At 45 mph, the rig was bouncing up and down something Fierce. It was ugly!!!

Will dropping the height of the hitch fix this problem? Or is this what pulling a 36' 5er feels like with a .75 ton truck?

Thanks,

Eddie

Carl L · Jun 17, 2006

The first thing you do when setting out with a trailer is to set the brake power. Read the instructions that came with the Prodigy. You do this every time you start out on a tow. Or at least you should. The Prodigy also provides for boost setting based on trailer/truck relative weights and desired agressiveness of the brakes.

Was the bucking on a concrete freeway or expressway? If so it is a phenomenon one encounters on a poorly engineered or beat up highways. One can only grit ones teeth and endure it. In any case, hopefully our 5er owners can give you advice on the proper attitude for your trailer.

N Smock · Jun 18, 2006

elm_tx said:
There are a couple of things that really concern me, one is the 5er brakes grabbing my @$$ hard, I suspect that is because I need to adjust the break controller?(Prodigy - Tekonsha). We hooked up and left, no time to adjust the controller, I plan to tweak the controller tomorrow. Does the 5er Yanking Hard on the back of the truck sound right for an unadjusted brake controller?

AND, the hitch (16k Reese Slide) is set at it's highest setting(vertically) , which has the front of the trailer sitting higher then the rear by maybe 6 to 12 inches. At 45 mph, the rig was bouncing up and down something Fierce. It was ugly!!!

Will dropping the height of the hitch fix this problem? Or is this what pulling a 36' 5er feels like with a .75 ton truck?

Eddie

The trailer needs to ride level, by front high you are shifting weight to the rear, thus destabilizing the unit. You should adjust the hitch so that the trailer is level when connected. The light hitch weight may account for some of the bucking, the other may be as Carl suggested the concrete expansion joints.

No need to wait til tommow once you have established the necessary lock up voltage on that controller you can afjust it on the fly. I have a heavy rig like you and run the controller with a boost level of B2. When you get it adjusted properly, stopping the rig will not be very much different that the truck alone with that controller. If you had a Reese controller I could not say that.

Nelson

Gary RV_Wizard · Jun 18, 2006

Does the 5er Yanking Hard on the back of the truck sound right for an unadjusted brake controller?

Your controller is set far too agressively or too much boost. The trailer should never "yank" - that means it is stopping faster than the truck and actually stopping both itself and the truck. NOT GOOD!

Read the Tekonsha manual and follow the set-up instructions. It's not hard and doesn't take a lot of time or skill. The dealer should not have let you leave the lot without calibrating the brake controller - it is dangerous. Suppose it had been the opposite problem - insufficient boost and therefore no braking at all?

You need to level the unit for towing and that should help the "bounce" quite a bit. However, you may also have further weight imbalance once you level it. Will have to wait and see. And No, that is not what towing a fiver with a 3/4 ton is like (except perhaps in rare road conditions).

elm_tx · Jun 18, 2006

Thanks guys,

I set the controller today before taking it to storage for the week. It made a huge difference in breaking. I plan to lower the hitch one level at a time and see how that feels til I get it right.

It sure was a freaky feeling bringing it home the first time in a huge rain storm and bouncing all over the place. We'll get it right tho.

Thanks again for all the feedback!!!

brake and bouncing issue on a 36' 5er

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