[quote author=mazeeff link=board=11;threadid=23417;start=0#msg219859 date=1070848321]
I just picked up a 27' 5th wheel to tow with my 2003 3500. T The trailer weighs 10,100lbs and the hitch weight is 1300lbs. . . .
[/quote]

mazeef,

Sounds like your hitch weight is too light, at 13% of the gross weight of the 5er. Recommended hitch weight for 5ers according to RV Industry should be 17%. 17% of 10,000# would be 1700# on the hitch. The light hitch weight creates another problem with your 3500's helper springs, that of float and bounce off the helpers.

Redistribute your load toward the front. You most likely have fresh water tank behind the rear axle. You may need to travel with a minimum amount of water in it to put more weight on the hitch.

Good Luck

 

Yep Sierra Phil is right about that, the industry standard for trucks in semi form is 25%, I never let mine get less than 20% Maybe that is why hotshots can haul more weight safely and stable. Mine is normally 25% or even more hitch weight, makes a big difference.

 

My water tank is in the front, so I'll fill it up and give it a try.

 

Get use to it. Really, unless you have dually or a long heavy duty truck you will feel some jerking and tugging from the fiver. That fiver weighs more than the truck with a lot more counter balance from the height and width. A dually has a lot stiffer suspension to absorb the bouncing and rough riding.

Does your fiver have shocks on the axles? That helps to control the trailer's ride, resulting in a better ride for the truck. Also, adjust your brakes, if your traveling on back rough roads tapping your brakes--the brakes could be grabbing and jerking the truck back and forth.

 

Truck hitch position may be found on the Reese website, it differs for most all brands and SB or LB models. The dry pin weight varies from 14% to 18% for most 5er brands and models. I spent considerable time calculating this on the net using factory published figures. If your 5er is not more than a couple inches high in front it should pull easily. I vote with the guys recommending new truck shocks(Ranchos, Bilsteins) as your first step as factory shocks aren't much. You aren't going to eliminate all the bucking and surging as road surface has a great deal over this. I've found just slowing down 5mph will eliminate bucking/surging most of the time. Someone mentioned those symathetic strips here in Indiana, if you drive 5mph below the speed limit they almost disappear. Kinda makes me wonder if that isn't the purpose of them.

 

I have a long box 01' CTD 2500 and tow a 30'5 fifth wheel and have experienced the same bucking with my truck. Like everyone else says after weight was added to my trailer the bucking pretty well ceased. At the time I had 65,000 miles on my factory shocks, they have since been replaced but I think the extra weight just holds things down and keeps the bouncing minimalized. The other guys had a good point about the fact that your truck is way out-sized compared to the trailer that you are towing, so any of these bad roads that you guys are talking about will magnify the problem situation 10 fold. Hope this helps you a little, happy camping.

 

Ok, I have to chime in here.
Can anyone post the Bilstein part # for the 03s they are using? I want to make sure I get the correct ones.

Also,
a bit off topic, but the shocks on the trailer are a must on rough roads.
A frined of mine just got back from Alaska. He is a mechanic type and likes to help people.......
He had to help SEVEN people with 5ers replace broken springs on them. All of them were shockless. The guys that had no problems had shocks on their 5ers. One guy told him that he broke springs till he put shocks on. The perma frost wedging causes the road to drop, when the trailer drops, it's too much at once and snaps the springs. I bet they were inverting pretty bad.

Greg

 

Oddly enough, mine bucks worse now that it's more level than it did before I flipped the axles (to level it). I thought it was because when it was angled towards the back, most of the stress was being transferred to the rear axle of the fiver instead of onto the truck.

FYI, I put Rancho 9000s on my Ford and it didn't make that much of a difference on that setup. I would like to try the shocks on the fiver and an air susp pinbox, but I don't use the fiver enough to justify the expense.

Neil