jarmar
Livingston, Texas et al
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I have spent a bit of time searching for the wisdom of the past and found nothing. So...to the present wise sages. How important is to have the trailer level with the tow vehicle while moving down the road?
Hope to see you on the road.  Believe it or not! Time Well Wasted
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Old-Biscuit
Across the USA
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Level.....probably ideal.
A little nose high......OK
A little nose low.......OK
The problems can be seen in tire wear/uneven load on axles-tires/chucking due to light pin weight/excessive pin weight.
How much out of level are you?
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phillyg
Front Royal, VA
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There was a recent post about a triple-axle toy hauler FW that kept blowing out the rear set of tires. Most opined it was because of a nose high situation. My suggestion is/was to purchase an infrared thermometer and check tire temps after a long haul. If your weights on each axle are very uneven, it should show up in the tire temps.
2002 Keystone Cougar 286, 8,400lbs loaded, pulled with a 2004 F150 Supercrew, 5.4, 3.73 gears. Retired and enjoying life
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jalichty
Lander, Wyoming 82520
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When we picked up our new FW on Monday, the guys helping us get it hooked up told me we might be 1 1/2 inches high in the front. Said that was probably ok but too much higher would put more weight on the back wheels, leading to early failure as noted above. I was always worried about the refrigerator getting messed up while trailering short of level, but the newer ones are a bit more resistant to that type of abuse, so may not be a worry anymore.
John A. Lichty
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jarmar
Livingston, Texas et al
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phillyg wrote:My suggestion is/was to purchase an infrared thermometer and check tire temps after a long haul. If your weights on each axle are very uneven, it should show up in the tire temps.
Thanks for the responses. Interesting about the infrared, I have one and in using it I find that the tires on the rear axel are warmer. I have a shop here in Weatherford that is replaceing both axels for me because they are bent out of line. Seems like now is the time to lift the trailer a bit. It is reasonably easy to do. There are four options to raise each end of the axel. Have been having difficulty with uneven wear and lost several tires.
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fordsooperdooty
Southern California
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Level means less stress and strain on the truck and the 5er chassis too. It also correctly spreads the weights out evenly over all 4 axles of vehicle and trailer...and also the tires are all evenly loaded.
* This post was
edited 03/07/12 12:36am by fordsooperdooty *
My posts shouldn't be taken for factual data. They are purely fictional, for entertainment purposes and should not be constituted as actually related to scientific, technical, engineering, legal, spiritual or practical advice. Amen. 
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JIMNLIN
out here
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The equilizer bar allows the tires on a multi axle to step over obstacles. The advantages of the bar are many however it won't ditribute weight exactly evenly with a out of level front to rear condition. Nose high will add some weight to the last axle.
Also nose high, the amount mentioned, doesn't take weight off the the trucks rear wheels or hitch however nose high can cause handling issues mainly because of airflow under and over a trailer as it tends to lift the front of the trailer at highway speeds.
"good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" ............ Will Rogers
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retired-tech
flint mi
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i could be wrong on this but i doubt it. the reason for the equalizer between the springs is to keep the weight on both axles even. so unless you have an axle bottomed out you cannot have more weight on one than the other unless your suspension is not functioning properly. i do agree that having the front end high will take weight off of the hitch causing poor towing in the way of sway and chucking even loss of traction on the rear wheels of TV.
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Snowman9000
IL
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Make sure you are shooting for level with the ground, not with the truck bed rails. Measure from the trailer frame down to the ground.
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jarmar
Livingston, Texas et al
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Snowman9000 wrote:...level with the ground, not with the truck bed rails.
Good point. I have a level bubble on the side of the fiver which I use level the trailer when we park. If I am hooked up and on level ground, would this be a good general reference? I have noticed that it seems to indicate a nose up attitude.
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