I picked up my rig on July 4th and we just got back from a weekend at a local state park. Everything went well and so far, we are happy with everything about our TH as well as how the truck tows but, I will be adding some Tibrens to my TV this week to keep it from squatting as much.That said, I have a few questions;How much space should there be between the bed and the front of the TH?I see where there are adjustment holes where I can still move the king pin up but, I also have adjustments on the hitch to move it down if needed. Which should I adjust first or does it matter?Your help is greatly appreciated.A couple of pics**(please note that my driveway is not level and declines from the TV towards the TH)**Moderators Edit: Adjusted photo width to 640 pixels per the forum guidelines. The Photo FAQ's has help & tips for posting photos.

jbee wrote: I have a few questions;How much space should there be between the bed and the front of the TH?I see where there are adjustment holes where I can still move the king pin up but, I also have adjustments on the hitch to move it down if needed. Which should I adjust first or does it matter?Your help is greatly appreciated.1. 6" is a good minimum between the top of the bed rail, and the bottom of the 5er.2. I don't think it matters which you adjust first. You will likely have more finite adjustments on one or the other so it might take a combination of moving the 2 to get your desired results.

6" is the absolute minimum for a trailer that mainly travels on paved roads and camps at improved campgrounds. If you like to visit places in the National Forest and dispersed type camping, off-road, -IMO you need more like 8" of clearance for off-camber situations and un-even ground.You want to maintain the trailer frame as parallel to the ground as this maintains good towing manners. Nose high can create added chucking and porpoising for two main reasons. Trailer suspension is not in the neutral position to absorb roadway impact energy. High PIN also affects weight distribution -need PIN at about 20% of loaded trailer for best towing. In the first picture -the trailer appears to be somewhat nose high currently. It is difficult to tell for sure due to the ground slope but a tape measure will tell the tale in a couple of minutes. Measure from ground to I-beam in the rear close to the end and the again near the front just before the frame step up for the fifth wheel pin platform on reasonably level ground.On my toyhauler -9" of clearance because we visit dispersed camping areas in national forest and BLM areas extensively and the raods are rough and un-even.

I have 9 inches of clearance on mine, but I go off road all the time. 6" is minimum IMO.Wow, you must have alot of pin weight. Your truck is squatting pretty bad.Do you have a F250 or 350?Do you have E rated tires? With that much pin weight, make sure you aren't over loaded on your tires.I agree about the trailer being level/parallel to the ground. Looks like you are nose high.

lincster wrote:I have 9 inches of clearance on mine, but I go off road all the time. 6" is minimum IMO.Wow, you must have alot of pin weight. Your truck is squatting pretty bad.Do you have a F250 or 350?Do you have E rated tires? With that much pin weight, make sure you aren't over loaded on your tires.I agree about the trailer being level/parallel to the ground. Looks like you are nose high.The pin weight with no cargo in the rear is at 2600lbsThe truck is an F250 that sits almost level with no load , may put some F350 blocks or perhaps some trac blocks that are the same size as the F350 in addition to the timbrens. The tires are E rated LT305/55/20 e121s load rating so they should be suffecient. They need to be replaced here within the next 5-6k miles and I will be going to an e rated E126Q tire

Is it just the picture or does the butt end of the TH look like it is saging? Don't look at the relation to the driveway, but the curve of the roof. Or do they all slope back like that?

A few questions on my setup | Good Sam Community

jbee
Explorer
Jul 25, 2013
pronstar wrote:
That's cheating...your landing gear is still down :B

HAHA! It is off of the ground about an inch in the second pic...just can't tell in the pic!
pronstar
Explorer
Jul 25, 2013
That's cheating...your landing gear is still down :B
rtataryn
Explorer
Jul 25, 2013
Nice!
jbee
Explorer
Jul 25, 2013
Had the system installed today and it does what it is supposed to. Can't wait to pull with them!

before;

after;
pronstar
Explorer
Jul 23, 2013
I've got the AirLift Wireless setup...I think it's great.
turner66
Explorer
Jul 23, 2013
I had $311.40 in the Ride Rite bag kit, and $431.55 in the Air Lift WirelessAir system. Those were the cheapest prices for each item I could find anywhere at the time, and I spent days searching. I installed myself. System works great.

BTW: I don't really need it to level my ride with the RV. But, I do like to adjust the way it rides (firmness) and it is fun to play with :)

Now, for my dump trailer I do use it to level with. The trailer axles are at the rear so the dump bed can tilt without hitting the ground. This means there is a huge amount of weight on the tongue if I load with something real heavy like gravel.
soonernation
Explorer
Jul 23, 2013
I have the Firestone airbags but not the remote compressor. I was shown how this works by a fellow camper recently and I have to have one now. So much easier than manually airing up the bags.
jbee
Explorer
Jul 23, 2013
Well I made the decision to add Firestone airbags with the wireless compressor kit from AirRide. This will be installed on Wednesday. The tires will be replaced very soon as well with a 295/60r20 that have a 126E rating (3748lbs). I feel very confident that this will make the ride and my piece of mind much better!!
rtataryn
Explorer
Jul 19, 2013
pronstar wrote:
Here's the thing:
Other than dual rear wheels, there's generally little difference between a SRW 2500 and a DRW 3500.

Rear end - same (may have different gearing, but you can swap gears to make them the same)
Brakes - same
Axles - same
Suspension - same, except for an overload spring or two, which can be easily remedied as well

The "litigation" issue is classic.
It's silly to imply that my insurance company won't cover me if I'm 1,000 lbs overweight, but will cover all damages if I get drunk, drive 100 mph and crash my car.

Years of these litigation posts, and not one shred of evidence.
This site even has a moderator who was an insurance adjuster who states its hogwash.

To close my rant...
GAWR's are assigned for the tires/wheels the truck came with, and the intended use of the truck. For example, my truck has a RAWR of 6,200 lbs from Dodge. Duallies are rated higher...yet AAM gives this exact same axle 11.5 a GAWR of 10,120 lbs.

Exactly.

SRW and DRW have the same axle - rated at way more load than any pair of tires you can buy. The limiting factor is the wheels and tires. jbee's SRW came stock with 3100# tires, hence the 6200# rear axle cap on the sticker. Switch to Class E tires rated at say 3640# and you've increased your rear axle capacity by 1080 lbs to 7280#. (Your GCWR WON'T increase!) Add your airbags to level you out and save your springs and pinion and you'll be fine. You may even be able find some 10 plys in your size rated at 3750 lbs per tire.

My truck and TH weights are nearly identical to jbee's setup.
sportsman_500
Explorer
Jul 19, 2013
Here are the prices I have found for the bags. right at 500 for the bags installed and a manual fill valve. I can get the bags, compressor, and dash switch/gauge kit for $900.00 installed. The final option is the bags, bigger compressor and wireless controller with gauge and auto settings for $1100.00.

Does this sound right?

For me it is hard to tell. I did the install myself. I have the Ride Rites with the compressor and manual control w/gauge on my dash.
I paid $274 for the bags and another $211 for the compressor both off Amazon.com Option 2 is going to cost you $400 in labor. I guess if you can't do the job yourself it is worth it. Two of my friends have option 3 with the wireless remote and auto fill/deflate. That system is pretty slick.

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