How to Prevent Porpoising in Honda Ridgeline Towing Camper

Updated 03/01/2023 | Published 02/27/2023

Products Featured in This Question

Air Lift 1000 Universal Air Spring Kit - Rear

(22)

$149.99

Tuson Trailer Sway Control System - Electronic - Up to 4 Axles

(49)

$513.87

Question:

Porpoising Prevention My wife and I will be driving through South Dakota in June this year. Last time we went through South Dakota we had a different tv and camper, but we experienced extreme porpoising on I80. We didnt have weight distribution because our camper was a light tear and shouldnt have required it. Now we have a Honda Ridgeline and a light weight fiberglass camper and are worried about porpoising happening again during our trip this year. Honda advises against using a weight distribution system on the Ridgeline due to it being a unibody construction and a weight distribution system adding extra stress to the reinforcement brackets that connect the bed to the cab. What options are there that wouldnt be weight distribution but would help prevent porpoising?

asked by: Daniel S

Expert Reply:

If by porpoising you mean you have front to rear bounce in your vehicle there are a couple things you can try. The first is making sure your trailer is loaded correctly. You want the weight to be properly distributed, with 10-15% of the loaded weight as the tongue weight. If you don't have enough tongue weight it can lead to this issue.

Another solution that can help is suspension enhancement. There aren't many options for the Honda Ridgeline and it varies based on the year. If you let me know the year of your vehicle I can see what is available. You could also go with a universal air spring kit like the Air Lift 1000 # AL60917, which will require measuring.

First, unload your vehicle to make sure it's at normal ride height. Then, measure the inside height of your coil spring, which will be from the upper spring seat to the lower spring seat. Lastly, measure the inside diameter of the spring at its widest point. Once you have these measurements, use the table below to find the correct kit by matching up your diameter and height values.

If you were talking about trailer sway, you could try electronic sway control since you can't use a weight distribution system with sway control. The Tuson Asymmetric Sway Control # 335TSC-1000 uses the brakes on your trailer to correct sway. It uses a proprietary algorithm to apply the left and right brakes independently when it detects sway to prevent it. If you experienced sway as well as the front to back bouncing you could combine this with the air springs.

expert reply by: Robin H