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laknox
Arizona
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Joined: 01/06/2008
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In my experience, my '02 2500 D'max towing my '04 Komfort 25FSG (29'3" nose to tail, 11,360 GVW) chucked a bit, sometimes pretty hard. I =was= towing nose-high as I needed bed clearance for some of the backroad spots we camped at. My one real regret with that trailer was that it could have used an axle flip to reduce the nose-high attitude, but I never did it. Not sure how much it would have helped, but everyone I talked to said it would. If the OP's FW doesn't have the springs over the axles, that would be a place to start, for sure. Not all that expensive to do. The one recommendation that =everyone= said to do on a flip, was to weld the new spring perches onto the axles or you risk them slipping.
My Komfort did have shocks but, IMO, they were next to useless due to the angle of their attachment. They were nowhere near vertical. Had I flipped the axles, I'm sure they would have been a lot more effective. My '17 KZ doesn't have them, and I wish it did.
FWIW, new shocks on the truck helped somewhat, but not a whole lot.
Lyle
2022 GMC Sierra 3500 HD Denali Crew Cab 4x4 Duramax
B&W OEM Companion & Gooseneck Kit
2017 KZ Durango 1500 D277RLT
1936 John Deere Model A
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Durb
NW
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The last two suggestions are good. Shocks on the trailer reduces the tendency of the trailer to rotate. Filling the water tank has two advantages; Causes the truck to squat a little more and reduces the hitch angle plus increases the polar moment of inertia reducing the rotation of the trailer. Higher quality axle equalization also reduces the tendency to rotate.
Towing nose high is a no-no as it increases the hitch angle. The greater the hitch angle, the more chucking forces relative to bouncing forces that are created by the trailer.
Another cheap but not advisable solution is to put on air bags and harden the rear axle of your truck. You would have to pump your pin box to the max. This would cause your trailer not to rotate and would reduce the chucking forces (fore-aft). The problem is the trailer is still generating the forces and they are now being absorbed by the frame plus all the truck generated forces are being transmitted to the trailer frame and its welds.
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Cummins12V98
on the road
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FIRST thing is know your loaded weights. Now what does your rear axle weigh? Look up your weight/inflation chart for your specific tire size and load range. Find the tire weight suggestion for that tire and add 5psi. How does that number compare to the pressure you are running.
I am willing to bet your rear tires are over inflated.
2015 RAM LongHorn 3500 Dually CrewCab 4X4 CUMMINS/AISIN RearAir 385HP/865TQ 4:10's
37,800# GCVWR "Towing Beast"
"HeavyWeight" B&W RVK3600
2016 MobileSuites 39TKSB3 highly "Elited" In the stable
2007.5 Mobile Suites 36 SB3 29,000# Combined SOLD
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jffnkrn
peoria
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yeah, yes, uh huh, yeppers etc to all the above.
We have a similiar issue, only on nasty roads, example 89 norht of Flagstaff Arizona. first off, we are loaded and weight distributed pretty good, overall, and extra 1000 lbs available, proper hitch etc. have right at 2000ish on the truck, towing capacity is 14k. So we do two major things. Keep an eye on the traffic in front of us, when you see them fly off the pavement becasue of dips etc, slow down!!! ON roads we are familiar with we just need to keep it slow for a while in the bad areas, maybe all the way down to 40 or so MPH. Good Luck.
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laknox
Arizona
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I remember reading on here years ago, about a guy that got a ticket on I-5 in the Central Valley, for "camping" in the left lane. He took it to court and said that the abysmal conditions of I-5 forced him to use that lane or risk damage to his truck and trailer. IIRC, they had already documented damage caused by road conditions on I-5 and CALTRANS had actually paid off a bill where he'd destroyed all 4 tires and wheels on his FW from hitting a huge crack. Judge tossed the ticket but also suggested that they travel other roads.
Lyle
* This post was
edited 09/17/23 04:51pm by an administrator/moderator *
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Thermoguy
Graham, WA
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Reading through these suggestions there is not much about the hitch as it relates to the rear axel of the truck. Where is yours, do you have the ability to move the hitch forward or back, up or down?
I have a B&W Companion which has lots of adjustments. When we first got our 5th wheel, the chucking was awful. Our first real camp trip was to Yellowstone, so every night after evaluating the ride, I would adjust the hitch as it relates to the truck bed, forward, up, back, down, etc. Finally found the location where it rides the best and haven't adjusted it since. I do think it rides better with a tank full fresh water, probably takes some weight off the hitch. I have never weighed the trailer separately, only with the truck attached, so can't help you there. But, if you can, try adjusting the hitch in the bed before spending money on shocks, fixes, that might not work.
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