hobbyhorsing issue in power wagon

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beachbunny

Member
the issue is hobbyhorsing or porpoising when hitting bumps in the highway around 60mph, front end just kinda bouncing around.
the truck is 2018 ram powerwagon with 1500# camper on back. carli 2.5 pintop suspension which is supposed to increase payload, hellwig swaybar and hellwig air bags on 37x12.5 nitto ridgegrapplers that are d rated, 8.5" wide aev wheels that have just been balanced again..
fellows that balanced tires said steering was ok.
so is it the 50 psi tires , not enough air in bags, ive tried running them from 30-60# and putting 60# in the tires,
maybe i just have not hit the right combo but i'm tired of the sinking feeling when i hit harmonic bumps in pavement,
tia
 
B

beachbunny

Member
hemifoot said:
trade those d rate grapplers in on a set of f rated.
Click to expand...
who makes those in a 37"?

just looked toyo, yup, they just started, i had been looking at e rated, thanks hemi'.
seems like a rabbithole trying to figure this out,
rear track bar, caster, steering box.
wanna figure this out before my drive
 
C

Climber Rob

Human
My first thought is the tires or the airbags. D-range flotation tires are pretty weak in the sidewall for that rig. I have also had issues with airbags when the front end suspension is on the soft- and higher-travel- side. The air bags firm up the rear so much that it's out of balance with the front. The rear transfers the energy back to the front too quickly, causing the front end to bounce, which is then out of phase with the rear at a different interval a second time, and the issue compounds itself.
 
B

beachbunny

Member
Climber Rob said:
My first thought is the tires or the airbags. D-range flotation tires are pretty weak in the sidewall for that rig. I have also had issues with airbags when the front end suspension is on the soft- and higher-travel- side. The air bags firm up the rear so much that it's out of balance with the front. The rear transfers the energy back to the front too quickly, causing the front end to bounce, which is then out of phase with the rear at a different interval a second time, and the issue compounds itself.
Click to expand...
that is what it feels like exactly, did you come up with a fix.? i would not like to have to drop back to 35z
 
C

Climber Rob

Human
It's two parts:
1: Run a load-range-E Metric or load-range-F flotation tire
2: Ditch the air bags and get a set of leafs made specifically for your loaded rig. Deaver is excellent, but there are also quite a few great smaller shops around.
 
tacollie

tacollie

Glamper
Betarocker said:
My thought was that the shock absorbers are not valved for the weight. Springs, be them leaf, coil or air, carry the weight. The shock absorbers control the action.
Click to expand...
It did on my F250. Even my Fox 2.5 DSC on the soft setting can't keep up. Turn the knobs a few clicks and everything is sweet! Carli's stuff is better for unloaded trucks. OP may need to get his revalved.

I think the tires are fine. Plenty of people are running D rated 37s without any issues even in trucks over 10k lbs. It still happened with my E rated 35s for the record.
 
nater

nater

Adventurer
Need more shocks... Common problem with the coil sprung 2500's with weight high up (ie, camper, etc). The airbags should help compensate for the spring rate, but you can also go to Carli's +2 rear spings (not on their website) - they are a higher spring rate than the standard carli +1 springs.

I would first attack the shocks - need more power!
 
BigBrokenZJ

BigBrokenZJ

Active member
I’m in the same boat with an ‘18 PW.

I bought it used with 40k and first thought blown shocks (oil leaking from oem’s). So I threw on a set of fox 2.0s. Same issue. It feels like the tail is wagging the dog, especially when turning and going over large bumps/washes/etc at highway speed (73mph seems to really be the sweet spot for a good sway). My next replacement was a thuren rear track bar.

This last trip I had too much extra gear for a cold trip. At highway speed I got enough sway to make the stability control tweak out. I’m over it. Looking for a solution.

I contacted thuren and he recommended a hellwig rear sway bar. It is on the way. Thuren said air bags wouldn’t help the situation.

My hunch is I’m hovering near gvwr when loaded and since a significant amount of the weight is above the bed rails (shell, tent, awnings, spare) it is causing issues.

I found this thread with some good info on a 5th gen trying to track down the issue.
https://hdrams.com/forum/index.php?threads/wobbly-power-wagon.6324/
 
Z

Zuber

Active member
At close to max GVW you are probably over powering your shocks. Give the Rancho 9000's a try, the adjustable damping works great for a wide range of loads. Not expensive, lifetime guarantee. I have had three trucks with these, set on 1-3 for empty, 7-9 for max load.
I loaded a 2700 lb water logged camper on one truck and I couldn't drive over 45 because of the hobby-horse action. So, I cranked up the damping and it drove like a sports car.
Sway bars will help only with tipping in corners, the left-right tip when you change lanes or swerve around kittens.
 
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