Towing Nose High

[mcarrow]

I have a 2016 RAM 2500 with a Reese 16K pro series hitch towing a
2017 Jayco Eagle HT 29.5 bhds with a Reese sidewinder pin box.
I have had a couple of tire blowouts recently after only about 5 short trips
and I think it might be because the fifth wheel is towing nose high and putting
excess weight on the 2 rear tires (Rainier 225/75r15 @80 PSI).
Does anyone know if there are adjustments that can be made to the RV to level
it when towing to take the extra weight off the 2 rear tires.

[Magnolia Tom]

Here are some things to look at:

Can you adjust the height of either the pin box or your hitch? Are your trailers springs installed on the lowest holes in the shackles? If not, you could gain some lift there. If they are already on the lowest holes, flipping the axles would gain some lift if your springs are currently mounted above your axles.

[Jim Smyth]

I have a 2018 F350 towing a Jayco 28.5. It also rides nose high but tows fine. Only issue I have is I only have 5" clearance on the tailgate to the bottom of the 5er overhang.



I am on the lowest shackle setting which gives you 1". I purchased a Lippert Correct Track system that will give me another 2" trailer height raise which should be the ticket. I also got a Moyride wet bolt kit that will be installed at the same time as the lift.



Next option for height is going from 15" tires to 16" tires. I wont do this unless I am still have clearance issues and when the 15" tires are worn out.

[White Ox]

What does the max cold tire pressure on the side of those rainier tires say? It's not by chance 65psi, is it?

I'm in the same boat on nose high - I'm seasonal this camping season, so parked till next spring - but we're planning a long runabout up north into Canada from the East Coast for next summer and I want to have all my ducks in a row to be towing level prior to that trip.

I'm already on the lowest shackle mount as well - had them do that prior to pickup upon purchase.

My list at the moment is Wet Bolts for sure - then I'm on the fence between the correct track or building a small sub-frame. I'm betting I'm not going to be willing to chance the Rainiers for a long trip so Goodyear Endurance are likely slated - but I really don't want to buy new rims too in order to go up to the 16in tires.... decisions decisions - ugh.

[nighthawk87]

Why don’t you buy new springs to lower the back of the truck instead of raising the trailer. Makes for a safer and lower center of gravity.

[vcbice]

First, get rid of those tires and get either Goodyear Endurance or Maxxis tires.

Second, make sure they are inflated to max cold pressure.

Third, yes, you are nose high. I am also, but, with the Goodyear tires I have not had an issue, even at max weight in the trailer.

If you want to go further to help this then get bigger wheels and tires. When you go buy the new tires get a set of 16" rims and the largest dia tires that will fit. The bonus here is they will be higher load capacity as well.

As mentioned above, make sure your leaf springs are in the bottom hole of the spring brackets. That only gains you a little, but, every little bit helps.

Last, if you want to raise even more is go to the More ryde and get one of their 'kits' for raising up a bit more. Wet bolts are also a good thing to install when you do this.

[vcbice]

Originally Posted by nighthawk87

Why don’t you buy new springs to lower the back of the truck instead of raising the trailer. Makes for a safer and lower center of gravity.

Because most of us don't want to lower the suspension travel that much. Lowering means you hit the bump stops sooner, which is really bad for towing stability.

The problem is really not the suspension, it is the high bed sides that mfgs design on these trucks. Ford even put a little 'flip' at the back of the tailgate which makes it an inch higher than it should be. Probably some designer's wet dream. If the mfgs would just lower the sides of the pickup box a few inches we fifth wheel haulers would not have any problems with being level.

And, yes, I've considered getting rid of the pickup box and replacing it with a flatbed just for this reason.

[catzr]

I have only recently purchased our new 5ver and made 3 short trips.
My setup is approx. 4 in. nose high,with 7in. of bed clearance. I have scaled it.
Full of water, fresh tank is behind the axles. The trl. front was 3500lbs,
and the rear was 3700lbs, with 5200lb. axles. It was balanced
better than I expected. Trl. susp.is setup on the taller settings
with 16in. wheels

[Ugeesta]

I'm in the market for a new truck and this is exactly my concern. The top of the AC on my Talon is at 13'-6", 2" higher than level and I'm pulling with a 2002 2500HD. The new truck beds are 3" higher than my current truck. Don't want to raise the trailer any more and the options are limited anyway since it already has 16" tires and the Moyride 3000 suspension.

[dksmith17]

Originally Posted by vcbice

As mentioned above, make sure your leaf springs are in the bottom hole of the spring brackets. That only gains you a little, but, every little bit helps.

Is this something an idiot can do themselves?

I have an 18 F250 4x4 and 17 26.5BHS, with 16in goodyears, andersen hitch on middle hole

I have about 5.5 in tailgate clearance. Probably about 3-4 inches nose high. I live in mountains and rarely see a level spot. I have only towed without tailgate on so far. That tailgate lip is stupid, especially considering the rear camera is up there.... There was one spot that I think removing the tailgate saved me.....

[bdreinv]

We have a 06 Ram 3500 dully 4x4 been towing 12 years noise high also, no tire problems.Maybe consider a higher weight rated tire also speed rated. Thanks

[jasum]

How are all of you determining you are nose high?

If you are measuring from the frame to the ground, is this measurement correct??

I think the best way is to put a level on the floor inside the trailer facing front to back to see how far off you really are.

Not sure you can accurately measure frame to ground.

[Ugeesta]

On a fairly level ground, I pulled a measurement from the roof edge at the front of the forward most AC unit, measured the height of the AC unit and interpolated the crown in the roof (I believe its 5"). This was done while the trailer was hooked to the truck.


The nose high condition can be seen visually as well when looking at the trailer from the side.


I'm finding that there are truck lowering kits out there that can lower the bed of the truck 2-3". It is done by changing the rear shackles on the leaf springs out with longer ones. It sound like this can be done without affecting the load performance of the truck.

[Chrisb-24]

My 5ther was nose high also. I posted what I did on here to fix my problem. Good luck in height adjustments.

[sobuck1]

my 2017 F 250 HT 28.5 RSTS rides level, 16 inch tires on trailer, 18 inch tires on truck, of course I'm 2 WD 16 k Reese Hitch, nothing else,

Main reason I went with 2 WD bigger payload 3652 on the yellow sticker

[Jim Smyth]

Well last week I figured I would install my Lippert Correct Track system to lift the trailer up 2" because of the angle of towing and me using a Ford F350 which has a pretty high bed. I though I had everything I needed for a quick install. Also had a MorRyde wet bolt kit to put in at the same time and I bought the kit for the CRE-3000 that was on my trailer.


I get one side of the trailer jacked up and on blocks. Come to find out the side Lippert plates that get attached to the trailer hangers are missing a welded on 1/4" spacer on the inside. This was very obvious once everything was loose fitted because of the 1/2" gap on the spring eye ends.



So I get a hold of Lippert and they tell me they will send me out the eight correct parts. I told them I will pay for next day air and they said they will cover the cost. So a few days go by and no tracking and no parts. I send another email inquiry and they reply with they have a problem with this kit/part and the manufacturer is working to correct this problem and it will be another 2 weeks.


So I went and bought washers to make my own 1/4" spacer so I can get it all bolted together so it isnt unsafe for extended periods of time on my gravel pad in a campground.


Now for the MorRyde wet bolt kit. The kits wet bolts for the shackles worked perfectly. The wet bolt that goes on the CRE-3000 pivot wasnt long enough. The wet bolts for the outside spring hangers also are not long enough. So after many emails and calls to MorRyde I get four 3.4" wet bolts sent to me at $40 with shipping. (the ones in the kit were 2.9" long) These show up and are also to short for the spring eye ends. But they worked for the center CRE-3000 pivot. So I am still missing the four spring eye wet bolts so I used the Lippert plain ole bolts with the bronze bushing all greased up.


I am now on the hunt for four 4" wet bolts and I am closing in on ordering them from a different manufacturer since MorRyde doesnt make anything longer than 3.4".



So this was a very difficult and frustrating mod caused by both manufacturers not providing the appropriate stuff in there kits. If you plan on doing this plan on many problems and a extended jagging around period to get everything correct.

[Ugeesta]

^^^^^ Wow, that sucks. Sorry to hear about all the frustration. So how high are you lifting the trailer and what will it’s total height be in the end?

Haven’t looked where my trailer suspension sits but I dread raising it any higher. I suppose the rear can come up to meet the 13’-6’ top of front AC height. If I end up pulling the trigger on a new truck, I’m going to try to have the dealer install the truck lowering kit as part of the deal.

[Jim Smyth]

Its a 2017 28.5 RSTS and we traded into it so it was used when we got it. The original owner had it lowered to the lowest setting on the trailer hangers which gives you 1" height raise on the trailer. The Lippert Correct Track will give you an additional 2". My camping site is sloped so until I drag it off for a trip (got one coming up mid July) and get it on level ground I wont get to see how much more level it looks.



It towed fine before but I only had 5" of clearance between the top of my tailgate and the bottom to the 5er. Got very very close to scrapping going over humps a few times which is why I wanted to lift it up to get at least 6+" of clearance.



Next raise if I need it will come when the 15" tires are worn out. I can go to 16" and gain another 1". My trailer was only at 12'-5" before the lift so I have alot more height I can go if needed.



This would have all been a very easy deal if Jayco would start building hangers on the trailers that give you like up to 5" of height adjustment. Would be cheap to do during the building phase of the trailers.

[scidlik]

I will be taking delivery of a 2019 NP 385THWS this weekend. I also have a very tall 2017 F350. My opinion as of now is I will tow nose high vs. scraping the 5'er against my tailgate or bed rails. The good and the bad is that I have already installed airbags to help with stability but that will also increase the amount of nose "highness" (made up word).

[PlayersZ28]

Originally Posted by Jim Smyth

Well last week I figured I would install my Lippert Correct Track system to lift the trailer up 2" because of the angle of towing and me using a Ford F350 which has a pretty high bed. I though I had everything I needed for a quick install. Also had a MorRyde wet bolt kit to put in at the same time and I bought the kit for the CRE-3000 that was on my trailer.


I get one side of the trailer jacked up and on blocks. Come to find out the side Lippert plates that get attached to the trailer hangers are missing a welded on 1/4" spacer on the inside. This was very obvious once everything was loose fitted because of the 1/2" gap on the spring eye ends.



So I get a hold of Lippert and they tell me they will send me out the eight correct parts. I told them I will pay for next day air and they said they will cover the cost. So a few days go by and no tracking and no parts. I send another email inquiry and they reply with they have a problem with this kit/part and the manufacturer is working to correct this problem and it will be another 2 weeks.


So I went and bought washers to make my own 1/4" spacer so I can get it all bolted together so it isnt unsafe for extended periods of time on my gravel pad in a campground.


Now for the MorRyde wet bolt kit. The kits wet bolts for the shackles worked perfectly. The wet bolt that goes on the CRE-3000 pivot wasnt long enough. The wet bolts for the outside spring hangers also are not long enough. So after many emails and calls to MorRyde I get four 3.4" wet bolts sent to me at $40 with shipping. (the ones in the kit were 2.9" long) These show up and are also to short for the spring eye ends. But they worked for the center CRE-3000 pivot. So I am still missing the four spring eye wet bolts so I used the Lippert plain ole bolts with the bronze bushing all greased up.


I am now on the hunt for four 4" wet bolts and I am closing in on ordering them from a different manufacturer since MorRyde doesnt make anything longer than 3.4".



So this was a very difficult and frustrating mod caused by both manufacturers not providing the appropriate stuff in there kits. If you plan on doing this plan on many problems and a extended jagging around period to get everything correct.

Your outboard spring end mounts were wider than the spring eyes?

When I did my wet bolts I replaced the CRE3000 with a new one as the old one was seized. I found that the center bracket that hangs the CRE3000 was wider and the bolt pulled it in when tightened.