TV rear shocks replacement + porpoising

Sylvain · November 22, 2019, 07:42:25 PM

Hello everyone,
It's a shame but I noticed that the rear shocks on our 2015 Silverado are leaking! Only 50000km (30000 miles)! Anyway I was wondering if replacing the shocks with higher quality ones would reduce the little popoising we are experiencing towing our 13QBB?

Thanks........Sylvain

Pinstriper · November 23, 2019, 01:53:56 AM

Bad shocks on that truck, with that trailer shouldn't account for significant porpoising.

Your tongue weight is probably way low. Have you gone and mounted stuff on the rear bumper of the trailer ?

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Sylvain · November 23, 2019, 10:35:56 AM

Well, there is not a lot of porpoising but a little bit when we hit a big bump on the road. It's not too bad. No weight added to the rear bumper. Most of the weight is on the front of the trailer with the memory foam mattress and all the stuff underneath the bed. But I should say that we travel fairly light weight. So you say that adding weight to the tongue does reduce porpoising? If so, I'll give it a try.

charliem · November 23, 2019, 10:45:48 AM

The real cure for porpoising is a WDH. Even with a truck you will get some. The WDH stiffens the hitch joint and makes the pair act like a single long vehicle. Greatly improves the ride.

Pinstriper · November 24, 2019, 07:41:21 AM

Quote from: charliem on November 23, 2019, 10:45:48 AM
The real cure for porpoising is a WDH. Even with a truck you will get some. The WDH stiffens the hitch joint and makes the pair act like a single long vehicle. Greatly improves the ride.

Eh...a WDH on a trailer that light and a full sized pickup ? Yeah, no.

Just figure out the tongue weight in the first place and make it between 10% and 15% of the trailer weight. Closer to 15% will be a more stable tow.

But...none of this is any excuse to continue running with damaged shocks on the tv.

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Merlin · November 24, 2019, 10:55:10 AM

Quote from: Sylvain on November 22, 2019, 07:42:25 PM
Hello everyone,
It's a shame but I noticed that the rear shocks on our 2015 Silverado are leaking! Only 50000km (30000 miles)! Anyway I was wondering if replacing the shocks with higher quality ones would reduce the little popoising we are experiencing towing our 13QBB?

Thanks........Sylvain

Since you have a known problem with the shocks, I'd start there. I suspect there are lots of good options for higher quality shocks on a Silverado and you can get good advice from the Tire Rack. Try shocks first, and if it doesn't solve porpoising, add tongue weight. And, a good way to add tongue weight is to get a weight distribution hitch! (If you don't already use one.) They are heavy! ——See posts below correcting that WDH weight statement.——-

Sylvain · November 24, 2019, 07:30:18 PM

Thanks everyone for your input. I will install better quality shocks on the truck this winter. It should improve the overall behavior of the truck. We also need to replace the TT battery. We may go with two 6v golf cart batteries so that will also add weight to the tongue. I guess will see from there! I would like to avoid the WDH as much as possible. I like to keep things simple!

Pinstriper · November 24, 2019, 08:45:58 PM

Actually, wdh lowers tongue weight and spreads it across the tv front axle and the trailer axles. Which is why tv tow ratings go up.

But then you have to worry about trailer axle load limits, plus of course the tv front end.

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Merlin · November 27, 2019, 09:53:14 PM

Quote from: Pinstriper on November 24, 2019, 08:45:58 PM
Actually, wdh lowers tongue weight and spreads it across the tv front axle and the trailer axles. Which is why tv tow ratings go up.

But then you have to worry about trailer axle load limits, plus of course the tv front end.

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I hate it when you're right. For some reason, I had never thought that all the way through before. Dope slap on me for my earlier post.

Pinstriper · November 27, 2019, 11:33:32 PM

One would think you'd be used to it after all these years.

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Chappy133 · November 29, 2019, 11:36:46 AM

I wasn't having the porpoising issue but added light bags to the rear shocks and that helped out a lot. My case was unique since the first owner of my F 150 put in front height adjustable shocks to level out the truck to his liking. He never towed with it so the lift bags keep my lights on the road. In my opinion helps in firming up the truck while towing too.

Sylvain · November 29, 2019, 09:45:54 PM

Ok thanks Chappy. I'll keep that in mind.

djsamuel · December 07, 2019, 01:29:01 PM

After about 90,000 miles, I put Bilstein shocks on my Ram 1500. Made a nice difference. The Ram always towed my 21BHS nicely, but the Bilsteins make a noticeable difference. Never had a white knuckle experience before, but the whole rig seems even more stable.

Sylvain · December 08, 2019, 10:00:33 AM

Ok thanks! I heard the Bilstein are great. I was also thinking about KYB Gas-a-Just shocks. The reviews seems to be good too.

GrampaKilt · December 08, 2019, 01:02:21 PM

Enjoying the repartee. Looking back, I enjoyed towing the 2014 14DB with my VW Jetta TDI equipped with a WDH and sway control more than my GMC 1500 (not to mention using a lot less fuel). The 14DB is just too light for the pickup although things have improved since I added batteries and double propane bottles to the tongue. I tried my WDH but it didn't make a noticeable difference. This year I'd like to try out just sway control. As I mentioned in another post, our best tow was when we moved with the TT packed to the ceiling with boxes. Big thumbs up for Bilsteins. GK