Not Blaming my Hawk but....

B

Brad's Dad

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Jul 7, 2010
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55
Location
Northern Wisconsin
I just returned from AK to WI after working there for the summer. Took my 2005 Hawk on my 2006 Tundra double cab and all went very well.

Once I got back towards the midwest with their concrete roads I developed (or noticed)a rapid bounce in the vehicle timed exactly with the size of the sections of concrete built into the highway. At 60 mph it seemed about like 2 bounces/second. This happened on older sections of concrete, went away completely on new sections of concrete and never happened on asphalt.

i watched other vehicles I passed or were passing me and couldn't see their vehicle or tires shaking but that might be hard to detect.

So my question is if others have had this happen with their rigs on these types of roads?

I have original factory shocks all around at just over 100K miles, Ride Rite air springs in the rear, a Hellwig rear stabilizer bar and Michelin load range E tires. My thoughts go to replacing the shocks which I will probably do anyway given the miles on my truck, but what have others experienced?

Thanks for any input,

Fred
 
Fred - Having a 2001 Toyota Tundra access cab with over 100k miles with TRD package and rear add-a-leafs and front leveling kit, I experienced the "bounce" or rather a rocking front to back motion in the truck with both a Flip Pac and now my FWC Eagle. I had the same thoughts of doing a suspension overall but realized this phenomenon only occurred on specific stretches of I-70 and 285 here in CO. I do think having the truck with either the Fli Pac or FWC exacerbated the trucks movement but I have since become aware that it is not the truck causing the issues but the stretches of road. Shocks with new life may certainly compensate for this bounce much nicer for those riding in the truck.
 
Replace shocks and what Kilroy said. Check out the H.D. Bilsteins
 
I get this sometimes, and I think people call it "porpoising." Usually helps to slow down a little (over 55 is when I get it on certain stretches). You might also be able to adjust the air in your Ride Rites. Given the age of your truck, it could be that the suspension is toast, but I get it with my 2012 Tacoma.
 
This same experience happened to me in August on highway just south of Florence , Oregon. The vehicle " hobby-horses" on the expansion joints (though I was on asphalt). Maybe asphalt over concrete.Thank goodness it only lasted for about a mile. Was going about 55 at the time and slowing down helped.
Truck has 18,000 miles suspension is pretty stiff.

Event never happened anywhere else in the state or in Calif.
 
To chime in. I also get that ride sometimes. It depends on the type of road and speed. Also If you are on a concrete interstate, the right lane is usually the worst.
I find that if I am having that problem and can I move over into the fast lane as long as there isn't any traffic.
That bounce was the main reason I got rid of the first truck that carried my Bobcat. It was a 2wd Ford Ranger small V6. The ride was really bad on some roads.
We really noticed it on I5 through Oregon and Washington.
The 02 Tundra has less bounce,but some is still there.
Not enough to get all upset about.
Frank
 
I occasionally get it with my RAM 1500 SB + Grandby. I attributed it to the center of gravity being so far back with the 8' camper on a short bed.
 
I have experienced this on my '06 Tundra w/Hawk. It can get really bad at times on certain stretches of Hwy between 55 and 65 mph. It is really unnerving. Glad to know that I'm not the only one with this problem. Dealer couldn't help.Tried more air in air bags, changing lanes, changing where I drive w/in the lane, none of which worked very well. Slowing down helps some. Never had the problem w/out the Hawk, but I don't drive that much w/out it either. 70,000 miles on my Tundra. Perhaps it is time for new shocks.
Gregg
 
KILR0Y said:
You can go to snopes and see that the frame flex video was staged, sorry... it was a ploy by Ford a few years ago to boost sales.
Yes the frame flex is there with the tundra, and it's a contributor to the OP's complaint, but not like Ford embellished in their video. There are some advantages to frame flex, it does make for a less rigid ride and lighter weight. There are also disadvantaged too.
It was good propaganda by Ford.
Sent from my SM-G900P using Wander The West mobile app
Click to expand...
It may have been staged but is was a long known issue before they exaggerated it in that video. I had a 7' hard sided camper on a 5.5' bed f150 crew cab, cg behind the axle. It drove solid as a rock on rough highways, meanwhile I'd pass tundras (both gens) with hallmark and four wheel campers and they would be porpoising horribly down the same road as I blew past them. I worked for a coal mining company for a while and one of the foreman had a later model tundra. It was sickening watching it drive around the rough mining roads. Even from the cab you could watch the body/bed twist and flex like crazy in the rear view mirror. It literally looked just like the commercials. The other company fords (f150 and super duty) were solid. The soft frames on Toyotas may provide a smoother ride unloaded but they suffer in other areas because of it.

Have someone drive your truck and camper down a road that causes this porpoising and drive next to it. You'll see the bed moving on a different plane than the cab.

I also think that relying heavily on air bags makes this worse since you are changing the way the weight is distributed on the frame.

Just my opinion...

Hopefully shocks help dampening it out, but you may just have to live with it unfortunately.
 
The nice thing about the fords is they are now putting heaters in the tail gages. That way when people are pushing them their hands don't get cold. :D
 
I replaced the rear factory shocks on my 2003 tundra at 96,000 and it made a big difference in highway driving. You don't realize they are bad until you see how well new ones help the drive. My rear ones were leaking oil. The rear ones are real tough to change with only a little slot above the frame and bed to get to the upper bolts. Good luck
 
bike4mee said:
I replaced the rear factory shocks on my 2003 tundra at 96,000 and it made a big difference in highway driving. You don't realize they are bad until you see how well new ones help the drive. My rear ones were leaking oil. The rear ones are real tough to change with only a little slot above the frame and bed to get to the upper bolts. Good luck
Click to expand...
And was your highway driving improved in the area of porpoising?
 
I felt the porpoising affect as soon as I got on the freeway with our 06 tundra, leaving the Woodland factory 2 years ago. I had already upgraded to bilstein shocks, and have Hellwig overload springs on top of the factory rear springs. Yes, it only happens with certain road conditions and usually at speeds above 50 mph. That first drive with the new camper, I pulled right off and added more air to the tires (Michelin LTX MS2s, load range E) and that seemed to help a little. The michelins have soft sidewalls. What helped even more was when I put a set of BFG All Terrain KOs on, the stiffer sidewalls maybe reduce that annoying rocking some. I've experimented with different tire pressures, usually run 60 or so in the front, 65 in the rear. I think the bottom line is the weight of the camper pretty much maxes out the payload rating of the first generation Tundras, and that porpoising on the freeways is the truck's way of telling us "no more weight, Please!"
Jim
 
Whenever I'm driving my F-250 on concrete, with or without the camper it happens. As soon as I reach an asphalt section it is a smooth ride. I have the camper and towing package and my Grandby appears to not have any affect on the drive. I haven't determined whether it is more pronounced with the camper on or not. My wife is usually only in the truck when the camper is on, and that bouncing drives her crazy.
 
It is my understanding that older concrete highways with the relatively short equal length sections of concrete have this problem. Apparently, it is caused by the combination of short sections and heavy trucks. Over time the repeated load of the heavy truck transition onto the next section results in compacted soil that allows the section to rock a small amount as a vehicle drives over it. Newer continuously cast concrete highways don't have the problem due to the length and newer construction.

If a small amount of height change is repeated near the resonant frequency of the truck/camper's combination of weight, suspension, the truck/camper oscillation can increase to become annoying. Change any of weight, weight distribution, shocks, springs, tire pressure, concrete section length and the speed at which the oscillation occurs also changes. That is why speeding up or slowing down makes a difference. You probably have noticed something similar when driving on washboard gravel roads. You can lose control of the vehicle if you drive at certain speeds. Faster or slower speeds reduces or eliminates the problem.

Back in the mid 70's when I was moving west from NC to the west coast, I ran into this around Charlotte NC in my CJ5 jeep pulling a trailer. Almost lost it until I slowed down below the speed limit where the problem was the worst for that vehicle combination and road.

My 2 cents. YMMV, yada yada. etc, :unsure:
Paul.
 
dowel bar retrofit is what states are doing to tie the slabs together to stop the rocking. Sections of our I-80 in Nevada has benefited from this construction and made the life extended and also made the road smoother.
 
I have had this problem before as well and have found that shifting some weight forward, to change the cg of the camper, has solved the problem.
 
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