Fifth wheel sway problems

[Slow Moon]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

OP's problem was resolved by adjusting king pin box and hitch heights. Had nothing to do with weight capacities or the ridiculous manufacturer's CC suggestion. Weight police should start another thread

Wildcat is absolutely right, but nobody should think anyone here is "provoking" anyone. This is a good, enjoyable, informative thread. IT'S ALL GOOD! I suggest all of the comments are meant with good intentions. Some are more accurate and helpful than others. "Weight Police" is not derogatory. It simply indicates strong disagreement with a particular, commonly held belief that even a minor violation of the yellow sticker payload value is dangerous, reckless and causes every problem experienced.

My two cents is that even if a TV is overloaded, that alone should not induce sway. If there is sway, something else is wrong and should be addressed. I'm very glad to hear the OP sway problem has been addressed and solved to his satisfaction. My experience is I, er, MY FRIEND, often travels "overloaded," and has yet to experience the slightest scintilla of sway. He also used to drive over 70 mph, but holds below 63 mph now for an additional margin of safety.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL

[saus]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

Happy Thanksgiving to you also Saus! Always enjoyable!!!

I’m done bustin on you. I hope that you have a great Thanksgiving.

[W5CI]

IMHO ifs you have a 5er that is swaying you have a Major problem somewhere. there are only a few things that could cause that. I think mainly would be the tires on the TV being under inflated and or the 5er isn't anywhere level. I had a GMC 2500 gasser that would not sway but the rear of the truck would move around. I got rid of it and got a RAM 3500 DRW and now have no issues what so ever. with a CCW of 6591lbs which is way more than I will ever need

[BigRockr]

Happy Thanksgiving!

[Jesse]

Get a diesel dually F-350 or 3500 you will love it, feel like your in control 100% of the time, your camper won't be driving you at moments.

[5picker]

Originally Posted by Jesse

Get a diesel dually F-350 or 3500 you will love it, feel like your in control 100% of the time, your camper won't be driving you at moments.

Why stop there?
Get a 450 or 550 or a Freightliner.

Jesseeeeeeeeeeee...............

[Jesse]

Yeppers love my F-450

timmmmmmm

[5picker]

Originally Posted by Jesse

Yeppers love my F-450

timmmmmmm

But... why didn't you buy bigger?

[Jesse]

40 footer is plenty for us.

[kenenn]

Dont forget to include Wheel Alignment and Bent Axles on your RV can cause some of the problems with sway.

[Carguy1965]

Hey folks, Not trying to hijack the thread but I think The OPs issue has been solved. I would like to call on the expertise of the weight police as we are contemplating a move up to a 5vr in the not to distant future..



Current TV is a 2016 Ram 2500 4x4 with the Cummins. Fully deleted but stock suspension, pulls my Windjammer like its not back there..


Factory says
GVWR 10,000
Payload 2380
GCWR 25,300
Max Trailer 17,210


We are looking at a Montana 331RL


Dry weight 11,243

GVWR loaded 14,260
Hitch weight 2265
37 Ft Long..



Is that to much for my truck ? Would adding air bags alter the situation at all.. If I need a Dually thats what I will do, but I really like my current TV and have spent some time and $$ getting it just the way I kike it..



Thank you for your valued input..

[djhender]

I have a RAM 2500 4WDR Diesel. I have a5th wheel 10,800 lbs dry weight and I am guessing near 15,000 loaded. Not having that problem. If yours is a gas model it is probably inadequate for towing that load. Go on-line or to a dealer to get towing specs for you vehicle.

[JohnD10]

The only people who call others "the weight police" are those that are towing over capacity and know it, but don't care!

[Mutineer3366]

One thing I noticed. "encountered sway at 65". Please check the speed rating for your tires, you may be at or over your tire limit, and always check your air pressure daily. They usually don't put on the highest quality tires on new 5ers.

[rogerramjet442]

should not be a problem ? check all your air pressure truck and rig
.

[LegacyFB38]

Originally Posted by Jesse

Yeppers love my F-450

timmmmmmm

2X

[dalford]

Originally Posted by Carguy1965

Hey folks, Not trying to hijack the thread but I think The OPs issue has been solved. I would like to call on the expertise of the weight police as we are contemplating a move up to a 5vr in the not to distant future..



Current TV is a 2016 Ram 2500 4x4 with the Cummins. Fully deleted but stock suspension, pulls my Windjammer like its not back there..


Factory says
GVWR 10,000
Payload 2380
GCWR 25,300
Max Trailer 17,210


We are looking at a Montana 331RL


Dry weight 11,243

GVWR loaded 14,260
Hitch weight 2265
37 Ft Long..



Is that to much for my truck ? Would adding air bags alter the situation at all.. If I need a Dually thats what I will do, but I really like my current TV and have spent some time and $$ getting it just the way I kike it..



Thank you for your valued input..

Yes, the number that is exceeded first is your payload. You say your trucks payload is 2380. The 5th wheel hitch dry weight is 2265. That, if correct from mfgr, only leaves you 115lbs of payload capacity. So now add you, your significant other, gear, 5th wheel hitch and gear to your RV and you will be way over the GVWR rating of your truck. Get that 3500.

[pdqparalegal1]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

The only people who call others "the weight police" are those that are towing over capacity and know it, but don't care!

Not nessarily I care

[MikeRP]

Originally Posted by Carguy1965

Hey folks, Not trying to hijack the thread but I think The OPs issue has been solved. I would like to call on the expertise of the weight police as we are contemplating a move up to a 5vr in the not to distant future..



Current TV is a 2016 Ram 2500 4x4 with the Cummins. Fully deleted but stock suspension, pulls my Windjammer like its not back there..


Factory says
GVWR 10,000
Payload 2380
GCWR 25,300
Max Trailer 17,210


We are looking at a Montana 331RL


Dry weight 11,243

GVWR loaded 14,260
Hitch weight 2265
37 Ft Long..



Is that to much for my truck ? Would adding air bags alter the situation at all.. If I need a Dually thats what I will do, but I really like my current TV and have spent some time and $$ getting it just the way I kike it..



Thank you for your valued input..

I was looking at this same trailer for a while but ended up with a Cedar Creek. Your tow ratings are nearly exactly the same as mine except payload. Mine is a 3500 CC SRW SB.

Ram has some built in number allowances that need to be accounted for in payload so you need to check your build sheet i.e. for mine 300 lbs for passengers; 250 lbs for the hitch; and 100 pounds for cargo.

There’s a good thread over on RV.net that explains weight ratings from a law enforcement perspective that is a good read. Question is safety. I can already tell without even towing my new Cedar Creek I need to leave more room for stopping over my Ram 1500 and I need to slow down because these trucks are pigs.

Many have towed trailers with a 2500 but I would think you’d need to stiffen up your rear end. However, no doubt you will be over your weight ratings. But question is can it be done safely and “in my opinion,”,you have a very capable truck and it probably can be done safely with some modifications but that’s something you need to search out.

Have you weighed your truck with a full tank of fuel? That’s a good place to start. I may even need to put airbags on my truck to level the load and my trailer starts out about 1000 lbs more than the one you are considering.

No doubt you will exceed GVWR and payload. So anyway, you will need to take extra precautions to tow safely and understand the money you will have to invest to tow safely with a 2500.

However, most will say get a 3500 and some may say you need a DRW. So it seems a 2500 truck either made by Ford, Ram, or Chevy have a narrow range for towing fifth wheels. and stay within the ratings.

But GVWR seems to be an arbitrary kind of rating. For instance, your are 10,000 lbs, my SB 3500 is 11,700 lbs, and a LB 3500 is 12,400 lbs. Now why would a LB have a 600 lb advantage over a SB 3500? Same brakes tires and rear end.

But my opinion is that’s arbitrary but tires are not. We all know you should exceed your tires capability.

Crazy alot to think about. Take your time and figure it out for your piece of mind.

Let us know what you decide and why. Good luck! I

[kerrlakelover]

If I missed this in another comment, I apologized up front. I'm not an expert or "weight police, just a common sense 101 kinda guy. While I saw specifically pin box and hitch adjustment plus many overall weight comments, I did not see anyone mention the importance of insuring you 5ver is level when hooked up to the TV. Don't overlook the importance of insuring your 5ver is riding level and all four tires have equal (or nearly equal) weight loads. (TheRoberts4 may have looked at this as he adjusted his box and hitch, but did not say.) Once you get this figured out, the the box, hitch and truck bed clearance should be about right...with the exception of the bedrail clearance which has been and issue for several years on several of the newer model trucks with high bed rails. (I ended up putting a leveling kit on my 2500HD which dropped the back corner of my bedrails a couple of inches which reduced my clearance concerns a bit.)

Several years ago after we bought our Sandpiper, I ran into a really nice NC Trooper who was nice enough to spend a couple of hours weighing my rig. Once I got all the weights equalized and the rig level, it towed much better and my tire life was hopefully improved too.

Just my 2 cents...hope all had a great Thanksgiving!