I felt just like a dadgum bobblehead doll

[Sojourner]

I just returned from a 1,300 mile round trip pulling my 33' Hitchhiker 5er (11k empty) thru Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. After installing the Mopar 'factory lowering kit' which lowers the bed of the 4x4 Ram dually ~1 7/8" to help in pulling a 5er more level (by replacing the spacer blocks with shorter blocks and entirely removing the auxiliary springs as per DC's instructions with the kit) and adjusting the pin box on the 5er, I've got my 5er tracking very level at this point. I cannot believe how bad the ride is. When I say I felt just like a bobble head doll, that is exactly the feeling after a couple of hours. This 'bobblehead doll' action is very hypnotic - which is not good at all. I kept having to literally slap myself back into full consciousness.



Any and all suggestions are appreciated. I intend to install the Trailair retro-fit suspension and the Trailair hitch on the pinbox. Is the Kelderman four link rear suspension the best solution to cure this problem on the truck side of the equation?



TIA!

 

[RMcCulloch]

I feel your pain [lower back, tailbone, neck, et. al. ] and strongly suggest you get in touch with Easy Rider and talk to them about upgrading your hitch.



Mine has saved me more that it cost - damage to the trailer that didn't happen.



The Kelderman system is a fine one and one that I've considered occasionally.

 

[Sarge]

I'm sorry to hear about your problem. What hitch do you have? I have about the same truck, only in a 04. 5, and mine rides great. The fiver is about 11. 5K loaded, and I have about 2500K on the pin. It almost sounds like you don't have enough weight on the pin. The ride you experienced sounds like a bumper pull... ..... Sarge

 

[NIsaacs]

Do you know what your pin weight is? How about air pressure in rear tires, may be too much. Also after your overload spring removal, you may want to install air bags. What is your trailer axle suspension? Are they independent of each other, or are they connected with an equalizer. Independent axles ride/pull the best.



"NICK"

 

[Turbo Thom]

I installed the Kelderman on my truck and have had great luck. The trailer rides much smoother. The truck rides better empty than stock, but the air ride really shines when the trailer is hooked up. The 4 link is the ticket but I installed the 2 bag off the trailer hitch type. You won't go wrong.



. . Preston. .

 

[JimKing]

Interestingly enough, I had the exact problem last year. Reading through the archives I saw a message describing the procedure to weigh the truck/trailer combo and adjust your load to obtain the best ride/control. I found that my setup was about 800 lbs light on the pin. After rearranging to increase the load, it made a tremendous difference.



I thought I was helping myself pulling with empty tanks, especially water, since my Alpenlite holds 100 gallons of fresh water. I now keep it atleast 1/2 full for the weight. Maybe the designers were a little smarter than I gave them credit for. If you haven't weighed the axles, you may be suprised what you find. You may have to look around to find a place that has portable scales, but it is well worth the trouble.

 

[RMcCulloch]

Go to this site and find a CAT scale near you.



Eight bucks and you'll have accurate information.

 

[SOLER]

Interestingly enough, I had the exact problem last year. Reading through the archives I saw a message describing the procedure to weigh the truck/trailer combo and adjust your load to obtain the best ride/control. I found that my setup was about 800 lbs light on the pin. After rearranging to increase the load, it made a tremendous difference.



I thought I was helping myself pulling with empty tanks, especially water, since my Alpenlite holds 100 gallons of fresh water. I now keep it atleast 1/2 full for the weight. Maybe the designers were a little smarter than I gave them credit for. If you haven't weighed the axles, you may be suprised what you find. You may have to look around to find a place that has portable scales, but it is well worth the trouble.

If you are light on the pin, you will have exactly what you described. So I second JimKing. Get it weighed. You want to have a healthy pin weight. If you have too much weight behind the trailer axles, it will cause the trailer to sway and bob.



You may already know this, but I'll illustrate anyway: if you put something in the trailer that weighs 100 lbs, and let's say it's 10 feet in front of the center of the axles, and then you move it to 10 feet behind the axles, and let's say that where this load is located is putting 80 lbs of effective weight on the pin, when it's moved to the rear, you have decreased your pin weight by 160 lbs.



I like to travel with water in the tanks, too, but my problem is that all my holding tanks are behind the axles. The fresh water is right behind the rear axle, then the black, then the gray. So, I can't take very much fresh water unless I load up most of the junk in the front of the trailer. But then there is the sloshing of the water, and since it is behind the axles, it is a lot more pronounced.



And I also second the addition of airbags since you ditched your helpers. Because you might then see your rig sag, and then maybe think you have too much on the pin, when in reality you just need some help back there.



SOLER