Capvin
Hutchinson Island, Florida
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I am brand new with fifth wheels. Had TT for many years and just switched and I am having some problems. First when I first picked up the 5'er it was not trailering level. In fact it seemed quite high in the front. In measuring the front of the trailer to the ground the distance was 61" when hooked up and 57 1/2" when unhooked and about level. I had one adjustment hole in the pin box that would drop the front about 2" and when I did that I discovered that it seemed to be better but NOW when hooked up the distance between the bed rails of the truck and the top of the trailer are 5" and go down to 4" at the rear. I am thinking that it should be OK unless I go on some very uneven roads, but what are my options?
2011 Silverado 2500HD
2008 Glendale Titanium 25e30
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pcm1959
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Not a lot you can do. It seems to be a common problem with most brands of trucks and fivers. We have a stock 2011 Silverado HD with the factory 18 wheels. All fifth wheel hitch manufacturers recommend a minimum of 6 inches of bedrail clearance. Sounds like you have already adjusted the pin box up to lower the trailer. The only other thing to do is make sure the trailer springs are in the lowest holes on the frame in the event there are other holes. Our Carriage has 2 holes on each frame bracket. Using the lower holes will raise the rv a bit and help level it out, too. Good luck, Phillip
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bpounds
Whittier CA
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I wouldn't be happy with only 4" of bed clearance. You risk banging those even when entering driveways at an angle. So first thing I would do is raise it back up to where it was. The load the trailer up with all your stuff, if you haven't already. Take it out and see how it pulls, and while you're out, hit a CAT scale and weigh the individual trailer axles. See if the rear is heavier, and if so how much. Is it overloading the rear axle or tires? If not, and if it pulls okay, then you might choose to leave it.
If it doesn't pull right, or the axle/tires are overloaded, then you'll need to lift that trailer. I am sure the springs are already on top of the axle, but there are other ways to lift trailers. Some are adjustable in the shackle hangers as mentioned above.
3-1/2" out isn't as bad as some I've seen, but it would be good if it were closer to level.
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Billieg2
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Your only option is to raise the trailer. If your unit is not level you will have chucking and if it's high in the front you are putting added weight on the rear tires. I've heard of flipping the axles or getting longer hangers but I've never done either. Good luck.
In my life I've spent my money on women, booze, Harleys, guitars and traveling, the rest I just wasted...
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hook47
Olympic Peninsula, WA, USA
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If your 5er suspension doesn't have provision to lower the suspension thereby raising the 5er you could "flip the axles". What really happens is you place the axles under the springs if the axles currently are on top of the springs. Do a search and you will probably come up with a better definition. RV repair facilities and truck/trailer repair facilities should be familiar with the process.
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Capvin
Hutchinson Island, Florida
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No, I am not too happy with only 4 inches of clearance at the rear. But, also, I was really unhappy with it previously when it was really not level. I did not need to load it to see that it was placing too much of an uneven weight on the rear axle. I just took the guess that it was safer to have less clearance from rails to 5'er then to be pulling it while it was not very level. My guess from the suggestions is that I can probably raise the 5'er an inch or two and that would increase the rear clearance so that I would probably have about 5 1/2 inches overall for clearance from rails to 5'er.
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laknox
Arizona
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Capvin wrote:No, I am not too happy with only 4 inches of clearance at the rear. But, also, I was really unhappy with it previously when it was really not level. I did not need to load it to see that it was placing too much of an uneven weight on the rear axle. I just took the guess that it was safer to have less clearance from rails to 5'er then to be pulling it while it was not very level. My guess from the suggestions is that I can probably raise the 5'er an inch or two and that would increase the rear clearance so that I would probably have about 5 1/2 inches overall for clearance from rails to 5'er.
Only 3 real options, depending on how your FW is set up. If you have extra holes, drop the springs to the lowest holes in the spring hangars; this should give you 2-3", depending on the spacing. If the springs are under the axle, remount the spring over the axle; this will give you about 3-4". There are kits you can buy to do this yourself, or many RV shops will do this as a matter of course. (If the axles are already underneath, you can also get longer u-bolts and add a spacer, but you're pretty limited in how much you can gain.) In an extreme case, you can cut off the spring hangars and add longer ones or have an entire sub-frame built to space the hangars down.
Lyle
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millesecond
wisconsin
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Yup, I had the same problem with my 2011 GMC 3500. I removed the box untill I find a better solution. I wish the factory offered a rear suspension lowering kit
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Bipeflier
Centralia, MO
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These replacement shackles will lower it 1" or 2". Cheap also.
Lowering Shackles 2500HD
* This post was
edited 07/06/12 07:23pm by Bipeflier *
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Capvin
Hutchinson Island, Florida
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I think I like the idea of trying to raise the fifth wheel rather then lowering the truck. I do not know why, but I do not like the idea of lowering the truck.
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