How determine best height setting for Fifth wheel hitch?

I set my fifth wheel hitch in its highest position. Then I adjusted the pin box so that the trailer set close to level but with enough bed rail clearance. Having the hitch higher gives me more room in the bed for firewood gas cans etc.

texasgiddyup wrote:
Don't understand the unloading pin statement (below). The level of the hooked up trailer being a few inches high in the front or low in the front is based on the setting of the 5th wheel hitch and has no affect on loading of weight between pin and trailer axle. The pin weight is the same either way, as is the trailer axle weight.

donn0128 wrote:
Level ground, hitched, bubble level inside refer. Bubble should be level or slitely nose down indicating pin is loaded correctly. If your trailer is nose high, that means you are unloading the pin. And that is not a good thing as far as towing is concerned.

Your right... the only way to unload the pin is to add weight behind the axels

If you are doing the install yourself just set the hitch at it's highest position to pick up the trailer. You can adjust it down easily if you need to.

After you have your 5er loaded for a trip go down and get it weighed. Get a weight on each 5er axle by splitting the axles between the scale plates. If you are within 100lbs between the front and rear axle, OF THE 5er, then you are close enough to the right height for the hitch. Side to side weights are not as easy to get but can be done also, although they have no bearing on hitch height.

If you are over 100lbs difference in weight on the front axle then you can raise the hitch and visa versa if the weight is to heavy on the rear axle. A inch of two of nose up or nose down will not matter except to the axle weights.

Don't understand the unloading pin statement (below). The level of the hooked up trailer being a few inches high in the front or low in the front is based on the setting of the 5th wheel hitch and has no affect on loading of weight between pin and trailer axle. The pin weight is the same either way, as is the trailer axle weight.

donn0128 wrote:
Level ground, hitched, bubble level inside refer. Bubble should be level or slitely nose down indicating pin is loaded correctly. If your trailer is nose high, that means you are unloading the pin. And that is not a good thing as far as towing is concerned.

As a total newbie, I just set my Companion as high and as far forward as it would go and headed to the dealer. I =did= have my tools with me in case I needed to move anything, but I left it where it was. :-) Yes, I tow a bit nose-high as I need the ~8" of bed rail clearance for boondocking, but it doesn't seem to affect me too much. Fridge works just fine and no tire issues that aren't from running China bombs. It wasn't until about 4 years in, after reading here for a while, that I heard the term "flipping the axles", which would have helped me out, but I never did it.

Lyle

While our 5th was on order, I drove over to the RV dealer, and backed under a similar unit that was leveled and measured kingpin plate to bed, bedrails to 5th, etc. then you have to add a swag 1-2" for truck squat, and if the gap between bedrails, and 5th isn't somewhere around 6" then add that to the difference.

Or just throw your hitch into the truck as best guess, and head over to your selling RV dealer, and see if they will let you back under another, and do a hookup.

either way, you wont be waiting until D-day (deliver day) to find out if you are right on or way off....

Dave

Level ground, hitched, bubble level inside refer. Bubble should be level or slitely nose down indicating pin is loaded correctly. If your trailer is nose high, that means you are unloading the pin. And that is not a good thing as far as towing is concerned.