seansma
Schaumburg, IL
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Joined: 03/27/2008
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We just bought our first trailer. It's a 2008 Fleetwood Utah and we towed it with my 2004 Chevy Venture. Driving it home from the dealer was a nightmare. The ride was so bumpy that we were all nauseous by the time we got home and it was only a 40 minute drive with a stop along the way to eat. I cannot imagine a long trip driving like this. What can we do to get a smoother ride?
Thanks so much!!
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2manytoyz
Central FL
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Joined: 06/16/2002
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I had the same problem with a previous Nissan truck towing a Popup I owned. The biggest improvement to the ride was from airing up the tires from the recommended pressure on the vehicle's door jam, to the maximum rating on the sidewall. Much of the bouncing I was experiencing was from sidewall flexing.
I then upgraded the rear shocks of my tow vehicle, and that took care of almost all of the issue.
I later added a topper, which made the truck sit a little low in the back when hitched to the trailer, despite only being at about 50% towing capacity. I added air shocks to level up the truck, and the towing performance was excellent after that.
Robert
Cocoa, FL
2007 Rockwood TT 2502
Equalizer Hitch
Prodigy Brake Controller
2005 Nissan Xterra
2006 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
Yamaha EF2400iS
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kknowlton
Wisconsin Border Country, IL
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Joined: 05/27/2005
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It might be too light on the tongue; perhaps loading the camper differently will help.
If roads are rough, trailers can sometimes exaggerate the bouncing. Weight distribution hitches help, but not sure that's called for (or even advisable) in your case.
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Chuck&Gail
In the Colorado Mountains
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Joined: 06/16/2004
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Try for a tongue weight of about 13% of what YOU ACTUALLY GET WHEN WEIGHING FULLY LOADED trailer. Note unloaded new trailers usually ride bad, much worse than when properly loaded.
If your pop-up can use one, a WD hitch often helps a lot. Our first enclosed TT (not a pop-up) was only 2500# fully loaded, but it sure towed better when we added a WD hitch.
Chuck
Wonderful Wife
Lovely German Shepherd.
1999 Mercedes ML320 TV
2003 Wanderer 187TB Toybox (3620# UVW, 4800# loaded)
Not yet camped in Hawaii, 4 Canada Provinces, & 2 Territories.
I can't be lost because I don't care where this lovely road is going
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troll3193
SouthWest, MI USA
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Joined: 07/07/2004
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kknowlton wrote:It might be too light on the tongue; perhaps loading the camper differently will help.
I would concur. I have a couple of small trailers that are just down right lousy to pull , even with my big truck, when they are empty because they are too light on the tongue...
Bryan
2006 RAM 3500 MegaCab w/Cummins Turbo Diesel
Mopar Exhaust Brake
2004 Dutchemen 31BK
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Terryallan
NC
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Joined: 06/28/2004
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troll3193 wrote:kknowlton wrote:It might be too light on the tongue; perhaps loading the camper differently will help.
I would concur. I have a couple of small trailers that are just down right lousy to pull , even with my big truck, when they are empty because they are too light on the tongue...
Bryan
Fleetwoods are well known for being light on the tongue. They are also known for swaying. So load the tongue. Could cure many problems.
Terry & Shay
Pioneer 23T6
04 F150, 5.4, Lariat SuperCab
Lazy Campers
NC
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Guest
USA
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Joined: 08/02/2004
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Your Utah has a front trunk designed to hold a bunch of gear (150# worth). They also expect you to have a battery and a full tank of LP on the tongue.
If you lacked these things coming home with a brand new empty trailer, that will sure make you light on the tongue!
Second possibility to check is to make sure they took off the transit straps under the trailer. They sometimes compress the leaf springs to avoid the pup bouncing off the transit truck. Dealers have been known to forget to remove them!
Concrete roads unfortunately are often just like that. Vary your speed and find one that minimizes the resonance. Suck it up until you get to an asphalt overlaid section. Shouldn't be a problem there.
Good luck!
P.S. Your Venture's owner manual towing section will probably tell you you need to have the trailer brakes hooked up through an electric brake control and you need a weight distributing hitch for trailers over 2,000#. Did your dealer tell you all this?
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seansma
Schaumburg, IL
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Thanks to all for the great advice. Being that the trailer was completely empty, it certainly didn't have much tongue weight. We do have a full LP tank, but no battery yet. Once the trunk gets loaded, I'm hoping to see improvement. We do have a sway bar and the electronic brake control (which hubby still needs to learn how to get just right), but no one ever mentioned a weight distributing hitch.
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Terryallan
NC
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Fact is. If the tongue is light. If the back of the TV is not sagging. No need for a WDH
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Guest
USA
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And that would be great if they only tow an empty camper. Not very useful though, is it? 
Once you load up the trunk and install the battery I think your ride will smooth out and the rear of the van will sag down. Easily fixed with a $300 Reese 400 single bar weight distributing hitch (and you can still use the sway bar you have).
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