papageoff

Yup. Will be tackling the repairs if it ever stops raining. None taken. I didn't design it. Fwiw, Chevy doesn't mount them to the frame either. These were just a poor design in general. Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

You're much more level than I was. I'm glad to find that I can probably get there with some tweaking. I was worried I'd have to get a new truck.

That's a nice looking truck. I love those Centennial Edition badges. You're right, you're almost dead level. I think next time, I'll forgo their tech hooking it up and rig it all myself. Do you like the equalizer hitch? I've wondered about the noise with those friction systems and was kinda leaning towards one of those cam-based jobs.

Also thinking through some of those physics... The brackets that mount them are welded onto the two tubes in the back. I guess that theoretically extends the lever exerting force on the sheet metal. I never did like that second tube underneath. It made them very beefy looking, but also caused them to extend lower than I'd liked.

Actually, looking at them them... The design has changed. They didn't have a logo when I got them. There was just 5 stars on each pad. I wouldn't have bought them with a logo on the pad like that.

Nice. These are the ones I bought. They had decent reviews on amazon. Live and learn I guess.

In my admittedly limited experience steps, running boards, and nerf bars are all body mounted-- including the factory ones. It's not until you get into rock-rail territory that you find frame mounted gear. I wanted true rock sliders when I bought these but I couldn't find anyone who made them for less than $1k and in the end, this whale isn't going to see any serious off-roading. But I dunno... I bought chinese steps and am surprised they broke my truck. Though, in my defense... I figured the truck would be tougher than the steps. ;)

No warranty. It's a '15. It wouldn't have mattered anyway as these are not the factory steps. I installed them a little over 18 months ago. I was surprised when I did so by how thin that metal was, but I figured Chevy must know what they're doing. The steps I installed were some chinesium aftermarket ones. Aside from not being powered they looked good and worked well. What I think got me was that the instructions didn't include a torque spec. Since I was excited and in a hurry I didn't look one up. I know I tightened them about 1/2-3/4 turn shy of Good'n-Tight on the ole calibrated wrist. Well, some research after I found the problem showed that they're only supposed to be like 16 fl-lbs. I realize I have no one but myself to blame, but I do wish chevy reinforced those mounting points a bit more. The metal there is about the thickness of construction paper. There's no way to get anything behind the hole to sandwich it, either. That one I posted a pic of is the worst. It's in the middle on the passenger side. I noticed that the AMP PowerSteps don't use that mount so I'm looking at those as possible replacements. I like the stepless look and I don't strictly speaking need them, I only have a leveling kit. But I like having them and it makes it easier when the wife or our parents ride along.

It's the upper-middle cab mount. A couple of the others are not as bad but still damaged. Only thing I can figure is I cranked down on them too hard and over time they wore through and tore the metal. Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

If you're looking to unload them I might be interested. Depends on where you are and how hard it is to add them. Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

So I have been annoyed by a rattle in the truck for a few months now and I figured out what it is. It seems my steps have torn the sheet metal they mount to and the rattle was them moving around. My neighbor thinks he might be able to weld it but it was raining last night and we couldn't look closely. Good times... Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

I agree. The guy who set it up did complaint that he'd have preferred to do it back in the shop where the floor is more level than the ground was. I didn't think it was that bad, but he had the camper practically on the bumpstops it was squatting so low. I can't imagine that was correct. I've been doing some light research in to hitches and my current favorites are the equalizer and the strait-line hitches. We're not looking to buy too soon, so I'll look into that more later. The driveway isn't level by any means, but the slope is exaggerated by my not leveling the camera. It's more level than it looks. The way I attached it was to hitch the trailer and use the tongue jack to raise the trailer & truck together until I could get the chains on it. I think that's what you're describing. I was measuring at the front wheel because I figured that's where I was most worried about it. I figured I wouldn't be able to eliminate all the rear squat, but I wanted to get more weight back on the front. Should I have measured from the rear? I agree about the shank height. As soon as I saw that picture, I thought the same thing. I'm glad to read that you're using two different chain lengths for your configuration. It seemed logical to, but they didn't mention anything about it. Of course, the tech seemed to think the 2 links I asked for was more than necessary. For now, moving up to a bigger truck isn't a worthwhile endeavor. This truck is my daily and the added cost of diesel/DEF or just gas wouldn't be worth it considering that we will only be towing this heavy a few times a year. I think I'll get the roadmaster springs before the next tow. I like the idea of how they work unobtrusively and automatically. I know air bags cost the same initially but knowing me I'll get remote control and on-board air before I'm done. Aside from that, they are more likely to fail over time. Besides, adjustable shocks have taught me that if I have too many options I'll drive myself nuts trying to optimize it.

Here's a couple pictures of the setup taken when I got home. To me it looks like the trailer is leaning forward a little and the truck has a bit of squat, but nothing excessive. What do you think?

The wife and I are looking at getting a camper and decided to rent one to learn if we’d really be okay with the work and the towing. The camper we rented isn’t the same as we’re looking at, but it’s pretty close. The one we’re looking at is a little lighter. The trip was about 90 miles each way. It was nearly all interstate with some tighter back roads and about ¼-mile of dirt road in front of the house. I’ve put together a little outline about how things were configured/changed and what seemed to change from my perspective. The more astute readers may notice that we stopped at Walgreens and returned home twice. The first time was because my wife forgot to bring the anniversary cake. The second time was because she didn’t shut the garage. Annoying as they were, the stops gave me an opportunity to change the setup a bit. Truck: '15 Double Cab 4wd z71, 5.3L, 3.42 gears 9200 lbs tow capacity UWS toolbox: ~130 lbs with stuff (maybe) E-rated KO2s @ 55psi 2.25" Leveling Kit Trailer: '17 Cruiser RV MPG 2650RL 32' overall length Dry Weight: 5,705 Water tank ~ 400 lbs Propane & Battery: ~200? Food, clothes, other stuff.... Who knows. Didn't take the time to weight it all. Towing Trips: 1. Dealer -> Home A. Dealer tech set up WD-hitch with 1 chain link; massive squat B. I insisted on at least 2 links, still a good bit of squat C. Tech used 1-finger method to tighten the anti-sway brake D. Fresh water tank, propane tanks full Experience: Truck-trailer were a little bouncy and could feel the trailer exerting its influence on the truck a good bit. Impression: I'm nervous at this point. 2. Home -> Walgreens -> Home (max speed 45-50mph, backroads) A. 60lbs of firewood in the back of the bed B. Camper loaded with a 30lb box and 3-12pks DDP in back Experience: VERY bouncy, twitchy and somewhat unstable Impression: I'm getting very nervous about the bounciness and hoping it will settle out at speed. 3. Home -> Walgreens -> Home A. Moved firewood forward in the bed B. Moved heavy box and DDP forward to bedroom space Experience: Less bouncy (reasonable), still twitchy especially over bumps. Still feels like the trailer is able to take control if it decided to do so. Impression: Feeling a little better about it since the bounciness is significantly reduced. 4. Home -> Campsite Experience: On and off the TBC most of the time. Didn't go over 65 for more than a couple minutes (just experimenting). I was white-knuckling it most of the time. Passing trucks and other traffic pulled-pushed the camper around and at some points the steering got a little lighter than I've expected. Impression: I hated every minute of this. When we got there, I was ready to arrange for the dealer to pick it up at the end of the trip. I settled down a bit over the course of the week and did more research on how to set it up. 5. Campsite-> Home A. Only 5-6lbs of firewood left (if that) B. Moved the 2 bicycles to truck bed (~40lbs) C. Fresh water tank still basically full. Obviously, less of most everything else. D. Put Trailer on hitch without WD-bars. Got about 3/4" front-end lift. I put the wd-hitch on 3 links and got it about 1/2" back down. It was quite difficult to get the chain on and there was clearly a lot of spring tension in play. E. Tightened the anti-sway bar using my full-hand to the point where it just stopped and then 3/4-turn more Experience: Truck drove well. I had a near constant low-amplitude oscillation, but nothing as intense as the bouncing before. Absolutely no sway that I could identify even when trucks passed. I did notice that on broad curves like some off-ramps, that the trailer didn’t follow the curve like it should, but was kinda dragging sideways. I assumed the sway-bar was too stiff. Impression: It was a comfortable, easy experience. I can live with this. 6. Home -> Dealer (rain) A. Left WD-hitch at 3 links B. Loosened the anti-sway bar to hand-stopping point and 1/4 turn (per some video my wife found online) C. Camper empty (fresh water still full) D. Truck basically empty Experience: Everything felt "off" again. The bouncing was back... It wasn't as bad, but it was there. The sway when passed was back too. The rain added a new variable and I used 4wd (auto) for a couple of miles to make sure I could pull out safely and it worked well. The trip over the bridge during the storm was a bit hair-raising. I'm not sure if it was because of wind or the fact that people still went 80, but I couldn't get comfortable with it over 50 going up and 65 going down. Impression: I think the sway bar was too loose and maybe I had too much weight-distribution... I have no idea. I’ve been looking into things I might buy/change… I think I’d always use at least 3 links on the WD-hitch I think I’d keep the sway bar tight and let the tires take the beating on gentle curves I was looking at sumo springs or the roadmaster kit to help with the ride/squat issues. To add a new wrinkle, I have a coworker who has a similar sized trailer and until a few months ago the same truck as me. He just got a real purty 2500 for retirement. Anyway, he said that he uses 4 links on his hitch and doesn’t really remember how tight he makes the anti-sway bar. He said it towed well, but he just decided that staying off the interstates was an easy solution to most of the towing issues. You go slower and have less “aggressive” traffic. At any rate, all this is new to me. So, I look forward to anything you more experienced folks can share.

Time for an update... I switched back to regular 87 a few tanks ago and it's only pinged once or twice. It's enough that I'll probably stay on 89 for my base fills and when summer comes move up to 93. Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk