Out of level after hitching

[Husky]

2016 RAM 3500, Crew Cab, 6' 4" bed, 4x4, Cummins diesel, Ram puck system in bed. Jayco 28.5RSTS. Here is my problem. After hitching up the 5er and raising the landing gear, my truck only squats 2". This causes the 5er to be nose high and out of level by 8". I have a CURT hitch with the slider. I changed from an A16 hitch head to the E16 hitch head. It helped to decrease the height from the bed rails, but it is still high. Because of the heavy duty suspension of the RAM, the dry hitch weight only being 1490 lbs. isn't enough to get the truck to lower enough to bring the 5er to a more level stance. I am now researching what I can do to the truck suspension to get it to lower more when I put the weight of the 5er on the hitch. Has anyone else had this problem? Any thoughts on how this out of level condition may be corrected. Thanks in advance for any help you may be able to provide.

[merlinhomeauto]

Some people lower the axels on trailer to solve this problem.

[triplebvalp]

Husky, this is a problem with all truck manufactures (in the newer/higher trucks).


I raised my pin box as high as it would go, lowered the hitch head as low as it would go, and moved the FW springs down to the bottom hole in the springs perches. I'm still not level but fairly close. Some folks have replaced tires/wheels to a 16" size and have even added a sub-frame to the spring attachments.

[Husky]

Thanks for the help. My pin box is already as high as it will go. I am going to remove the current Curt RAM puck base and the slider, and put in a different Curt RAM puck base, no slider and use just the hitch head which will give me less height. I'll have to check if my truck has multiple holes for the spring perches. Where my springs sit on the axle there are 3 small plates that the springs sit on and I am going to see if these can be removed. That will get me another 1 1/4" lower. I'll keep at it until I get it more in level. May not be perfectly level, but it will be closer than it is now. I appreciate your feedback.

[triplebvalp]

Originally Posted by Husky

I'll have to check if my truck has multiple holes for the spring perches. Where my springs sit on the axle there are 3 small plates that the springs sit on and I am going to see if these can be removed. That will get me another 1 1/4" lower. I'll keep at it until I get it more in level. May not be perfectly level, but it will be closer than it is now. I appreciate your feedback.

Not certain what you mean by the above. I was talking about the FW springs/perches.

[taumac]

I don’t have a 5th wheel can you move weight towards the front adding more weight on rear of truck?

[RAurand]

Originally Posted by merlinhomeauto

Some people lower the axels on trailer to solve this problem.

If the nose on the 5er is high, why would you want to lower the trailer axels?

[triplebvalp]

Originally Posted by taumac

I don’t have a 5th wheel can you move weight towards the front adding more weight on rear of truck?

taumac, I suppose you could put more weight in the basement and in front of the axles but I'm not certain why anyone would want to add more weight to the rear of their truck.

[triplebvalp]

Originally Posted by RAurand

If the nose on the 5er is high, why would you want to lower the trailer axels?

Doing this puts the axles below the spring attachment point effectively raising the FW, making it more level when attached to the truck. The newer Eagle HT's come this way from the factory.

[Husky]

Aha. I missed that. I'll have to check the FW to see if I can do that also. Thank you for your input.

[madmaxmutt]

Does your truck have large rear blocks? You could use smaller blocks to lower the back of the truck, assuming you still have some factory rake.

[Husky]

After the new year, I am going to remove the 3 small metal plates that sit between the spring and the metal block that sits on top of the axle. This will lower the bed of the truck 1 1/4 inches, but it will still be 3/8 inch higher at the rear of the bed. This, along with removing the slider from the hitch will get me much closer to level than I am currently. After I finish all the work, I'll post the results.

[CampNow]

Post from a thread with a similar topic.

[CampNow]

Originally Posted by Husky

After the new year, I am going to remove the 3 small metal plates that sit between the spring and the metal block that sits on top of the axle. This will lower the bed of the truck 1 1/4 inches, but it will still be 3/8 inch higher at the rear of the bed. This, along with removing the slider from the hitch will get me much closer to level than I am currently. After I finish all the work, I'll post the results.

FWIW, we also have the Ram OEM 5th wheel/gooseneck prep pkg on our '16 Ram 3500 Crew Cab short bed 4x4. We've towed a few 5th wheels. We found a hitch with 13-17 inches of hitch head height adjustment (bed to top of hitch plate) worked well for us. Not many hitches adjust this low---most only adjust from 17-21 inches.

[Husky]

Thanks. That is the range I will be needing. Looking to remove the slider and change out the puck system base to a different base in order to be able to get that lower range that I need. I appreciate your input.

[Husky]

CampNow. Which hitch are you using to get that range of adjustment?

[barryg]

I have a 17 ram 3500 paired with a Jayco 27.5rlts Here is what I did to solve our unlevel problem. I did not have enough room between the bottom of the fiver and the tailgate only about 4 inches, the front edge of the fiver had enough room between the bed rail. I use the truck for more than just pulling the fiver it also does other work so I was not that interested in lowering the truck so I raised the fiver.
First at least on the 27.5 there are some adjustments on the springs. On ours there were three sets of holes use the lowest hole that will raise the fiver about 2 inches I think.
I also changed out our 15 inch wheels and tires to 16 inch wheels and upped the tire size. The original tires were 225/75/16 which were 28.3 inches tall switching to the 16 inch wheels allowed me to go to 235/80/16 which were 30.8 inches tall so gained another 1.25 inches. It also added tire load capacity which I felt the originals had too small of a margin. I could have gone up one more size to 235/85/16 and gained another 1/2 to 3/4 inches but to be honest the axle spacing is only 33 inches on that trailer and I didnt want to cut the tire spacing that close as it only would have left about 1.25. I have enough trouble using the xchocks as it is no way they would fit if the spacing was any closer.
I still wasn't where I wanted to be so I added a 2 or 2.5 inch subframe. I still wish I had more clearance (another 1/2 inch would be nice) between the tailgate and the bottom of the fiver but it is acceptable and so far has shown not to be a problem.

Another option would be to use the correct track system iirc that will add a couple inches.

[CampNow]

Originally Posted by Husky

CampNow. Which hitch are you using to get that range of adjustment?

Some models of the Pro Series, Reese, and Curt, hitches adjust down to 13-14". etrailer.com has a good selection of hitches/specs to choose from.

Keep the following in mind:

1) If you use the Reese or Ram OEM 5th wheel adapter (aka "picture frame adapter"), keep in mind it raises the hitch mounted to it almost an inch. A 5th wheel hitch rated for 13-17" of height, when mounted to the OEM 5th wheel adapter, will in reality be almost 14-18" high. If you use a Ram-specific, 5th wheel hitch, designed to mount directly to the Ram frame/bed-mounted OEM 5th wheel/gooseneck option (does not use the OEM 5th wheel adapter), then the rated height of the hitch will be as stated.

2) Some 5th wheel hitch heads will not adjust down to their lowest advertised height setting when the slider attachment/base is used. They (the product reps) will tell you they will, but some won't, so be aware.

3) If you choose to use a 5th wheel slider hitch that adjusts down to 13-17", be very careful about, both, the bedrail/trailer cab clearance (min. 5-6") and the distance the slider slides when activated. When a lower, 13-17" 5th wheel slider hitch is used, the chance the rear of the trailer's pin box may hit the tailgate (or left/right side bedrail) when the slider is activated increases quite a bit. Measure everything carefully!

Lastly, the vast majority of late model 5th wheel trailers have rounded-off corners on the front cab which allow tighter turning with a short bed truck (without a slider hitch). Typically you can get 65-75 degree turn capability---more than enough if you're careful and plan ahead.

Good luck!

[Husky]

Thanks for your input. It gives me some more things to think about. I appreciate it.

[Husky]

Thanks CampNow. I have been measuring a lot. I will certainly be careful when measuring thanks to your input. I appreciate the help.