Towing 5th Wheel

brockermatt · July 2, 2016

I have 16 2500hd duramax and just finished towing a 9000lb travel trailer from Arizona to Colorado with no problems at all. I came home picked up my 5th wheel that empty is 10,500lbs (GVW 13,500). Driving it home was a rough ride. The truck was bouncing something terrible and I was experiencing wheel hop when I tried braking. Everyone told me that a 5th wheel should tow better but so far it is a rough ride. Will air bags or Roadmaster Active Suspension help with the bounce. I've towed a lot of trailers but this is my first 5th wheel.

wrc7732 · July 4, 2016

Not the same situation exactly, but my 1500 w/ a 8500 lb travel trailer hopped something awful. I put airbags on mine, and it's been a drastic improvement. I've also recently upgraded the shocks to Bilstein's from the z71 ranchos. I'll be towing the rig again next week and am hoping for additional improvement.

I will say though, that the biggest cause of my hopping over multiple loads has been trailer loading. Too much tongue weight makes for a pretty awful ride even with the bags.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Rvduck · July 4, 2016

Fifth wheels can have up to 25 % of their total weight on the pin and my 33 ft Montana Fifth wheel used to put about 2500 pounds on my pin and towed like a dream behind my 08 Silverado dually.

That 08 came with a real high rear end and a lower front end. To make the fiver sit level I got a Suspension place to lower the rear end of that truck That did make the top overloads engage all the time so I got a harsher empty ride.. Trailers have to tow level for their tandem brakes to work properly.

Now I haul a 5000 pound camper with my new 2016 dually and I bought the Tork Lift spacer blocks and installed them myself so the top overload is engaged right away. I had the same camper on the 08 dually, as stated above that truck was already on the top overloads so I had to buy the Tork Lift lower spacer blocks for the gap between the main spring pack and the lower overload. When I traded the truck in I removed these and sold them to a friend with a sagging Ram. They cured his problem. These spacer blocks in most situations are a better fix than air bags which I have used in the past. Watch some videos on the Torklift site.

Now my 2016 Dually has a better spring pack, the big bottom overload has the same profile as the main spring pack, no gap and no need for a bottom spacer. My 08 Dually had a 3700 pound legal payload being a Duramax.

My 2016 Dually with the frame changes and the gas engine has a 5700 pound legal payload. 1 ton more!

Nice feeling to be legal when you are hauling. The 08 handled the camper fine but was about 1500 pounds overweight.

therink · July 4, 2016

Something to keep in mind is that the pin on a 13k fifth wheel will weigh around 2600 lbs. Add the pin weight, weight of hitch, weight of cargo in truck including passengers and you are likely well over the truck payload and could be maxing out the rear Springs. The payload rating on the 2500 is around 2700 lbs.

Could very well explain the bad ride.

brockermatt · July 23, 2016

Thanks all for the responses. I ended up going with the Roadmaster active suspension and it made a huge difference on the towing.

Gecko50 · August 20, 2016

Well we all know the truck we buy.partially for that kool factor. The big thing we buy what fits our pocket book and make those payments. Well we try and now fit our RV needs into our nice new pickups. Most RV trailer 5thers name plate are rare in truth. Take a brand new trailer and look at the weight tags on the trailer. Most are over the tag stated weights just sitting there from the factory. Now add your added pre-camping weights such as bedding, cooking utensils, odds and ends like canned food, NOW add the propane bottles, and at least 1 tank partially filled with clean water. Roll it over a scale. Make sure you also weigh you trucks axles and the camping axles. You WILL be surprised! That nice 1/2 OR 3/4 ton truck will NOT carry the weights!

All of a sudden your brand new truck handles like a 15 year old bucking bronco. The truck jolts bangs and sways. You now have a death trap on YOUR hands. You bought the wrong truck. It can't handle the weight you attached to it. So you run down to the nearest RV / truck modification repair shop and they say add this new fangled suspension and your worries are over. its NOT over. Every DOT officer will look at the tag on your door and determine you are overweight. No matter how much added springs / air bags etc. IF you are unfortunate to have a accident your insurance company can if they want to decline coverage to you and the other persons involved. Today all insurance companies look for anything to cop out from paying the losses.

Long story short take the nice trailer and run it over a truck scales BEFORE you buy it. Then think all that stuff the significant other wants to add for creature comfort. Now buy the real truck you need to have. Like Clint Eastwood would say... "Feel Lucky"....

Chuck

PAE