headlight adjustment

[badger5301]

After getting our new to us 2500 pickup last summer we had oncoming drivers flashing their high beams at us when we were pulling our fifth wheel. Not an issue when unhooked. We are well within our weight limits and the Ram rides very well on the coil springs with a couple inch drop when hooked up. Yesterday I went out to the shed and made adjustments to the headlights by lowering them a couple inches by shining them on the shed door. Have no idea at this time if the adjustment is going to help but I threw the proper wrench in our tool box just in case. Seems like a trial and error type thing but if there's anything I'm missing sure would appreciate the advice. Getting ready to leave Iowa in a few weeks for Key West Fl. and would like to have these darn things aimed right so we are not bothering others.

[TowPro]

Used the have to adjust my dually every time I loaded or unloaded the truck camper. I wrote on fender under hood showing which direction to turn screw for up, and marked number of turns. Also left mark on garage door to double check

[Chuck_S]

My Fords have a section and diagram in the owner's manual showing how to adjust the headlights by shining against a wall 25 feet away. Nothing in your Brand-X manual?

-- Chuck

[Doppleganger]

Simple geometry. Back of the truck squats, pivots on the front wheels, front end tilts up, your low beams are now high beams. I see this ALL THE TIME with people pulling equipment. I have no idea why a $60k truck can't come with auto-leveling headlights. My Jeep has them. If I slam on the brakes, jeep dives, headlights adjust, come to a stop, jeep levels out, headlights adjust. They've been a thing on European vehicles with HIDs for a LONG time, too. I've even seen a Subaru WRX STi that had a switch to lower the headlights when you load it up, -1, -2, -3 type of thing. Not like it's some magical technology. But, aside from that, yea, you'll have to adjust them so they're properly aimed when loaded. Generally the top of the beam should be 2.1" to 2.5" below the centerline of the headlight (there will usually be a mark on the lens) at 25 feet. Don't forget to reaim the fog lights if you're the type that runs them in clear weather, too.



I'm a headlight geek, have been for a long time. I've taken apart headlights, removed the optics, replaced with upgraded HID optics, and smiled at the sharp cutoff, wide beam pattern, and fantastic light output.



When we took a drive across the country in my SRT-4 6 years ago, I had to adjust the headlights because we loaded the car so much. Just part of being a responsible driver.

[wtbuck12]

May be a dumb question, but don't they make air bags that can be installed to assist the truck suspension and relevel the truck?

[tomkatb]

I installed timbrens helper devices on my Ram 2500. 30 minute to install.

No one flashes me. The truck is still a little high on the back with fiver attached.

Frankly, though, we do not tow much at night! We try to stay between 9 and 5.

My opinion is the Ram springs are a little whimpy.

[wtbuck12]

My son has a Ram 3500 and he installed a set of air bags. The kit had a small compressor to mount under the hood with a remote control in the cab, he can adjust the bags as needed on the go.

[Lins]

The previous owner probably had them adjusted too high. Ours came very low from the factory even though we have the auto level air ride in the rear.

It doesn't have to be trial and error, there are methods on how to do it all over the internet. You're probably close now, but you could adjust them with close to the equivalent of the pin weight in the box and whatever is normally in the cab when you're on the road.

[tomkatb]

Frankly the lights on our Ram are not good at best. Low quality.

Turning on the brights does very little.

[Doppleganger]

While these may be pricey, they will probably give you the best light output, while not having to do all the manual labor of an HID retrofit yourself.



https://www.theretrofitsource.com/as...ssemblies.html


Good company to buy from, too.

[TowPro]

trucks sit high in the back for 1 reason, its because the way spring work. If they make them so truck is level with both empty and full the truck will ride like it has no suspension. So the springs are tall and as they compress they carry more weight.

But factory adjust the headlights for the truck sitting high in the back.

With the proper amount of weight on a (stock) truck it should sit level.
My 15 and 18 ram 3500 (14,000 GVW) was level with 4500-5K truck camper in the bed, but jacked up in rear empty.


the only exception for this is the trucks with factory air leveling. But look at them loaded (or empty) they are level, not jacked up in the back.


you don't need air bags. (unless your talking the factory auto level system)
air bags are good to get you back to level after you pass the level point in the rear (but by than your overloaded).
and be careful on some trucks. the air bags mount too far inside, pump them up and your truck now sways like crazy.

[TowPro]

Originally Posted by tomkatb

Frankly the lights on our Ram are not good at best. Low quality.

Turning on the brights does very little.

I guess it depends on year and model.
my 2018 Laramie 3500 had nice headlights.


first time I had my truck camper loaded once it turned dark I thought the headlights sucked. Pulled into a gas station, filled up and pulled off the pump so my truck was facing the building. right next to me was another dodge of same design. My headlight were about a foot higher than his.
I turned down my head lights to match his and everything was fine.

[badger5301]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Won't know if my adjustment is correct until we leave for Florida in a few weeks. Still have a bunch of ice here and I'm afraid if I pull the fifth wheel out of the shed I may not get back in (our driveway is not level up to the shed). Our truck sits quite high in the back when unloaded but is level when hooked up. The fifth wheel is dead on level when hooked up so I really don't want to change that by raising the rear of the truck. Maybe the previous owner of our truck had the lights adjusted to his liking causing our problem. Once I read the book the adjustments were very easy so it will not be a huge hassle if I need to adjust some more on the road.
Just want to travel and enjoy the whole thing without upsetting others.

[Doppleganger]

Could always pull the front up on ramps to level the truck out and adjust...