Trailer pulling and pushing whilst towing

[Wandering Woody]

Gday all,
I have just purchased a 2025 Campsite Ultra trailer and installed a weight distribution hitch. Picked up the trailer yesterday and all the way to the RV resort the trailer felt like it was surging (pushing and pulling) my F250. Any advice on what may be wrong or I’m doing wrong?

 

[DutchmenSport]

The difference between towing and not towing is the fact when you are towing, you are now dragging 6000 to 14000 pounds of anchor behind you... an anchor on wheels that does not have it's own power source.

Yes, you will feel the pull of the camper behind you. Your truck has to overcome the initial inertia of the trailer from a standing position. When towing, any slight uphill grade will cause the trailer to drag, attempt to slow it down, and in order to overcome that drag, the truck has to work harder to maintain the same speed.

Going slight down hill, just the opposite is happening. The weight and gravity of the trailer going down hill is now pushing the truck, actually causing the truck to pick up speed.

What you are experiencing is normal. Your fuel mileage on your truck will probably drop from (not towing) of say, 18 - 22 miles per gallon, to 8 - 10 when towing. It's not "all" weight related either that kills fuel mileage and what also causes that "drag" feeling. The front of your camper is a gigantic sail, like the sail of a sailing ship. Except, it's flat directly against the wind hitting it. Remember, if you are driving 60 mph, that means there is a 60 mph straight front wind hitting the front of the camper which is all resistance, causing additional "drag" which the engine of the truck has to over come too.

Between the weight of the trailer, trailer drag, and the wind resistance, .... the greater the speed, the steeper the incline or decline of the road, the larger or smaller the tow vehicle is, the taller or shorter the front cap of the trailer is, and the actual weight of the trailer all result in different combinations of "push - pull" feeling of the towed vehicle when driving the tow vehicle.

Now, when applying the brakes, if you feel the push of the trailer pushing the truck and you have to excessive pressure on the brake peddle to stop truck and trailer, then your trailer brakes (brake controller) is adjusted wrong. The trailer should brake even with the tow vehicle. Basically, you know the trailer is there, but it should be braking strong enough you don't feel any heavy "push" forward from the trailer. If you experience this, then your brake controller need to be turned up higher, or trailer brakes need adjusting.

 

[Oldgator73]

We have owned a 5th wheel and a TT. I have felt the pushing and pulling the OP describes with our TT but never felt it pulling the 5th wheel.

 

[Wandering Woody]

The difference between towing and not towing is the fact when you are towing, you are now dragging 6000 to 14000 pounds of anchor behind you... an anchor on wheels that does not have it's own power source.

Yes, you will feel the pull of the camper behind you. Your truck has to overcome the initial inertia of the trailer from a standing position. When towing, any slight uphill grade will cause the trailer to drag, attempt to slow it down, and in order to overcome that drag, the truck has to work harder to maintain the same speed.

Going slight down hill, just the opposite is happening. The weight and gravity of the trailer going down hill is now pushing the truck, actually causing the truck to pick up speed.

What you are experiencing is normal. Your fuel mileage on your truck will probably drop from (not towing) of say, 18 - 22 miles per gallon, to 8 - 10 when towing. It's not "all" weight related either that kills fuel mileage and what also causes that "drag" feeling. The front of your camper is a gigantic sail, like the sail of a sailing ship. Except, it's flat directly against the wind hitting it. Remember, if you are driving 60 mph, that means there is a 60 mph straight front wind hitting the front of the camper which is all resistance, causing additional "drag" which the engine of the truck has to over come too.

Between the weight of the trailer, trailer drag, and the wind resistance, .... the greater the speed, the steeper the incline or decline of the road, the larger or smaller the tow vehicle is, the taller or shorter the front cap of the trailer is, and the actual weight of the trailer all result in different combinations of "push - pull" feeling of the towed vehicle when driving the tow vehicle.

Now, when applying the brakes, if you feel the push of the trailer pushing the truck and you have to excessive pressure on the brake peddle to stop truck and trailer, then your trailer brakes (brake controller) is adjusted wrong. The trailer should brake even with the tow vehicle. Basically, you know the trailer is there, but it should be braking strong enough you don't feel any heavy "push" forward from the trailer. If you experience this, then your brake controller need to be turned up higher, or trailer brakes need adjusting.

Thanks for your reply… my initial concern was just driving straight down the level road at a constant speed I wasn’t expecting the vehicle to be pulling and pushing

 

[tlmgcamp1]

If you were maneuvering (speeding up, braking, turning) then you would feel the trailer. Trailer brakes don't always apply smoothly so that would be felt. If you were steady speed, straight and level, you shouldn't be feeling more than the reduced crispnest in accelerating and braking. Was it particularly windy? A strong head/tail wind might be felt. Were there any sounds associated with the issue?

 

[SpencerPJ]

Some roads play better than others. I find concrete surface hwys the worst. We have no idea what size trailer / weight nor what your F250 payload is. This plays much into towing pleasure.

 

[Lou Schneider]

Sometimes the wheelbase of the truck vs the wheelbase of the trailer (truck's rear axle to the trailer axles) negatively interacts with concrete expansion joints or other road irregularities to produce that push-pull feeling. What happens is the truck sets up it's own rhythm (bounce and rebound) when it hits a bump then the trailer tires hit the same bump out of sync with the truck's rhythm.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Please give the exact model of trailer, and the weight info from the door placard on your truck.

Campsite Ultra Travel Trailers - Forest River RV

I'm betting your hitch is not correctly adjusted. What brand and model of hitch is it? what weight bars does it have? and did you set it up by the instructions, or did the dealer install it (From my several years of reading on these forums, I have concluded that dealers have no clue how to set up a hitch, and cannot read the instructions, and really don't care). Instructions found on their web site are more likely to be newer than the printed ones included with the hitch. The dealer may not have had the proper weight spring bars in stock and put on some that are not for your installation.

Edit: is this a newer F250 with the 2½ or 3 inch receiver? Are you using adapter sleeve(s) in it to make the hitch fit? If so, the sleeves don't fit well, cause unusual wear on the cross pin, and also will cause the pin to eat out the hole in the receiver. In fact, Ford will warranty the hitch on certain years when this happens when using THEIR provided sleeves. You need the correct size shank on the hitch so no adapter sleeves are needed, this will eliminate much of the slop in the hitch.

Charles

 

[CharlesinGA]

Sometimes the wheelbase of the truck vs the wheelbase of the trailer (truck's rear axle to the trailer axles) negatively interacts with concrete expansion joints or other road irregularities to produce that push-pull feeling. What happens is the truck sets up it's own rhythm (bounce and rebound) when it hits a bump then the trailer tires hit the same bump out of sync with the truck's rhythm.

When concrete is poured, especially on a slope, it will develop a waviness, and needs to have a grinder run over the surface to eliminate the waves.

I have encountered this twice, both on concrete roads, once was Nebraska highway 2 nearing Nebraska City headed east. It was only the outer lane and only on the uphill sections. My motorhome had a 158 inch wheelbase and would start violent crowhopping, and I would move to the inside lane and it would go away.

The other case was heading south out of Door County WI on highway 57, which was new poured concrete, as the road had been completely rebuilt. Both myself and my travel buddy endured this for 15 miles or so and we were just about to pull off and rest when we got to the end of it This was with my truck and trailer, and he too had a truck and trailer. It was teeth jarring but the road looked perfect.

Charles

 

[Wandering Woody]

If you were maneuvering (speeding up, braking, turning) then you would feel the trailer. Trailer brakes don't always apply smoothly so that would be felt. If you were steady speed, straight and level, you shouldn't be feeling more than the reduced crispnest in accelerating and braking. Was it particularly windy? A strong head/tail wind might be felt. Were there any sounds associated with the issue?

Thanks for your reply… no real wind and no noise associated… just the surging. During braking it felt normal (as expected) more during cruise.

 

[Wandering Woody]

Please give the exact model of trailer, and the weight info from the door placard on your truck.

Campsite Ultra Travel Trailers - Forest River RV

I'm betting your hitch is not correctly adjusted. What brand and model of hitch is it? what weight bars does it have? and did you set it up by the instructions, or did the dealer install it (From my several years of reading on these forums, I have concluded that dealers have no clue how to set up a hitch, and cannot read the instructions, and really don't care). Instructions found on their web site are more likely to be newer than the printed ones included with the hitch. The dealer may not have had the proper weight spring bars in stock and put on some that are not for your installation.

Edit: is this a newer F250 with the 2½ or 3 inch receiver? Are you using adapter sleeve(s) in it to make the hitch fit? If so, the sleeves don't fit well, cause unusual wear on the cross pin, and also will cause the pin to eat out the hole in the receiver. In fact, Ford will warranty the hitch on certain years when this happens when using THEIR provided sleeves. You need the correct size shank on the hitch so no adapter sleeves are needed, this will eliminate much of the slop in the hitch.

Charles

Thanks Charles… I’m thinking a combination of not necessarily set up correctly (Campsite Ultra 26BW) and the hitch on my 2023 F250 (3036lbs) (3” receiver with a reducer creating some slop). Camping World, where I bought it, replaced the receiver pin with a slightly larger one but I haven’t really felt a difference. Any advice on a proper towing company who can set up the hitch correctly? I’m in Houston TX

 

[CharlesinGA]

What Hitch, as in, Equali-z-er, Blue Ox, Curt, etc. and the exact model. The correct spring bars are very important and it may have the wrong ones.

You would do well to have a 3 inch shank and no adapter. They are made, you just gotta look for them. Here is one by Bulletproof. It fits a 3 in receiver, and has a standard 2 inch vertical bar with 3/4 holes on 1-1/4 spacing for attaching the hitch head. This is an industry standard, and you can mount a hitch head from a bunch of different manufacturers on it. There are others. Depends on how much drop you need or can accommodate. This will eliminate much play in the hitch system.

It sounds like your spring bars are not tensioned correctly, that is why I am asking exactly which hitch brand and model and "weight" of spring bars you have.

Your trailer appears to be a 7985 GVWR and when loaded will have a tongue weight of 800 to 1200 lbs depending on how you load it. Expect about 1000 lbs (hey, for once the brochure is pretty much accurate!).

This means you need 1000 lb bars for the hitch. If the hitch is set up with 1500 lb bars and your tongue weight isn't that much, the bars are too stiff and won't absorb the porpoising of the trailer, which may be some of the push you are feeling.

Posting pics of the hitch may help

Charles

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Pushing and pulling is often termed trailer "chugging" or "bucking". The trailer nose/tongue pushes down and bounces back up, alternately jerking the tow vehicle forward and back. As Lou explained, this can result from an interaction with the expansion gaps in concrete roads, where the dissimilar wheelbases of trailer & tow vehicle cause a conflict between the two vehicle's suspensions. A slight change in highway speed can often avoid that by changing the timing of the wheels hitting the strips. But it can also be caused (or exacerbated) by poor weight balance on the trailer and or hitch (if WD type), which increases the trailer chugging action. Others have advised on that already.

 

[Kirk]

It is difficult to really know what may be happening as what to expect is pretty subjective. I would check the things that have been suggested but you might want to have someone experienced in towing a similar RV test drive it for you. I remember having similar thoughts when I went from towing a popup to a 24' travel trailer and also when I started to tow a horse trailer with 2 horses. Such changes can be nerve wracking when you don't have any experience to rely on.

 

[Wandering Woody]

Thank you very much for the last 3 reply's and sorry for the delayed response. Have been away for work. These analysis seem to be spot on for what I am experiencing. Will post some photos shortly

Pushing and pulling is often termed trailer "chugging" or "bucking". The trailer nose/tongue pushes down and bounces back up, alternately jerking the tow vehicle forward and back. As Lou explained, this can result from an interaction with the expansion gaps in concrete roads, where the dissimilar wheelbases of trailer & tow vehicle cause a conflict between the two vehicle's suspensions. A slight change in highway speed can often avoid that by changing the timing of the wheels hitting the strips. But it can also be caused (or exacerbated) by poor weight balance on the trailer and or hitch (if WD type), which increases the trailer chugging action. Others have advised on that already.

Hi Gary. I think you have nailed it on the head as I took the van for a shack down trip south of Houston and found the roads better down there and the chugging seemed to dissipate considerably although was still there. The first trip (bringing it home from the dealership) was empty so weight distribution should have been negligible. The shakedown trip was after I had moved in but still feel the van is fairly well balanced. The freeways around Houston a pretty bad with undulations hence your description of the van bouncing up and down on the ball nails what I am experiencing on the head.
Do you know of any specialist towing companies that could do a road test? Camping World is where I purchased it but they are useless.
Thanks Woody

 

[Wandering Woody]

What Hitch, as in, Equali-z-er, Blue Ox, Curt, etc. and the exact model. The correct spring bars are very important and it may have the wrong ones.

You would do well to have a 3 inch shank and no adapter. They are made, you just gotta look for them. Here is one by Bulletproof. It fits a 3 in receiver, and has a standard 2 inch vertical bar with 3/4 holes on 1-1/4 spacing for attaching the hitch head. This is an industry standard, and you can mount a hitch head from a bunch of different manufacturers on it. There are others. Depends on how much drop you need or can accommodate. This will eliminate much play in the hitch system.

It sounds like your spring bars are not tensioned correctly, that is why I am asking exactly which hitch brand and model and "weight" of spring bars you have.

Your trailer appears to be a 7985 GVWR and when loaded will have a tongue weight of 800 to 1200 lbs depending on how you load it. Expect about 1000 lbs (hey, for once the brochure is pretty much accurate!).

This means you need 1000 lb bars for the hitch. If the hitch is set up with 1500 lb bars and your tongue weight isn't that much, the bars are too stiff and won't absorb the porpoising of the trailer, which may be some of the push you are feeling.

Posting pics of the hitch may help

Charles

Thanks for your reply Charles, Below are the photos of the Curt Hitch. As this is the largest trailer I have ever pulled and the first time using a weight distribution hitch I am unsure of what to expect. Thank you for any advice you might have.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I'd start with getting the rig weighed in detail so you can determine the weight carried on the trailer hitch and the trailer axles as well as the total trailer weight and combined tow vehicle & trailer weight. Weigh it without the WD bars, though it wouldn't hurt to have weight both with & without WD.

 

[CharlesinGA]

That has to be one of the stranger WD hitches I have seen. I had to look it up to see what it was and how it worked. If it is this one, (which it appears to be judging from certain subtle physical characteristics), then it is a 1000 lb tongue weight hitch, probably Ok for the trailer.

It appears to use a standard shank however, so you still have the option to find a 3 inch one and attach the head to it. It appears that Curt does not make any 3 inch shank models, you would have to go to another brand shank, which your hitch will mount on.

The ball and bars stay with the trailer when you disconnect.

Charles

 

[Wandering Woody]

Yep .. that's the one. I thought it was a monstrosity as well when first saw it. Easy to hook up and disconnect though. Correct.. still have to find a 3" shank. Not hard .. just have to find the time.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Doing a Google search, there are not a lot of 3 inch shanks on the market. The Bulletproof I linked to in post #14 and it appears that Blue Ox makes a couple.

Charles