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MrHavasu's avatar
MrHavasu
Explorer
Oct 03, 2016

Fifth wheel bucking and jerking

Any ideas on how to reduce the bucking and jerking while towing? I have a Anderson ultimate 5th wheel hitch and have a 2014 Ram 2500 I tow with. Not u sure If something is not setup right or if I need to buy one of those king pin adapters with built in shocks or air bags to improve this. The trailer is just a tiny bit high in front, 39 foot toyhauler. It was not loaded down last time I just towed. Oh, Trailer is a Grand design momentum 348 with two axles.
Thanks in advance.
  • Need to run it over the scales when loaded so you know where the weights are. Once you have that you'll probably find your problem, if not you'll in the top 5% that actually know their weights. Could be not enough weight on the tongue, but without weights it's just a guess.
  • Its not an overloading issue. Please, I dont need the weight police. I am well under my axle rating and have towed my trailer before with a regular curt hitch, and the ride was much better.
    Good points made in prior posts, maybe its the nose a little high and how the Anderson moves the trailer back a little. I think I should look into moving the hitch ball forward and see if I can lower the king pin a little.
  • Need more information about how you were loaded, and what if any mods you've made to the truck. How much is the rear of your truck sagging when hitched? As mentioned, given the posted weights for that 5er you're probably overloading the truck, which can make it ride rough.

    It sounds like you are already aware that towing the 5er nose high can exacerbate chucking. Slop in hitches can also cause issues, but in your case that probably isn't the issue given the ball mount setup you're using tends to provide a smooth tight hookup. On the downside, your hitch is probably carries the weight relatively far back in your bed, which combined with overloading the rear end might make things a little rougher.

    I'd weigh the setup, and measure and post just how high you are in the front and see if that doesn't help in getting anything more than a wild guess.
  • Weights?
    My initial guess you are way overloaded on the TV. A 39 foot toy hauler even lightly loaded really needs a dually.