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Truck wobbles back and forth behind a Semi

9K views 43 replies 16 participants last post by  sherdep 
#1 ·
Hey Fellow DT'ers,
Truck is an 04 4x4 Quad cab with just over 49,000 miles, I have a 2.5" add a leaf in the rear and I have the offset keys in the front but not cranked much at all.

I got behind a Semi tractor trailer doing 75 to 80 ish and I dont remember my truck ever feeling like it wobbles back and forth before .... I am thinking it is either Loose Ball Joints or Sway bar bushings but am looking for some input and advice before I go investigating my truck for loose or worn parts..... I have noticed over the last couple of months my truck seems to wonder on the road alot more then it used.

I dont drive it every day since I have a company Vehicle so it is like driving a new truck every time I get into it especially since my company vehicle is an 08 Honda Element which by the way is like a night and day diffrence
 
#2 ·
Sounds like you aren't quite getting in the "draft" of the semi and you have turbulence overtop the bed. Generally, there is a pocket of air that keeps the bed "down" and with that being disrupted, your rear end is likely to be loose feeling. It could be worn down tires, sloppy shocks, worn springs, bad ball joints, swaybar... the list goes on. My guess is that its your AAL and the stiffer suspension causing all of this but I may be completely wrong. Give everything a good look at one afternoon and see if there are any glaring signs of wear.
 
#3 ·
Sounds like you aren't quite getting in the "draft" of the semi and you have turbulence overtop the bed. Generally, there is a pocket of air that keeps the bed "down" and with that being disrupted, your rear end is likely to be loose feeling. It could be worn down tires, sloppy shocks, worn springs, bad ball joints, swaybar... the list goes on. My guess is that its your AAL and the stiffer suspension causing all of this but I may be completely wrong. Give everything a good look at one afternoon and see if there are any glaring signs of wear.
thanks for the input
I plan on giving it a good once over ... I am leaning towards Ball Joints or Wheel bearings
I might upgrade the sway bar bushing to Polyurethane
I also have a rear sway bar but the other day I noticed the bushings are wearing funny due to what looks like a mis-alignment which I dont remeber it being that way after the Add a leafs.

Shocks are Bilsteins
I have a tool box with a toneu cover fabricated over the bed
 
#4 ·
It is nothing to worry about, what you felt was the air coming off the trailer of the semi, it makes a buffeting action on the vehicle behind it and will cause the trailing vehicle be pushed from side to side.

As for the wandering part you need to have your front end checked for alignment and check your front tire wear, if your toe in is off a little bit the truck will wander, also don't confuse the truck pulling to one side with the crown in the road, a built in crown for drainage of the road is hardly noticeable but will cause the vehicle to pull a little to the right most of the time how ever I have been on some roads that would pull a little to the left if the road was old and heavy traveled.
 
#5 ·
lol....its just the air coming off the semi. Try doing the same thing if you have another car it will shake as well
 
#6 ·
the reason why I posted it is because I have been that close to a semi and couldnt remeber my truck ever doing that back and forth motion before ....... I guess maybe since I have been driving a company vehicle for so long I have lost touch with the way my ram drives I guess
 
#7 ·
That means your not close enough to his bumper! You have to get within a couple of feet to get the real smooth air.:D
 
#12 ·
stop worrying you say you have a company "car"
that is why you dont feel it because your not sitting so high in a "car"
you only noticed it behind a semi because you were behind a $EMI
I worry every time my truck makes any little noise but you have to let it go
 
#13 ·
Ive noticed mine wandering around on the road lately as well. I think i messed my alignment up when my front end was off the ground about 1ft or 2. Maybe your alignment is off along with something else?
 
#15 ·
well I wasnt drafting .... I was about 30 feet or so behind the truck
 
#16 ·
A lot depends on the truck some are very good with their wind management and don't effect surrounding traffic, some are not as good in their management of airflow and they make other vehicles around them move around.
 
#18 ·
This is true on side draft, not so much coming off the rear of the truck. Turbulence off the rear of most box vans is about the same, the only trailers that are a little different are the type with rounded clamshell doors occasionally seen on some enclosed car carriers.
 
#26 ·
You got that right. Alot of them are barely out of driving school before they are turned loose on the roads. There is quite a few pill poppin speed freaks, and meth heads too. On the flip side of that coin, there are a few that are from the old school. A quite few more are keeping the old school ways very much alive.
 
#23 · (Edited)
#25 ·
Thanks for looking but those wont work for 02 and up ... that setup is for the old style steering box and not for the Rack and Pinion.


75-80 MPH and about 30 FT off the back of a semi isn't 2 seconds, that is straight up tailgating. You should just consider yourself pretty lucky that the guy driving the semi wasn't like me. I hate that the most and you would have gotten a really quick wake up call with a brake check. You sure wouldn't be worrying about the truck shaking anymore, you would have been pulled over checkin your undies.........LOL.

DON'T TAILGATE AND YOUR SHIMMY WILL DISAPPEAR!!!

Johnnyk
WTF about everyone seems to be picking on other members about there driving ..... it isnt my driving that is in question here I asked about the back and forth and not about tailgating.:VHOT:
The same thing about another thread I saw where a member got a ticket for speeding and everyone jumped all over him for it..... I guess it is Tis the Season.
Call it what you like ...... there would be no undies checkin here cause I pay attention besides I was far enough off the back of the truck if he did hit his brakes I would have plenty of time to react, besides if I knew he was doing it to get my attention I would be driving right up along side of him and give a Blast of the Air Horns to let him know I was there and then forget it ever happened.
 
#24 ·
75-80 MPH and about 30 FT off the back of a semi isn't 2 seconds, that is straight up tailgating. You should just consider yourself pretty lucky that the guy driving the semi wasn't like me. I hate that the most and you would have gotten a really quick wake up call with a brake check. You sure wouldn't be worrying about the truck shaking anymore, you would have been pulled over checkin your undies.........LOL.

DON'T TAILGATE AND YOUR SHIMMY WILL DISAPPEAR!!!

Johnnyk
 
#30 ·
Because the economy sucks and everyone is stressing over it :thatfunny J/K ...... I bet if one of us knew the answer to that question that person would be Rich;)
 
#31 ·
Hey Fellow DT'ers,


I got behind a Semi tractor trailer doing 75 to 80 ish and I dont remember my truck ever feeling like it wobbles back and forth before......
I was about 30 feet or so behind the truck.....
And you don't think you were tailgating? You do what ever you like. Your a big boy after all. You'll make some lawyer happy one of these days.
 
#33 ·
Can ya give it a rest?

The driving school part you are right on in some cases. The drug use is no where near as rampant as it once was. Ive been in the industry for 7 years and things have changed alot. Random drug testing is one of the the best things that could have happened to this industry and many of the bad apples are gone or close to it there will always be people out there to serve as bad examples to the rest of us. Sorry for the thread hi jack, just wanted to throw that in there.:)
No Hijack taken .... Its all good
 
#39 ·
Yes we can all get along now ..... Maybe I was being a little uptight yesterday ;)
 
#40 ·
The Holiday season and all the added stress sometimes is too much for people and with everyone worried about everything this year I have seen lots of people lash out at others.
Glad to see everyone has taken a deep breath, please remeber "tis the season to be merry"
 
#41 ·
Was it windy that day? I flat out will not ride behind a semi on my motorcycle the wind pulse is just horrible. Usually the worse the wind is the worse it is for me to be behind them.
 
#44 ·
I dont think it was that I can remeber .... I know what you mean about being on a bike and being blasted by pulsing wind.
 
#42 ·
I would definitely get your steering rack looked at. When you say that one tire had a lot more play than the other, that set off a warning sign right there. Good luck in your search.

There, Thread back on Topic!!!! :D
 
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