Hit the tailgate just a little bit

[Djessup]

Hi everyone,
Newbie to this forum. We just picked my birthday present yesterday. Rockwood ultra Lite 2650 WS fifth wheel. We have the Reese pro Series 15k with slider. It was marriaged to our old Hearland Big Country.
Took it down the driveway and put a dent in the tailgate rail. Ouch! Need some confirmation or ideas about solving. I'm sorry I don't know all the terminology, but it looks like I can raise the hitch arms by two bolt hole slots. Right now, it's sitting on the second hole from the top.
Coming down the driveway hill at a different angle isn't an option ..driveway too narrow. I'm driving a 2013 Ram 2500 6'6 bed. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Debra

[Stevemc]

Is your trailer level when hooked to the truck, no nose high or low? Ideally you want your hitch adjusted so your trailer is towing level but you need at least 6" of clearence between your truck and trailer. Even with the ideal setup the dynamics of uneven ground can cause contact between the truck and trailer. Start by making sure your hitch is adjusted to give you the 6" clearence and see how level it looks.

[Djessup]

Hi Stevemc,
We hitched up at the dealership on level concrete. I'll ask my husband if he looked at the clearance before we left. When I was driving home, glancing in side mirrors I thought it looked lower than when we pulled the Heartland.

[Djessup]

Stevemc, just checked with husband ... he is sure we had six inches. Problem came when we pulled down driveway. Truck was half way down and we could see it getting closer. I was committed at that point.

[Stevemc]

It's not uncommon to need to adjust your fifth wheel hitch height from one trailer to another. The trailer pin box may have some adjustment also depending on what kind it is. If you are a little low on the front of the new trailer the easiest solution may be to just raise your hitch to a higher hole position in the truck. We had to do that when we changed trailers too.
Oh and happy birthday and welcome to the forum. Nice birthday present!

[itat]

Did you have the slider hitch with the Heartland? Your Rockwood 5er has a Reese Revolution pin box so hopefully the dealer left the lock out bolts in place so the pin box won't spin.

[Djessup]

Driveway . Got some on going tree trimming today

[Djessup]

Thanks Stevemc for the birthday wishes. Yes, I'm a lucky gal!

Hey itat, yep we got the slider for the Heartland. I wanted the short bed for my everyday use. So we went with the slider. The dealer and husband diff made sure the bolts were in. We did stop once and back out of the driveway ...pulled trailer straight and engaged the Resee slider and tried again. Second time we really thought we would clear.

[Djessup]

Would anyone just do one hole up or take it the two holes up. Is there a difference besides clearance. Smoother ride or anything ???

[Stevemc]

I would judge be how level the trailer is on the truck. The more clearence the better as long as your not nose high.

[Djessup]

Thanks Steve,
Going to try and get the bolts undone this weekend. I need to take it to the Walmart parking lot ,to practice backing up. First trip out the following weekend.

[Stevemc]

Have fun. Nothing is more exciting than the maiden voyage in a new coach!

[jtesta1]

Get to a level spot and while your still hooked up measure front and rear of the trailer to ground it should be close to the same. Check trailer height not nose height. If it is close to the same check nose to pick up clearance. It should be 5 to 6 inches. If not adjust hitch or tongue accordingly.

[Big Bill]

It looks like the slider is all the way back? Correct better to be nose high than hit the tailgate

[Tron]

What part of the trailer come in contact with the tailgate? In the picture it looks like a gouge which would possibly be caused by the pinbox, which would be an indication possibly the slider hitch is in the back position. The slider hitch should only be used when backing up, when driving forward the slider hitch should be in full forward position. Is your driveway a dip or a crown? If you can please post some pictures of the trailer hooked up.

[chesba88]

As a last resort you can change the tailgate to a cutout tailgate design for fifth wheels