321RSTS - Nose High and Bouncy

[Bigdog]

New 2022 Jayco Eagle with 2020 F250. B&W Companion hitch.

The truck has the high capacity tow package and the rear naturally sits 3 & a half inches higher than the front. I have to raise the pin 6 inches to hitch up, then the truck rear lowers 3 inches to virtually level. This leaves the trailer nose 3 inches above level. There is 7 inches of clearance between truck and trailer.

This is our first 5th wheel but we have several years experience with travel trailers.

The trailers seems very bouncy on the highway. I know that travel trailer hitch heads can be adjusted to eliminate this type of behavior, but can the same thing be done with 5th wheel hitches?

The hitch is set on the mid level height with the pin over the axle. It can be lowered one inch and also moved forward two inches.

Will either of these adjustments have any impact on towing performance?

[Fyrehuntr]

Do you have airbags, timbrens, or sumo springs on your F250? I have the same 5th wheel and a 2019 F350. I have timbrens installed and don't have any bouncing. They also provide lateral stability.

[Bigdog]

Originally Posted by Fyrehuntr

Do you have airbags, timbrens, or sumo springs on your F250? I have the same 5th wheel and a 2019 F350. I have timbrens installed and don't have any bouncing. They also provide lateral stability.

Nothing has been added to the truck. I’ve read about the air bags, but it sounds like those are designed to raise the rear end back to level. I’m about a half inch above level now so I don’t see how they would be helpful. I’m not familiar with timbrens.

I’m more concerned that the nose of the trailer may be too high.

[Stan&Sharon]

I've noticed less bouncing after installing shocks on my camper, but you're talking about at the hitch, right? Have you loaded up your camper yet and confirmed it bounces with a full load?

My camper is a bit high in the front too. I think my hitch is just a bit under 5 feet off the ground when unhitched.

[Bigdog]

Originally Posted by Stan&Sharon

I've noticed less bouncing after installing shocks on my camper, but you're talking about at the hitch, right? Have you loaded up your camper yet and confirmed it bounces with a full load?

My camper is a bit high in the front too. I think my hitch is just a bit under 5 feet off the ground when unhitched.

Yes, the experience is similar both empty and fully loaded.

If this was a travel trailer, I would add two washers to angle the hitch head back just a bit and all would be solved.

I’m just curious if similar adjustments are possible with a 5th wheel hitch.

[RoadrunnerII]

2016 F250 Screw here
pullrite slider hitch
Only adjustment for height is the kingpin on trailer
Older series truck than yours.
On your trailer the spring mounts have two settings
You can adjust at the springs.
Now the caviat... What is your trailer height Gotta stay under 13ft 6 inches
For ride
We added air bags to retain original ride height as when unloaded
Swapped out all shocks for bilstein
No issues with ride at all. No oscillations after bridge expansion joints
Truck and trailer are dead level.
You may need to swap out the spring blocks on rear of your truck to lower truck a inch or two

RoadrunnerII

[Nature Ist]

Lowering the hitch to the lower height and moving it forward will make a difference. I speak from experience: I have an HT 30.5 CKTS and a 2019 F250 with the highest GVW available. I also have the B&W Companion. The 2019 F250 has about 2" higher rear end - something many complained about until Ford listened and lowered the suspension in 2020. (I missed it by one year!)
If you have 7" of bedrail clearance, you can certainly drop your B&W down to the lowest setting, I did. I also moved the hitch to the forward setting, putting the pin slightly forward of the axle. That made an improvement.
Also check your trailer suspension to be sure your springs are in the lower holes on the front and rear hangers. Mine has the 16" wheel upgrade and the suspension is in the lower holes (raising the trailer.) You may only have one set of holes, but if you do have two, make sure the springs are mounted in the lower setting.
If you are appreciably nose high, that can affect bounce. Of course, the other factor is how you load your cargo. Any trailer with more weight rearward will have more bounce and less stability.
This is all assuming you are referring to towing the unit loaded for use rather than empty and without any propane or personal belongings.
You may also be able to adjust the pin-box mounting height on the nose of the trailer, but lower your B&W first, and maintain no less than 5+ inches of bed clearance.
My unit has an 11,000# GVW

[Bigdog]

Originally Posted by Nature Ist

Lowering the hitch to the lower height and moving it forward will make a difference. I speak from experience: I have an HT 30.5 CKTS and a 2019 F250 with the highest GVW available. I also have the B&W Companion. The 2019 F250 has about 2" higher rear end - something many complained about until Ford listened and lowered the suspension in 2020. (I missed it by one year!)
If you have 7" of bedrail clearance, you can certainly drop your B&W down to the lowest setting, I did. I also moved the hitch to the forward setting, putting the pin slightly forward of the axle. That made an improvement.
Also check your trailer suspension to be sure your springs are in the lower holes on the front and rear hangers. Mine has the 16" wheel upgrade and the suspension is in the lower holes (raising the trailer.) You may only have one set of holes, but if you do have two, make sure the springs are mounted in the lower setting.
If you are appreciably nose high, that can affect bounce. Of course, the other factor is how you load your cargo. Any trailer with more weight rearward will have more bounce and less stability.
This is all assuming you are referring to towing the unit loaded for use rather than empty and without any propane or personal belongings.
You may also be able to adjust the pin-box mounting height on the nose of the trailer, but lower your B&W first, and maintain no less than 5+ inches of bed clearance.
My unit has an 11,000# GVW

Thanks for the thorough explanation. I’ve lowered and flipped the B&W arms so we’ll see what happens. I’d prefer not not modify the trailer if at all possible.

[Big1]

Great, let us know how it work out.

[norty1]

Timbrens: https://timbren.com/i-30497684-timbr...-rear-kit.html

[Cincinnati Kid]

We have 2019 truck and trailer. Same issue. I want it level, but for all the reasons above, it's not going to happen. To reduce bouncing, we got airbags. They do the job, I experiment with the pressure, and at 50# only an occasional large bridge transition or a sneaky dip gets us bouncing. Yes it does make the front end even higher, but it's a tradeoff.
We also have the camper package and the snowplow package from the factory that thickens the springs on the truck, both front and rear.
We ride nose high, and it would take a modification to raise the trailer or lower the truck to change that. If I had the $$$ I would go to a body shop and have them chop the siderails on the truck, because that is the real issue here. They are just too damn high.

It does look like you have more space between the truck and trailer than I do, but I know it's scary to think of lowering it.

[Stan&Sharon]

I wonder if a different Kingpin box would fix this for you. For example on this Amazon listing, notice the size of each appears different.... models 1621 / 7910 / 1116 / 1716

EDIT: Sorry, after thinking further about this, I realize this would not help because the distance from the overhang to the truck must remain around 6 inches. If the kingpin height was less (to lower the front), the hitch would need to be raised so there would be no benefit. Nevermind.

[Lake Huron]

I played around with hitch settings on my B&W and found I got a better ride with the arms forward of the rear axle. I had to raise my arms to get a little more bed rail clearance, mine was originally at about 5". I got it at 6 now and my trailer rides pretty level still. The B&W works really well to reduce the fore and aft chucking, but do yourself a favor and dump that standard solid pinbox on your trailer if you want a nice ride. My Northpoint came with a Moryde and it works very well with my setup. However I'm running a 3500 DRW so I dont get a lot of up and down bounce. I will say from experience with a buddy's rig he had a Trailair pinbox put on his trailer and what a difference that made for him.

[mcwoods2]

Do you have Timbrens on your truck?

[TWP723]

Shorter 5'ers seem to sit higher in the nose than their larger counterparts. 7 inches is actually fine. Mine sits higher than that and am a tad nose high. There's no way to combat it. The hitch is on it's lowest setting and I have airbags to even it up. Regardless, I'm nose high and I find it's normal due to 5'er length and the natural rake of the truck. A shorter trailer will sit higher in front and a longer unit will sit lower and not be so nose high.

[TWP723]

Pic for reference:

[Bigdog]

Originally Posted by Big1

Great, let us know how it work out.

It’s like a whole new ride. Thanks everyone for the assistance.

[Big1]

That's what we hear for, to help out I have been saying that there are a lot of good folks here on the forum and are more than will to help out, whenever I have a problem that I can't figure out I come here.