between the speeds of 45-50 my front axel starts to hop/bounce enough to shake the truck. it is not being caused by out of balance tires - it happens to both sets of wheels/tires i put on it. does anyone have any opinions on what may be causing this issue? its not enough to make me lose controll of the truck, but enough to make it really annoying as it happens every time i get to that speed.

 

Is your truck lifted / leveled? Running larger than stock sized wheels / tires?
Do a search on "Death Wobble" here also... May have more info that you're searching for..

 

That speed is usually a balance or tire issue. I have the same thing and re-balancing and rotating did nothing. I have an old "on the vehicle" Alemite Electronic Wheel Balancer, but I haven't used it on the truck yet. I am due for new tires and if the problem continues, I'll use it with the new tires. My theory is that the rotors or hub assemblies are causing the problem.

 

Those were some of the best wheel balancers out there and thousands came on the used equipment market in the early seventies because disk brakes had basically made them innefective on the front suspension of cars and trucks.
You can use them on disk brake equipped vehicles, but you either need to remove the brake calipers or somehow retract the pads.
Don't forget to put a dot of red or yellow paint on one lug stud and on the wheel rim to "key" the rotation of them together..

 

It is leveled, yes. My winter wheel/ tire combo is my stock wheels with stock size tires that were just rebalanced in the fall. I put aftermarket wheels the same size as stock on with over sized tires that were new/balanced when I put them on. Both combos drive the same, they hop between 45-50 mph

 

Some leveling kits don't restore the front end geometry to include the right amount of positive castor angle needed.. This might be what's going on with yours..

 

The leveling kit was done about 3 years ago, the wheel hop has been getting worse the last year or so

 

For some reason, they don't seem to start wobbling or hopping until there are a few miles on the suspension in that configuration. You might want to make a trip under the truck and make sure that everything is tight and tidy. If greasing all the joints makes the wobble better or go away for just a few miles, you know you have some wear in the joints...

I seem to recall also that some leveling kits did not drop the radius arms and track bars enough or at all.. That would make it worse..

 

Start with checking caster. I'd bet its unacceptable unless you have aftermarket radius arms or drop brackets. Very common problem that is often never addressed.

 

A good truck shop with a big alignment rack is where I would head to.

But before you do that lift each wheel just barely off the ground. Then use a long pry bar under the wheel and lift it just a little. This will require a helper to do that.

While that helper is lifting the wheel, crawl under and watch the suspension pieces for movement or slack. See if you have any worn parts at all those ball joints.

You might also check at least one shock. You will have to take it off though.

 

Ditto to what Senix said - only thing I'd add is to check the steering stabilzer, which is part of what senix calls the suspension pieces - but can be overlooked. Seems that the stock ones go bad and replacement with a better on has also helped cure the death wobble.

An alignment check can't hurt and some places will do them for free, since they know if you need an alignment you'll most likely hire them to do it.