Fifth wheel chucking (practical help needed)
I am in search of some practical (layman terms) help for fifth wheel chucking. I am relatively new to fifth wheeling and towing in general. I have a 29 ft fifth wheel with a 11,000 lb GVWR (older so...
Forum Discussion
Unfortunately, all fifth wheels are different and the short ones are more susceptible to generating chucking forces. One thing you might want to check is your Flex-Air pin box. As fifth wheels rotate around an axis and due to the high hitch angle, the pin box pushes down and forward when the tires go over a bump or road imperfection. Check the lower arm of your pin box. If it is pointing down towards your hitch, then it is pushing forward during compression and making chucking worse. Decrease air pressure so it is pointing up.
I too have a 11,000# GVW fiver, 31 ft., and the chucking was horrendous to the point of my wife telling me to sell the trailer half an hour into our first trip. I chose to go with a Trailer Saver TS3 hitch which has geometry just the opposite of your pin box; the hitch retracts when being compressed. Chucking disappeared completely.
You will soon receive comments regarding truck improvements such as shocks; they don't do anything. Your trailer is pushing forward against your frame, completely out of of the suspension vectors.
If you want, private message an email address and I will forward a paper describing what causes chucking and possible solutions. I know it is frustrating; awesome truck, relatively lightweight trailer, and the tow is bad.
I too have a 11,000# GVW fiver, 31 ft., and the chucking was horrendous to the point of my wife telling me to sell the trailer half an hour into our first trip. I chose to go with a Trailer Saver TS3 hitch which has geometry just the opposite of your pin box; the hitch retracts when being compressed. Chucking disappeared completely.
You will soon receive comments regarding truck improvements such as shocks; they don't do anything. Your trailer is pushing forward against your frame, completely out of of the suspension vectors.
If you want, private message an email address and I will forward a paper describing what causes chucking and possible solutions. I know it is frustrating; awesome truck, relatively lightweight trailer, and the tow is bad.
