Towing level with the 5th wheel

[Bman916]

Hello,

I just got a 2015 carbon 357 (39' long) and pulling it with my 4x4 truck with air bags. I have the pullright superglide hitch. When I am hooked up to the 5th wheel the front of the coacjh (at the front landing gear) is 27" off the deck and the rear of the coach is 20" off the deck. Thats a 7" rake on the coach.

My truck sits at 42.5" unhooked and 39" when hooked up. At 80psi in the bags I get the truck back up to 42". The axel sits under the spings on the trailer already.

How bad is a 7" rake when towing? Do i need to add blocks? I stoped by the place that installed my hitch and they want to add a 2" block on each axel....

I did pull it to Dixon to the CAT scale and back to Rocklin ( about 80 miles round trip and it seemed to pull fine

[carwheel_09]

What is the distance between the top of the bed and the bottom of the rig? If it's greater that 6" you may me able to adjust hitch height or raise the pin box. I'd look at this first.

[Bman916]

Originally Posted by carwheel_09

What is the distance between the top of the bed and the bottom of the rig? If it's greater that 6" you may me able to adjust hitch height or raise the pin box. I'd look at this first.

The hitch is fixed and can not be adjusted. the pin box is also maxed out. messing with the trailer axels would be the only thing i could do

[sw342]

Originally Posted by Bman916

Hello,

I just got a 2015 carbon 357 (39' long) and pulling it with my 4x4 truck with air bags. I have the pullright superglide hitch. When I am hooked up to the 5th wheel the front of the coacjh (at the front landing gear) is 27" off the deck and the rear of the coach is 20" off the deck. Thats a 7" rake on the coach.

My truck sits at 42.5" unhooked and 39" when hooked up. At 80psi in the bags I get the truck back up to 42". The axel sits under the spings on the trailer already.

How bad is a 7" rake when towing? Do i need to add blocks? I stoped by the place that installed my hitch and they want to add a 2" block on each axel....

I did pull it to Dixon to the CAT scale and back to Rocklin ( about 80 miles round trip and it seemed to pull fine

80lbs in the bags must have made it ride like a brick. I put enough in to get it off the overloads. I run anywhere between 35-45 lbs. I can run with just 5lbs and rides real nice, but I don't like the seat of the pants vibration I get from being on the overload bump stops. I would start by running less air in the bags, adjust pin box and 5th wheel hitch. I shoot for the biggest gap I can get between the bed rails and bottom of 5th wheel with maintaining the rig as level as possible. In the future I could see doing a 2" lift, maybe correct track, so I can gain more than 7" clearance between bedrails.

The 49ers truck stop off I-80 also has CAT scales, so next time you don't have to drive all the way to Dixon, unless of course you want to.

[Bman916]

Originally Posted by sw342

80lbs in the bags must have made it ride like a brick. I put enough in to get it off the overloads. I run anywhere between 35-45 lbs. I can run with just 5lbs and rides real nice, but I don't like the seat of the pants vibration I get from being on the overload bump stops. I would start by running less air in the bags, adjust pin box and 5th wheel hitch. I shoot for the biggest gap I can get between the bed rails and bottom of 5th wheel with maintaining the rig as level as possible. In the future I could see doing a 2" lift, maybe correct track, so I can gain more than 7" clearance between bedrails.

The 49ers truck stop off I-80 also has CAT scales, so next time you don't have to drive all the way to Dixon, unless of course you want to.

The 49ner was broken when i got there so Dixon was the next closest

[carwheel_09]

Did you weigh the trailer axles separately? My concern would be the rear axle carry a lot more of the weight than the front axle. If there isn't a large difference tow it for awhile and she how it works out.

[C130]

Which Superglide hitch do you have? I used the one that fits the industry standard rails and they sit higher than the regular Superglide hitches do. I really like my Superglide but didn't like the fact that it didn't have any vertical adjustment. Probably doesn't matter but something I found out after installing my hitch. I was then wishing I had bought the entire Pullrite system, their rails and normal hitch. My trailer was fairly level but I would have liked to get the front of the 5th wheel down another couple of inches which seemed to be about the difference between the regular Pullrite Superglide hitches and the industry standard hitch.

[Bman916]

Originally Posted by C130

Which Superglide hitch do you have? I used the one that fits the industry standard rails and they sit higher than the regular Superglide hitches do. I really like my Superglide but didn't like the fact that it didn't have any vertical adjustment. Probably doesn't matter but something I found out after installing my hitch. I was then wishing I had bought the entire Pullrite system, their rails and normal hitch. My trailer was fairly level but I would have liked to get the front of the 5th wheel down another couple of inches which seemed to be about the difference between the regular Pullrite Superglide hitches and the industry standard hitch.

I have the 18k #2900 with the OE Series indusrty Ram standard adapter #4439. Mounts to the tow prep package the truck came with. No play what so ever.

[C130]

I used the model 2900 18K (without adapter) also in my F250 but doesn't it set on top of the adapter therefore making it set up even higher? I have the Ford factory 5th wheel prep on my new truck and looked in to using an adapter. I was told it sits on top of the adapter which would make it at least another inch and a half higher and it set about an inch or two too high as it was in the F250. The 2900 sits higher as it is plus the adapter would make it a very high hitch, at least in the Fords it does. I have a friend with a traditional Superglide in same model F250 and it sits at least a couple of inches lower than the ISR 2900 model. Maybe the Dodge adapter isn't the same. I'm just going to sell my Superglide and I have already bought a Curt that fits right in plus it's adjustable in height. Might be something to look in to if yours is similar.

My Curt sits at least 2 inches lower than the 2900 Superglide and it's not lowered at all, I think it's set at the highest setting. I believe I could lower it at least another 3-4 inches. Don't the Dodges sit up higher than the Fords also? If so, you could get down close to level by getting a different hitch and not using the adapter. My 5th wheel pin box was already set at it's highest setting so hitch was all I had to play with.

[gtsum2]

My ram is 59 inches to the top of the bed and sits up high. Reason I decided to not go with a superglide and picture frame adaptor was the same reasons u mentioned. No vertical adjustment and the adaptor would make it sit up even higher. I'm going with the b&w drop in for the ram puck system

[PerryB]

Seven inches is a lot. You need at least 2" blocks. Also try less air in the bags as previously mentioned. My trailer has a 2750 lb. pin and I use about 45 lbs in the bags with the trailer connected.

[C130]

7" is a lot but a hitch made specifically for his Dodge factor prep will gain him at least 3-4" I bet without even adjusting it to a lower setting, assuming he gets one that's adjustable. Less air in the airbags probably lowers it another inch so getting in the ballpark at least. I ran 20-30 psi which is what kept my truck level, 80 does sounds pretty high. I specifically didn't buy the adapter because of this exact issue though I already had the exact Pullrite hitch he has. It's a great hitch but sits higher than their standard hitch plus the adapter height.

To compare the Superglides, a friend with exact same truck as mine with exact same bedcover, his hitch sat a couple inches below his bedcover. Mine hit the bedcover. I normally took my top plate off while not towing as it would raise that section of the cover up about 3/4"-1". Now, one thing I'm not sure about is if the slider hitches have vertical adjustability.

[Bman916]

Here she is

[sw342]

Originally Posted by Bman916

Here she is

Looks like you could stand to loose some air in those airbags for a start. Sitting a little tall in the rear.

[rnkburg]

I would say lower your hitch height one notch and see what happens


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dave-g]

Do you say what the distance was to your bed rail? In the picture it does not look to bad.

[Bman916]

The pullright 18k part #2900 with the ram standard adapter part # 4439 ( only comes in a 25k rating)is the only pullright superglide that fits in the factory holes in the bed. In the 2014 ram 2500 4x4 short box the top plate of the hitch sits 19.5" from the bed of the truck and is at the same level as the bed rails. There is no adjustment to this system to lower it.

The 5er is already set at the lowest setting on the neck.

I'm doing a 2" sub frame lift to the trailer and going to run 30 psi in the bags.

Went out to 5 RV and spring shops in town and they all say that blocks for a tH with the springs already on top of the axle is more dangerous and the right way to do it is a subframe lift (if at all). I may still be off by an inch or 2 when hooked up, but a lot better than the 7" I'm off right now from the trailer to the ground front and rear when hooked up.

I did find, of course after I installed and used the pullright, the Hijacker autoslide that has adjustments and the part that mounts to the factory puck holes in the bed sit 2" lower with this company... had I have to do this over again I'd go with a Hijacker for my truck... or just install new rails, but then whats the point of having the pucks if you can't clear everything out of the bed and have it smooth.....

My next truck and TH...(5 years away... or 10 if you ask my wife) I'll be more prepared

I called pullright to ask why their set up puts the hitch plate level with my bed rails and they blame it on the truck companies building bigger and bigger trucks...

[gtsum2]

Pullrite told me the same thing when I called them as well. The newer trucks sit up so high, and then having to use the picture frame adapter, it just makes a lot of the rigs sit up a good bit.

For the hijacker, are you saying they have one to fit the Ram puck system without the need for an adapter plate? I see only a puck system for Ford??

[Bman916]

Originally Posted by gtsum2

Pullrite told me the same thing when I called them as well. The newer trucks sit up so high, and then having to use the picture frame adapter, it just makes a lot of the rigs sit up a good bit.

For the hijacker, are you saying they have one to fit the Ram puck system without the need for an adapter plate? I see only a puck system for Ford??

I called hijacker and they showed me a frame that mounts to the pucks in the 14 ram that is almost flush with the bed. then their autoslide mounts directly to that...

[gearhead]

What is a "sub frame" lift?