F250 Newbie Towing Question Jayco 24.5 ckts fifth wheel

[Monheganlover]

I recently purchased a gas 2019 F250 RWD to tow my 2018 Jayco 24.5 ckts fifth wheel. I am a newbie with heavy-duty trucks. And I have a question about steering with the fifth wheel hooked up. The two-wheel-drive version was the best choice for us because it is 3 inches shorter than the 4x4 F250 and fits under the fiver. And we aren't going anywhere we will need 4x4. The 4x4 would have been too tall and we didn't want to have to raise the trailer any further as the axles were already flipped. We just took it out for its first camping trip and it towed it like the trailer wasn't there. The trailer, loaded, has a pin weight of approximately 1,600 pounds and the truck squatted about 2 inches with the trailer on it. This is a small fifth wheel and well within the trucks specs with its payload rating, per door sticker, of 3,759 lbs and a rear GAWR of 6,340 lbs. I did notice though that the steering felt a little lighter with a tiny bit more play with the trailer on the pin versus the truck driving by itself. It didn't feel out of control or anything just a bit different.

Is that normal and to be expected? I am reluctant to add airbags to address the 2 inches of squat as that would put the trailer too nose high and be bad for the trailer axles. Are there any workarounds to shift some more weight onto the front axle or is the bit of extra play in the wheel nothing to be concerned about? Again, it was steering fine it just felt slightly different loaded than unloaded. Thanks!

[Nathan S.]

Congrats on your purchase. I have a 4x4 but always tow in 2wd, the only difference as you stated is bed height. Now I added the camper package to mine which bumped up the front spring rate and added a leaf spring helper to the back end. Mine tows wonderfully. That’s a fairly light trailer for your truck. I would add the helper springs to the back to stiffen it up a bit. Fairly easy to do. The other thing I have learned is weight distribution. Your layout is similar to mine in the aspect that all the heavy equipment is on one side of the trailer. Kitchen, propane etc. That makes the trailer handle a bit differently, especially above about 45 mph and turning. I’m not an expert on suspensions, but some extra in the back end will definitely help if you have a stock condition.

[SocalSeismic]

perfectly normal. my f350 sags 5” when hitching up (much heavier trailer) so 2” is really good on your end. per the cat scale our trailer takes 100lbs of weight off the front axle. steering does feel a little lighter but the truck still tracks straight as an arrow.

[SB_James]

What hitch are you using? Is the pin directly over the axle centerline or slightly aft?

You should make a trip to the CAT scales and do a weigh-in hitched and truck only to see how the front axle weight changes. Ideally you shouldn’t lighten your front axle at all when hitched.

[SocalSeismic]

Originally Posted by SB_James

What hitch are you using? Is the pin directly over the axle centerline or slightly aft?

You should make a trip to the CAT scales and do a weigh-in hitched and truck only to see how the front axle weight changes. Ideally you shouldn’t lighten your front axle at all when hitched.

b&w companion with puck system. i have it set to the rearmost position (shortbed) which i believe is 1” in front of rear axle centerline. cat scale confirmed 4740 steer axle empty and 4660 with trailer attached.

[eow]

Originally Posted by SocalSeismic

b&w companion with puck system. i have it set to the rearmost position (shortbed) which i believe is 1” in front of rear axle centerline. cat scale confirmed 4740 steer axle empty and 4660 with trailer attached.

If truly 1" in front of rear axle, the front axle should not be unloading.

Assuming you have the clearance with the cab, you may want to move the hitch forward to maintain the front axle loading.