How To Stop Utility Trailer Bounce
If you pull an empty (or nearly empty) utility trailer, you probably know the feeling of utility trailer bounce. It’s that bumpy jolting extra bouncing you feelin the tow vehicle as you drive. Sometimes it feels like the trailer is just bouncing away behind you, yet it’s not, but really it is.
What Causes Trailer Bounce?
The simple answer is the suspension is too stiff for the load. There are other parts to it, like load balance and the axle position, but we’ll get to those in a minute. Basically utility trailer bounce happens when there is not enough compliance in the system for the current load.
If your trailer is rated at 3500#, and you’re pulling it empty (maybe 500# trailer weight), then the suspension is not going to compress much over a bump. Instead, it bounces — and sometimes keeps bouncing because full tires are like basketballs on the ends of the axle.
Remember, a trailer suspension is a system that includes both the springs (or rubber) and the tires.
Amplification
To make matters worse, depending on trailer length and where the axle is placed, when the car goes up and down over a bump, that teeters the trailer like a teeter-totter. The mass of the trailer frame wants to keep moving even as the shock absorbers on the car are trying to smooth things out. Then, the trailer tires go over the bump and the mass of the frame is excited again. All of this jostling makes pulling the trailer somewhat annoying, if not disconcerting.
Pulling a trailer in a truck with a stiff suspension also amplifies the effect. And, if the trailer is quite heavy and/or long, that makes things worse too. Finally, the smaller the tow vehicle (compared to the trailer), the greater the effect.
So, is there a way to fix it? Can we make it go away?
Utility Trailer Bounce Solutions
The focus here is on utility trailers because they are often pulled empty, then full, then empty. They also have a large difference in load from empty to full, so it’s often called “utility trailer bounce”. It happens with other trailers too, and what you are feeling is not only bounce, but all the movements of the trailer.
Can we fix it? The honest answer is NO. BUT, you CAN calm it down considerably!
Tire Pressure
The easiest way to reduce utility trailer bounce is to adjust tire pressure. By lowering pressure, the tires act more like a partially filled basketball and they bounce less. How much pressure? That depends on trailer weight, tire size, and tire type (trailer tires or automotive tires). In general, for an empty trailer, you can run half the normal pressure.
For one trailer I had with 225-70 R15 automotive tires, normal pressure was 35psi. Trailer empty weight was 400 lbs. When empty I ran 12-15psi which smoothed things out superbly. Automotive tires usually require a little more pressure because they have softer sidewalls. Radials especially.
Please don’t take my word on it, experiment with your trailer. Try reducing by 10psi, then go down in 5psi incroments until the bounce is acceptable. It won’t go away completely.
With very low pressures you run several risks of tire damage, so don’t go too low. It won’t wear the tire more quickly when the trailer is empty, so that’s not a problem, but a big bump can cause other trouble. Also, if you’re taking the trailer to pick up a big load, make sure you also carry an auxiliary tank or pump — because you DON’T want to haul a load with low tire pressure.
Other Options
There are some rubber inserts on some shackles that dampen some of the bouncing. They can be expensive, and limited in the effect they have.
If it’s practical, add a longer tongue or set the axles way back. These also reduce the bouncing you feel in the tow vehicle.
Torsion axles are a little better for bouncing than leaf springs, because rubber has a natural hysteresis. However, running empty you don’t deflect the torsion much (if any), so there is not much of an effect.
Also, tandem axles reduce bouncing some because they interact with each other to mitigate some of it.
Good Luck With ALL Your Towing !!
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May 27, 2018 @ 9:36 PM
sir I read all your articles and understood most of it , I have a 5×10 utility trailer with wood on the floor I’m driving to texas, so my question is , if I place 80lb bags of cement in the center of the trailer in front of the tires but not to far to the front will this give me more stability, or should I place one bag all the way to the front and follow it to the center of the tires and stop there for better stability , also I’m going faster 65 to 70
May 29, 2018 @ 8:22 PM
Good questions. If the tongue weight — the force from the trailer tongue on the hitch ball — is in the area of 10-15% of the total trailer weight, it should be good. There is more than just weight balance in the stability equation, but that’s a big part of it. If you have a choice, like with bags of cement, then low and in one tight group is a little better for bounce (as opposed to spread out all over the trailer), assuming the weight balance is exactly the same. That said, it’s not really a factor so much with stability. Enjoy your trip.