new 30KB just bought, towing issue?

troy76 · 10-22-2011, 02:05 PM

We did it. We bought a 2012

Zinger 30KB, love the layout, features and price.

I am concerned about towing the

rig. I have a 2007 Dodge Ram 1500, 5.7L Hemi with the towing package and 3.92 gears. The weight of the trailer is 6904, the hitch weight from the brochure states 878 pounds. From the research I did before buying this

trailer it shows that my truck will be able to handle a max towing capacity of

8500 lbs. So my max hitch weight should be 10-15% of that, which would be 850-1275 pounds,

well within the hitch weight of the trailer and towing capacity of my truck.

When the dealer hooked up the

Husky load leveling and sway bar setup and brought the weight down on my truck

the rear end sagged down quite a bit. I looked under my truck and the clearance

from the rubber axle pad on the box of the truck to the axle is a 3/8â€? on one

side and Â?â€? on the other. This is my concern.

I had some work equipment in the

bed of my truck already but I am guestimating that the weight of that equipment

would be equivalent to the weight of my camping gear when we do go camping.

Plus this trailer is empty, and the only storage accessible from the outside is

up front. When I load that up I wonder what I will be looking at.

When we adjusted the links on the

load leveling we started at the first link and ended up on the third link, we

cant get the load leveling bars up to the fourth link. I donâ€™t believe there

was much difference in the axle pad going from link to link, but the trailer is

level when hooked to the third link.

I was talking to a buddy about

this and he suggested an air suspension type setup http://www.etrailer.com/Vehicle-Suspension/Dodge/Ram+Pickup/2007/F2286.html?vehicleid=20071009519

Or I also found this, something

to replace the existing rubber pad http://www.etrailer.com/Vehicle-Suspension/Dodge/Ram+Pickup/2004/TDR2500CA.html?vehicleid=20041009748

But with this truck I have a

lifetime powertrain warranty and Iâ€™m afraid that if I add aftermarket

suspension components to it, it will void the warranty. Guess I will have to

check with my local dealer on that.

But from the research I did

BEFORE I bought the trailer, it simply states my truck should be able to haul it.

Once we do get it loaded for a trip I will stop by a weigh station and get it

checked out. I should also point out that I will more than likely just be

travelling here in Michigan with it, definitely no mountain passes for me.

**Lloyd** · 10-23-2011, 01:28 AM

Congrats on the new rig.

I have the same air bags on my truck. They do a good job of bringing the rear end up no matter what I have put in or on it for a load. Seems odd to me that would void your warranty, but you should probably ask. Just think, you might have to trade her in for a diesel

.

avvidclif · 10-23-2011, 05:44 AM

On the BP I had my first step was to measure the height of the trailer hitch (top of actual hitch to ground) when the trailer is level. Then measure the height of the top of the trailer hitch ball (truck on level ground) and adjust the height of the hitch ball until the 2 were the same. Then when the trailer was on the hitch I adjusted the load leveler bars for ~1" drop from level.

Look at your hitch on the truck, I've seen some that stuck out over a foot from the receiver which just makes the problem worse. Short is better.

salda01 · 10-23-2011, 12:03 PM

Beside a complete review of how your hitch set-up are your shocks worn and need replacing?

Edited by: salda01

fixit5561 · 10-23-2011, 12:29 PM

troy76,

With a tongue weight of 878# you are already 28 pounds over weight for the tongue weight of your trucks hitch. The tongue weight and the total hitch capacity,are two different animals completely. Thats probably why it sagged so much.

Your max total weight rating for that hitch is 8500# with a weight distributing hitchand your tongue weight rating is probably 850# max.So with that trailer being a tongue weight of 878# dry, you are already over on the tongue weight of the trucks trailer hitch rating without even loading anything into the trailer. You may want to at the very least look into a higher tongue weight rated hitch to be put on your truck. Remember total weight rating and tongue weight rating are two totally different ratings.

You may want to get a different truck to tow that trailer with?

Now in talking with a hitch installation tech at etrailer.com he told me to set up your styletruck, you need to level the trailer and then measure to the top of the tongue where the ball will go. Then do the same with your truck but adjust the hitch on the truck to be anywheres from 1 3/4"-2" higher than the measurement you got from the trailer tongue. Then when the hitch on the truck is higher than the trailer, it will compensate for the sag you will get from the trailer being added to the truck. I checked also with a few other online sources and they said the same thing adjust the trucks hitch heighth higher than the trailer tongue measurement.

Now before you hook up you can go to this website, and it will tell you how to set up the hitch properly. http://www.etrailer.com/tv-weight_distribution_and_sway_control_install_ford_ van.aspxEdited by: fixit5561

anaro · 10-23-2011, 01:01 PM

First of all, welcome and congrats on the new Zinger! Now, it sounds like you are cutting it close on weight. We made the same mistake on tongue weight with our current set up... dry tongue weight 810 lbs, truck capacity 910 lbs. Our TT is considerably more within the actual trucks capacity (TV 9100 lbs towing capacity, TT GVWR 7700 lbs, actual loaded weight 6700 lbs). It is a very unstable feeling, even with the WDH set up right. I think the wiggle we feel could be related to the tongue weight but not positive. We are looking into a bigger truck (2500 level) after having had a few hairy experiences.

The other problem you could likely have is the dealer set your WDH up incorrectly. We had this problem and our rear end sagged (until the load leveling suspension kicked in) and the whole thing handled miserably. After a long time of playing around with it and lots of advice, we finally got it set up correctly and it handlels much better. Here is a link to a sticky on a different forum that discusses how to properly set up a WDH. I hope it helps you to have a better towing experience. Enjoy your new trialer!

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/17730894.cfm

NH Horseman · 10-25-2011, 12:08 PM

It certainly sounds like you are pushing the envelope on weight. If you figure you will put 1000 pounds of "stuff" in the camper, you are close to the max towing weight. But, the bigee, to me anyway, is the tongue weight. On a 1500, anything over 700 pounds is touchy and over 800 is risky.

troy76 · 10-30-2011, 12:53 AM

I talked to the Dodge dealer and they said that if any

aftermarket part was determined to cause the failure of an OEM part then the

warranty would not be honored.

As far as trading the truck in, that is not an option. I

have about 10 months of payments left on it, it just turned over 111,000 miles

and like I said I have a full lifetime warranty on it, either mine or Chryslers

J I plan on keeping this

truck forever and if it wonâ€™t tow the trailer then it will be the trailer that
;es.

When I get some time, hopefully within next couple of weeks,

I will take the trailer to a level spot and verify the hitch installation.

Thanks for the links for load leveling setup, I know how to do it now. But if

she is still sagging in the rear I will take it to a frame shop and ask them what

the best thing to do is. This trailer has two 30LB tanks on the front of

it. Thatâ€™s about 55 pounds per tank and

with our old trailer we never went thru one 20 LB tank so I think I will take

those off to see if it helps me any.

Iâ€™m thinking the frame shop will suggest air bags and that

is what I will probably go with. When the tranny does go out and if I can, I

will take the air bags off and put the original bump stop back on before taking

it into the dealer.

I have a class IV hitch and that handles 10K trailer weight

and 1k tongue weight. Looking in my owners manual it states â€œtongue weight- not

less than 10% and no more than 15% of the trailer weightâ€?. Max tow is 8500,

10-15% of 8500 is 850-1275 lbs. Everything on paper says I should be able to

tow this trailer. Guess I should have hooked up to it before signing on the

dotted line, hindsight is 20/20.

When I was towing the trailer home from the dealer, the

truck did pull nice, not unstable, no sway, no wiggle, no floating, towed it

about 45 miles. I even had to start out at the bottom of a large bridge

(Zilwaukee bridge for you Michiganders) when I picked the trailer up, the truck

handled it with ease.

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