Rough ride when pulling camper

Jerry Lee · October 8, 2018

I traded a 2015 Silverado 6.2 two wheel drive 1500 for a 2017 Sierra Denali 6.2 four wheel drive 1500 and occasionally pull a 7,500 pound bumper pull camper. The Chevy did ok but the GMC rides extremely rough. Could the magnetic shocks cause this? It rides normal when the trailer is not connected. It feels like the rear end has bottomed out when pulling the camper but the truck appears to be fairly level. I have tried different settings on the hitch and none have helped. Suggestions?

jguzek · October 8, 2018

Following... I Have a 2018 Sierra Denali Standard Bed and I'm looking to buy a 7000-8000 lbs travel trailer in the coming months. Are you using any type of load leveling hitch. What is the hitch weight of your travel trailer? Interesting that it rides different than your Chevy.

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GMC_SD_Ult_16 · October 8, 2018

I have a 16 Denali 6.2L with MRC in a CCSB 4X4..i haul a 7k trailer and don't have any issues with it riding rough.

Do you have a WDH with stabilizer (weight distribution hitch) and is the trailer riding level when hooked up? I do have a WDH and it does make a big difference in how it helps control the trailer.

Have you taken your truck to a weigh station to see how balanced your load is?

From what I read the Denali loses some of its carry capacity versus other models due to extra weight for all the different add-ons as well. It could be your pushing the limits more?

Other than the items noted above I am not sure why switching has caused you the issues if the trailer is the only item to change but these are some of the items I would check out. These are just my blind guesses if I am missing some thing please let me know.

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Jerry Lee · October 8, 2018

I do have a Weight Distribution Hitch and I thought I had it up as far as I could and it rode really jerky so I loosened it some but then it felt like it was bottoming out.

The truck was used when I got it and not sure the previous owner might had changed something. With the camper connected I looked at the distance between the top of the rear axel to what I assume is a rubber bump block on the frame that is about 6” in length with a rubber boot covering it and the distance between it and the axel is about 6”. Does your truck have a bump block that long?

If the above is the same as yours, I will try tightening the WDH even more and see what happens. I’ve got the chains in the third link as I did with the Chevy. I can’t take this ride much longer! Thanks for your reply.

Jerry Lee · October 21, 2018

Update 10/21/18. Just returned from a 1300 mile trip pulling the camper mentioned above. I adjusted the weight distribution bars from 2 links in the chains to 4 links by lifting the back of the truck pretty high using the trailer tongue jack. I think it rode a little better but not much. At least not nearly as well as my old Silverado did. I’m thinking that maybe the backend is possibly bottoming out even with the WD adjusted as much as I can. The distance between the rear axle and the frame bumper pad is about 4” or 5” with or without the camper. I’ve got the hitch ball as high as I can get it to make the camper close to level. I had the ball about midway with the Chevy. I can’t take that rough ride and will have to trade the truck if I can’t solve this problem. Any help will be appreciated. Can I adjust the magnetic shocks?

GMC_SD_Ult_16 · October 23, 2018

Jerry , I don't know quite what to tell you. With my wdh in place my back end drops about 1/2 inch max but mine is a Husky brand and does not have the chain design.

Do you know if the previous owner had a lift or anything that adjusted the the magneride shocks sensor location? I know if it was adjusted due to lift and you added the weight of the trailer I have to imagine something would be acting very poorly. I am not quite sure how to check if the sensor is in stock location or how much the changed, if it is moved, it would be affecting you with/without a load. Just shooting out ideas.

I have seen some complaining about the magnerides prematurely failing. If you have that situation in early stages it could be much pronounced with a RV load.

Best of luck in figuring it out.

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Jerry Lee · October 24, 2018

Thanks for the reply and suggestions. The truck now has 26,000 miles and I have been under it and have inspected everything I can think of. The truck rides as good empty as I could ask for. Like you, I wonder if there is any way to adjust the shocks and have done a lot of reading with no luck. I examined some pictures of the rear end of a truck like mine someone had in a post and mine appears to be just like his. If you or anyone else have more suggestions, let me know. This problem has me at wits end!

Rukus · October 24, 2018

Where do you have the weight in the trailer? Forward or rear?

I added airbag weight/spring assist. I tow and air up based on weight. Rides like nothing is back there now.

Jerry Lee · October 25, 2018

Thanks Rukus. Is your pickup the same as mine with Magneride? I’m not saying the shocks are the problem but don’t know. The tongue weight on the camper is the same now as it was when I pulled it with the Chevy. I don’t know how much it is but guessing 650 lbs at most. I got under the truck and looked and even without the WD bars attached the back of the truck is not sitting low! It feels to me like maybe the shocks are locking up when the trailer is attached. I wonder if there’s a way to disconnect the Magneride just to see if that could be the problem? Does your air bags bolt to the top of the axle under the bumper stop? Do you raise the back of your pickup higher than normal? I attached a picture of my axle with the trailer attached.

jguzek · October 25, 2018

Hey Jerry,

I have a 2018 Denali standard bed with Magnaride and I tow a 6000 lb travel trailer without any issues. Loaded tongue weight is about 650 lbs. The ride feels the same with and without the trailer, although you know the trailer is there.

The 22in rims certainly cause you to feel every pebble in the road, but I've never felt like the shocks were stiff or bottoming out.

I also tow the same trailer with a 2012 Yukon XL and the larger side wall of the 20in tires does help.

What size are your rims compared to your old chevy?

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Jerry Lee · October 25, 2018

Thank you for your reply and help. My 17 Denali is like yours and has Bridgestone P285/45/R22 tires. The Chevy also had 22” but I don’t remember the brand. Before the Chevy, I had a 2014 Yukon XL 5.3 and it rode really well pulling this same camper but the 5.3 was too weak. With the WD set at 2 links on the chains it feels like the backend is bottoming out and with 3 or 4 links it feels like the back of my seat is hitting me in the back like a large bob truck I drove one time in the past! The Chevy LTZ rode much much better with the camper but not as well as this Denali without the camper. This Denali rides almost like a car and that’s what I wanted. Plus, I love the lane assist! I don’t think the brake assist works, or I’ve never had it do anything when I approach the rear of a car at a red light. It’s turned on the best I can tell. I plan to start another post about that later. I’ve attached a picture of the truck and trailer. It appears the back of the truck is low but it had 4” between the top of the axle and rubber bump stop.

jguzek · October 25, 2018

Jerry, I'm sure you're already aware of this but there is a setting in the radio to turn off Forward collision system.

There is also Front Collision Alert button on the steering wheel that sets the sensitivity.

Maybe you have the feature turned off or its set to low to be effective.

Rukus · October 27, 2018

No, I do not have the Mag ride system. However, I know several that do and none have really liked the set up while towing. Part of this reason I was turned on by the assist set up was their recommendations. It seems to me that your springs are weak. The shocks should not be offsetting the load that much.

Pearl2017 · October 27, 2018

The WDH is not for setting the the ride height or smoothing out the ride. Its job is to virtually shift some weight forward of the rear bumper over the rear axle. Adding too much WDH is dangerous, if you lift off the throttle abruptly and hit the brakes the rear wheels can unload and jackknife more easily.

Your answer is to set the WDH correctly and if the suspension sags install some air bags to get ride height back and assist the springs to carry the load. I tried Sumo springs first and didn't like the ride and have the airlift now are way better ride.

Edited October 27, 2018 by Pearl2017

Jerry Lee · October 27, 2018

Thanks for the replies. After more observation I have noticed the rear of the truck is not bottoming out because there are no signs where the rubber bump stop has hit the top of the axle flange. Evidently the rear springs are either too stiff or the mag shocks are trying to stop any bounce but I can’t figure out which. Any suggestions on how to diagnose the problem? On the next trip I will adjust the WDH back to normal. It didn’t really help to adjust it up higher anyway and I sure don’t want to increase odds of an accident! Winter time is coming here in MS and I may wait until spring to do anything but this problem is keeping me awake at night trying to figure out what to do. I’m thinking of removing the shocks and testing them to be sure they will travel the full stroke distance and if so see if I can disconnect them for a test. If the shocks are not the problem I will probably trade it for something else even though I know I will lose a bundle of dollars! I just can’t take another long trip with the camper! I love the Denali other than this.