Leveling trailer when towing

[kbeeg91]

Hi all, looking for suggestions and guidance.

We just picked up our Cruiser Aire 28RD from our dealer. Our TV is a 2020 Ram 2500 short bed. Our hitch is a B&W Patriot 16k non-slider.

It tows great, however it is a bit nose high. In measuring things, it appears to be 4" high at the nose. On rail clearance, I have 7" at the nose of the trailer and 6" near the bed of the truck, a few feet difference in between.

After I got it unloaded and in storage, I lowered the hitch 1 inch, the next adjustment down. I have not hooked it back up to measure things, but in theory, I should still have around 5.5" to 6" of rail clearance, and in theory I should have corrected to a 2" front high difference (lowering the front 1 inch raises the back 1 inch = 2 inch improvement from the 4 inch initially). Again, I have not hooked back up to test it, but the numbers should be close to this, in theory.

I know I want to replace the factory tires pretty quick and get to load range E (Load Range D currently). Should I consider upgrading to a 16" wheel? I am not sure how much space I need to do that, but I measured 5.5" clearance between tires and 3.5" clearance to the edge of the wheel well. Is this enough space for a 16" upgrade? I have read a lot that there are other upgrades to suspension, but I really don't want to mess with changing the design of the trailer suspension if I don't need to.

So thoughts? If the numbers add up to improving to a 2" front high difference, is that acceptable if I still have 5.5 to 6" of bed rail clearance? Or should I try to upgrade to 16 inch wheel and get a half inch closer to the wheel well? Or is that too close?

Thank you in advance for any helpful input.

[Papa-T]

Better to get it as level as possible but 2” high will be ok. Look into Goodyear Endurance tires. I purchased them due to them being recommended on here and they made a world of difference.

[EricDahl21102]

Your math doesn’t work - unless the axles are equal distance tongue/fender. 1 inch lower in front may only raise rear 1/2 an inch or so.

[Tonyg2724]

Yep, Papa-T is right. Get the Goodyear endurance for sure!

[Wingerdinger]

I replaced my china bombs on my RV with Goodyear Endurance. My RV came with 15" rims, and was able to get load range E tires. I could not be happier.
I'm not familiar with 5th wheel adjustments, but why wouldn't you want to adjust hitch height to level? Are there complications to lowering it more?

[dagst1]

You can only lower the hitch so much. There needs to be around 6-7" clearance between the truck bed and the camper overhang.

[Aceallenk]

First off that trailer might not be perfectly level, but sure don't look to bad from that picture. But you might want to check your leaf spring holders, you might have another hole you can jump into that'll raise you up another 1/2'' or more.

[Papa-T]

My previous TV was a 2009 Chevrolet 2500HD. I had the 5er level when towing but only had 4 1/2” between the front of the camper to the bed rails. I don’t know how many times I scuffed the truck bed rail due to connecting with the 5er in uneven terrain. I did have the bed and rails sprayed which helped some. I’d rather be a couple inches high in the front and have 6” clearance between the camper and truck bed rails.

[RockyMtn2]

My 5th wheel rode nose high too and the rear tires were wearing more quickly than the front tires. I purchased 16" rims and ST235/85R16 Goodyear Endurance tires. I had one adjustment left in the leaf springs that gave me a little more height, and the tires provided about 1.5" of height.