Ruff ride while towing.

[Kash<(")]

1990 4.0 4wd. I use this to tow the jet ski trailer around but I hook up the box trailer and it makes me nervous running 65. Any ideas why. I have had new shocks installed and new rear leafs within the last 2 years. I normally run around with 300 pounds of sand in the rear to make the ride nice and smooth normally. It's nothing obnoxiously heavy. Just a normal dump run on occasions with this trailer.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Trailers are stiffly sprung....and single axle trailers like that ride like shit.

Not really much you can do.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Being tongue high on the trailer probably doesn’t help matters.

Auto makers have gone through trying to get trucks to ride like Cadillacs. The end result is springs that are too soft to handle being worked. A truck should ride like a truck if you plan on working it.

 

[Curious Hound]

Make sure you have the proper tongue weight on your trailer. That will affect ride quality and handling.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Make sure you have the proper tongue weight on your trailer. That will affect ride quality and handling.

This is huge.

With your different bed also make sure the tires are not hitting the bed and you are not hitting the bumpstops.

Being tongue high on the trailer probably doesn’t help matters.

Auto makers have gone through trying to get trucks to ride like Cadillacs. The end result is springs that are too soft to handle being worked. A truck should ride like a truck if you plan on working it.

I doubt that is the issue here and overall it is not as big of an issue as people want it to be.

 

[Curious Hound]

This is huge.

With your different bed also make sure the tires are not hitting the bed and you are not hitting the bumpstops.



I doubt that is the issue here and overall it is not as big of an issue as people want it to be.

Yeah. It looks high. But not high enough to be a problem. High is better than low.

 

[pjtoledo]

put the sand up front by the cab.
the axle acts like a fulcrum, any weight behind the axle will try to lift the front. that throws balance & handling off.

you might want to crawl under and look at what holds the bumper to the frame. it ain't much and your adapter is making it worse.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

put the sand up front by the cab.
the axle acts like a fulcrum, any weight behind the axle will try to lift the front. that throws balance & handling off.

you might want to crawl under and look at what holds the bumper to the frame. it ain't much and your adapter is making it worse.

If the truck needs counterweight added the trailer is too heavy, it should really be removed while towing.

10% of the trailer weight should be on the ball. It should limit out at about 450lbs as most older Rangers top at around 4500lbs for towing capacity. However that flat bed will be eating into that because it is heavier than the original sheetmetal bed.

 

[Li'l Work Truck]

I can see what the issue is right away. That tow hook is intended for low speed tows by a lawn tractor. Your instability is multifaceted. You've got a ton of flex at the rear, and when your trailer hits a bump, that rear bumper hitch mount plate flexes, and the hook flexes, because the force of the suspension isn't controlled. This causes the trailer to yank on the hook over bumps, so you'll get a feeling of instability. Any time you stop, you'll get the same thing, only the trailer will use its rear-biased, downward rake to shove up on the back of the truck.

Essentially, what absolutely works as a quick remedy for trailer relocation for a short distance also becomes part of the suspension of the combined vehicle at highway speeds. A frame-mounted hitch will remedy this.