New 5th wheel - how much squat?
Going to pick up my new 5th wheel in a couple of weeks. I got to wondering what is the acceptable amount of squatting my truck should do when I hook it up? Wondering if I should go ahead and get air...
Forum Discussion
I drive a 2015 GMC 2500HD and I put airbags just before I got my fifth wheel because I wanted to be ready. Now that I've had that setup for a couple of years, I can honestly say it was probably a waste of money. The truck barely squats and I usually leave the airbags at 10psi (minimum is 5psi). Having said that I find two occasions that don't happen that often but do in fact benefit from the airbags.
First is when I hit a really rough road. Something like miles and miles of expansion joints. In those cases, pumping the airbags (which I do with the wireless remote while driving) up to 40psi does seem to help.
Second is on those very, very rare occasions when we tow at night. Pumping up to 25 or 30 psi will restore the headlight beams back down (I can tell by the reactions I'm seeing from on coming traffic).
As it relates to towing the 5er level, I've found that these newer TVs are so high, running with some squat helps me tow more level (I'm about 1 1/2" off level). If I pull into a camp ground where level pads and paths cause a lot of twisting of the 5er, I may pump the bags to get more rail clearance. This too has proven to be rare for me.
First is when I hit a really rough road. Something like miles and miles of expansion joints. In those cases, pumping the airbags (which I do with the wireless remote while driving) up to 40psi does seem to help.
Second is on those very, very rare occasions when we tow at night. Pumping up to 25 or 30 psi will restore the headlight beams back down (I can tell by the reactions I'm seeing from on coming traffic).
As it relates to towing the 5er level, I've found that these newer TVs are so high, running with some squat helps me tow more level (I'm about 1 1/2" off level). If I pull into a camp ground where level pads and paths cause a lot of twisting of the 5er, I may pump the bags to get more rail clearance. This too has proven to be rare for me.
