What to do about bed drop

[BigEIO]

Newbie question. What can I do to prevent or reduce the amount of bed drop when I hookup the 5th wheel?

[dagst1]

How much does it squat? Does the truck sit level when hooked up or does the rear squat? On my GMC 3500 the truck sits high in the rear unloaded but goes to the overload springs when hooked up and sits level. Also do you know your pin weight?

[BigEIO]

The rear is kind of high, but I did notice the last time we hooked up that it dropped about 4 inches. If I remember, the rear squats just a bit. I do not know the pin weight.

[divey]

Air bags

[dagst1]

Did your Ram come with the air suspension?

[BigEIO]

We bought it used, but I am pretty sure that it did not or it was removed before it was traded in.

[Lloyd]

Originally Posted by BigEIO

Newbie question. What can I do to prevent or reduce the amount of bed drop when I hookup the 5th wheel?

I think before anybody can stick their neck out and give you an answer to your question, you will have to supply more information. You can start by going to a scale and get all of the weights needed. Without that, it's just a guess.
What does the door sticker on your truck say it can haul?

[dagst1]

I agree with Lloyd - I was trying to get some base information but you really need some real world weights. Weigh the truck empty then weigh with the camper and the rear axle difference is your pin weight compare that to your listed payload. That said i have seen some trucks with loads under there payload capacity still squat but this will give you a place to start.

[Rrizz]

Originally Posted by divey

Air bags

Ditto

[kbee69]

Rear drop matters, but more importantly is does the front raise up. If you front is raising you will have steering and control problems. Measure your front wheel well with trailer on and off.

[dagst1]

He has a 5th wheel so the hitch is actually over or in front of the rear axle. The front will go down slightly or remain the same.

Now you are correct with a bumper pull the front will go up unless the equalizer hitch is adjusted properly.

[kbee69]

Yes, I saw that it was a 5th Wheel. I was pointing out that measurement is important too.

[Nigel]

I installed air shocks on the rear axle which you pump up to level the truck bed parallel with the 5th wheel. Works great for me. I use 10psi on each side for my F250 and Cruiser 305RS

[mark5w]

Gotta be careful you're not running nose high with the fiver. It puts excess weight on the real axle and tire, which could cause a problem.

Here's a detailed article about nose high rv's.

https://lifeonroute.com/should-a-tra...l-when-towing/

[jmnsn57]

Not sure how they work for 5th wheel applications. Perhaps other 5th wheelers have experience and can give feedback. My 2 cents is that these are awesome for us tail dragger tow behinders, load hauling, and off road adventurers.


https://timbren.com/?msclkid=3ba9339...ontent=Timbren

[Nigel]

Originally Posted by mark5w

Gotta be careful you're not running nose high with the fiver. It puts excess weight on the real axle and tire, which could cause a problem.

Here's a detailed article about nose high rv's.

https://lifeonroute.com/should-a-tra...l-when-towing/

When you jack up the back the front end cannot be higher. Physics. Towed back and forth West to East and East coast multiple times with smooth running. I will try and find the air suspension system I am running and post it. It is designed especially for this purpose.

[mark5w]

NIgel. When you jack up the rear axle of the truck the front of the 5th wheel could be nose high. That's physics. That's not good. Look at the article.
Not talking about the front of the truck.