Unable to level 5th Wheel

[Djsimas510]

Anyone have a remedy to leveling out their 5th wheel? When hitched up the 5th wheel is riding Nose high and the rear of the trailer is downward. I am 28” off the ground from the front of the trailer and 21” off the ground at the rear. Clearance from bed rails are approx 6.5” - 7.5”.

The hitch is on the lowest setting and there doesn’t appear to be any wiggle room to adjust the kingpin.

The RV dealer said the bed of the dodge truck is much higher than most trucks and the 5th wheel industry isn’t factoring that into their builds.

- Stock 2019 Ram 2500 Cummins
- 2020 Jayco Eagle HalfTon
- 15” wheels
- leaf springs on top of axle
- BW puck system hitch

The rear of the 5th wheel is approx 7” closer to the ground than the front.

The dealer wants to weld blocks under the frame to raise the rear. I’d like to try other options before I consider doing this. Dealer said it welding these blocks will NOT void the warranty.

what I am considering (info gathered from this site so thank you all)
- upgrade to 16” wheels
- dropping the leaf springs to the bottom hole ( dealer said this will void the warranty, but welding blocks under the frame will not? Makes no sense to me).

Has anyone added additional leafs (from 4 to 6) to raise the rear?

Any other solutions or idea to get it as close to level as possible.

[cgalutera1]

I have an Eagle HT 26.5BHS and 2015 Ram Diesel. The bed in stock form was high. In the RV, I moved the axles below the leafsprings and moved the leafsprings at the very last mounting hole in the frame. The nose was still too high. My goal was to have gap of 5-6 inches between the truck bed and the fifth wheel. So, I added the blocks between the leafsprings and the axles to raise it even more. After all that, I have 6 inches of gap but nose high still. I stopped at this point because I don't believe it matters if the RV is not level during transit. I was more worried about the gap.


Carlo

[Colorado]

Welding a “spacer” between the frame rails and the hanger brackets will allow you to keep the leaf springs in the higher hole (closer to frame). This reduces the leverage the springs have on the hangers themselves. This method also keeps the springs below the axles i.e. stock position but gives you and any potential buyers, the option, if necessary, to either flip the springs over the axles or lower the leaf springs to a different hole.

I cut the hanger brackets off the frame rails and cleaned everything up. I used a 2x3x 7’ x 3/16” rectangle tube as the spacer, then welded new hangers and gusseted them to the new tubing. This allowed me to weld flat on a table rather than doing this under the camper while trying to keep everything squared up and not fight gravity with 5 separate pieces per side.

I opted for a 7’ tube rather than the 5' needed to provide additional frame support in this area. Once everything was welded to the new spacers, I clamped them to the frame, checked and triple checked them for square on both frame rails then burned them in. I wrapped the area in a welding blanket to ensure everything cooled SLOWLY so as not to introduce warping. Once everything was cooled , I checked the measurements then painted everything with a rattle can and re-installed the axles. This is also the time to seriously inspect your leaf springs...do they need to be replaced and possibly upgraded???

I would not weld “blocks” but use a solid piece that measures at least 12” longer than what’s needed…more strength and easier to keep everything squared up and you’re only technically welding 2 pieces rather than 10 to the frame rails. Keep in mind that the size of the spacer do NOT indicate how much lift you’re adding. This information will come from clamping the hanger brackets to the spacer then measure from the distance between the TOP of the spacer to the leaf spring hole.

I hope this Elpaso...

[SeventyGTX]

Seems to be a common issue with Ram HD's and Jayco HT's. I need to move my pinbox up a couple of holes as I have nearly 9" of clearance.

[Florida Ranger]

Does problem happen with a Ford F-250 ? (2019,2020)

[Djsimas510]

Originally Posted by SeventyGTX

Seems to be a common issue with Ram HD's and Jayco HT's. I need to move my pinbox up a couple of holes as I have nearly 9" of clearance.

Well, sorry, but I am glad you’re having the same issue and not just me (it’s not an isolated incident). I feel like the dealership should have said something to me about how I am riding nose high. I bought the hitch from them, they installed it and hooked up the 5th wheel and I drove off with it. Shortly after did I read about the importance of have it as level as possible.

I going to add 16” wheels in the next few week. Just need to determine which endurance tires I want/can go with. Either Goodyear endurance ST235/85R16 or ST255/85R16. Clearance from the wheel well will determine which ones I go with. Also going to drop the leaf springs springs to the bottom hole. I will let you know what changes I get and whether I recommend anything.

[SeventyGTX]

Originally Posted by Djsimas510

Well, sorry, but I am glad you’re having the same issue and not just me (it’s not an isolated incident). I feel like the dealership should have said something to me about how I am riding nose high. I bought the hitch from them, they installed it and hooked up the 5th wheel and I drove off with it. Shortly after did I read about the importance of have it as level as possible.

I going to add 16” wheels in the next few week. Just need to determine which endurance tires I want/can go with. Either Goodyear endurance ST235/85R16 or ST255/85R16. Clearance from the wheel well will determine which ones I go with. Also going to drop the leaf springs springs to the bottom hole. I will let you know what changes I get and whether I recommend anything.

Just so you know, I added 16s and Goodyear Endurance tires to mine and are in the photo. I went with 235/80r/16's on 7" rims. So far no clearance issues even over some fairly bouncy roads at 70 mph. Mine was already on the lower holes.

[SeventyGTX]

Since I traded my Wildcat to a dealer for the Jayco, I had them take the new 16" Goodyears and rims off the Wildcat and install on the Eagle. So I never really ran it with 15s, but the pic below will give you an idea of size difference and I'm still nose high. From memory I think the 15's were 225/75/15...