Towing an Unlevel Trailer
I have a 29’ 2014 Chaparral fifth wheel RV that’s towed with my 2014 Dodge 2500 Ram truck (Mega Cab with a 6’ bed) using a Curt Q16 slider hitch.
After getting my RV home from the dealer I noticed that it didn’t sit level; it was noticeably high in the front and low in the rear. I measured the difference from the frame to the ground and found that the front of the trailer sat 9” higher than the rear did. Also, the pin box would make contact with my truck’s bed rails when making tight turns.
I read that a trailer should be towed relatively level so not to put too much weight on the tires which could cause blow-outs. So, I had the pin box adjusted (to its limit) to where the trailer now sits about 6” higher in the front, i.e. lowering the front by 3”. This adjustment also eliminated the bed rail contact issue with tight turns.
I then went to a certified scale with the trailer fully loaded and found that my tongue weight was well within the specified safe range, and the weight on the tires is about 10% below their maximum rating at the 75 psi pressure I am using.
There’s nothing more I can do to level my RV except changing the 5th wheel hitch to one that sits lower in the truck bed or use a different pin box that sits higher. Unfortunately, neither of these is viable as the clearance when making tight turns between the pin box and my truck bed is only about 1” now. Lowering the front of the trailer further would cause it to hit the bed again regardless of whether the slider was used or not.
I am still not happy with the front being 6” higher as the rearward tilt is pretty obvious. My questions are:
1) Is the rearward angle when towing a trailer a safety issue?
2) Is 10% enough of a safety margin for the weight on the tires?
Thank you for your help with this.
After getting my RV home from the dealer I noticed that it didn’t sit level; it was noticeably high in the front and low in the rear. I measured the difference from the frame to the ground and found that the front of the trailer sat 9” higher than the rear did. Also, the pin box would make contact with my truck’s bed rails when making tight turns.
I read that a trailer should be towed relatively level so not to put too much weight on the tires which could cause blow-outs. So, I had the pin box adjusted (to its limit) to where the trailer now sits about 6” higher in the front, i.e. lowering the front by 3”. This adjustment also eliminated the bed rail contact issue with tight turns.
I then went to a certified scale with the trailer fully loaded and found that my tongue weight was well within the specified safe range, and the weight on the tires is about 10% below their maximum rating at the 75 psi pressure I am using.
There’s nothing more I can do to level my RV except changing the 5th wheel hitch to one that sits lower in the truck bed or use a different pin box that sits higher. Unfortunately, neither of these is viable as the clearance when making tight turns between the pin box and my truck bed is only about 1” now. Lowering the front of the trailer further would cause it to hit the bed again regardless of whether the slider was used or not.
I am still not happy with the front being 6” higher as the rearward tilt is pretty obvious. My questions are:
1) Is the rearward angle when towing a trailer a safety issue?
2) Is 10% enough of a safety margin for the weight on the tires?
Thank you for your help with this.
