Should my 5th wheel have shock absorbers?

bpounds wrote:
You don't need them. Try the rig for a couple of outings and see if you don't agree with me.

roamermatt wrote:

-- Should I put shocks on it?
-- Why wasn't it equipped with them originally?
-- What purpose do shocks serve on RVs?

1. No, or at least not until you've given it a try.
2. Because they are not needed.
3. IMO? Not much. The purpose of shocks is to limit spring rebound so that tires remain firmly in contact with the road. On a car/truck that is important because you can't steer if your tires are loosing traction. You don't steer your trailer. Controlling bounce also helps with braking, because you can't brake if your tires are bouncing and loosing traction. But it doesn't have much affect on trailer braking.

I've seen more than one trailer where I could see daylight under a bouncing tire. Balancing and shocks would certainly help. Can you imagine how long a tire like that would last? Every time it hits the ground it skids; if you're braking, it's probably virtually stopped so it's hitting the ground from near-zero to X mph with each bounce. Unless you mount cameras in the wheel wells, you really don't know what's going on back there...unless you have someone pace you and check.

Lyle