jarring ride while towing

[SRehberg]

We are newbies at 5th wheel towing (1 trip) so I need the advice of the experienced towing group here. A little over a year ago I had stomach surgery and it has really left that area sensitive (pain/nausea when bounced) so we thought we better do a test pull before we get all loaded up and head out. Going down I-5 the freeway is segmented concrete so it gave a good chance to see how it all rode. We bought the Easy Rider air hitch hoping it would take the jarring out etc. That was no help. The truck is a stock '96 2wd 2500 with the camper helper springs. Our 5er is 27ft. with susposedly 1365 lbs on the pin according to the mfg. The truck tires were carrying 75lbs air in the rear, 50lbs front, trailer was at 60lbs/tire. It jars the heck out of us, like the springs are hitting the snubbers on the rear axle, but examining it, that's not the case. Is it possibly the stiffer suspension is not being compressed enough or? The camper overload springs sitting still are just touching their pads at just one end on each side, so I think they are just coming into play when the axle comes up, possibly accounting for the jarring. I know on the previous truck I had with a cab over camper, the springs were actually depressed carrying weight, and the ride was o. k. , but so was I then.



Anyway, the trailer was unloaded, no water, food etc. so it was just basically its mfg'd weight. Is there a right or wrong way to load/distribute the weight when loading to help with ride? Also, is there an aftermarket air ride seat, either to replace the whole front seat or drivers that is a bolt in that you are aware of? This stomach thing has turned my traveling on its ear, so I hope there is something that can be done. Thanks for listening.

Steve

 

[Ram4Sam]

Try this

Steve, drop the rear tires down to 60 lbs, and Rancho 9000's on the rear. This helped the ride on my truck quite a bit when towing.



Sam

 

[SRehberg]

Sam, thanks for the help, I tried the 60lbs in the rear, still pretty stiff, but changing the shocks might help. That's an easy enough fix, plus it probably needs them anyway. I was wondering if the camper overloads could come off without any detremental affect? I filled the water tank (sits behind the axles) and tried it again. No noticeable improvement; the suspension feels like there is none i. e. solid tires etc. I checked out the air hitch will moving along, and it is letting the trailer move up/down without the truck so it must be helping some.



Steve

 

[mberry]

Changing the shocks will help the ride tremendously. I put Bilsteins on mine and it was almost night and day with the ride.

 

[MMiller]

If I understand correctly, your overloads are touching on one end but not the other? If this is the case, I bet thats were most of the jarring is comming from. The overloads are great when your use them(ie have enough wieght) or are empty enough to be away from them. I bet what is happening is when you hit a bump the over load is hitting the bumper, and then stiffening up the rear badly. Before having them removed I would load up everything you will be taking with you to ensure you won't be needing the overloads. If you are ready to go with everything you need/want with you and the overloads are not carring load I would pull them.



Of course I would do this after the tire psi, and the shocks.



My first gen overloads will hit if my kelderman is aired down too far. The ride gets really jarring then.



Michael

 

[lawdog]

You could always remove the overloads and go with airbags as supplements... .

 

[SRehberg]

Yes, the overloads are only in contact with one end, and real close on the other, but not touching. It's the front end of both that are clear of the stops. I'll give the shocks a try, then if that doesn't work, then I'll artifically weight it down to see if the overloads come to play. If not, then I'll remove them. Are any of you running on stock springs w/o the overloads? I really appreciate the help, it is discouraging not doing the things I use to take for granted. I'll let you know how it works.

Steve

 

[Bill Stockard]

Originally posted by lawdog

You could always remove the overloads and go with airbags as supplements... .

I think this is your best bet... I have several friends towing 5th wheels with 2nd gen trucks who have removed the overloads and used either Air Lift 5000 or Firestone Ride Rites to supplement the factory springs. Along with the adjustable Rancho 9000s, it gives a nice ride both towing and driving solo. You'll need to experiment with the air bag air pressure settings to keep the truck level with the 5th wheel attached and the settings on the Ranchos to get the ride you want.



Bill

 

[Casey Balvert]

The MorRyde rubber pin box might help as well. I am going to have one installed on my fiver this fall and road test it. MorRyde will take if off and charge you nothing if you don't like it. If you like it, they charge $795 for the pin box and $65 installation. Figured I can't lose especially since you get to try it out on your own trailer. Of course you need to drive to Elkhart to take advantage of it. It is a relatively simple setup and the reports I have heard indicates it gets rid of that back and forth jiggle.



Casey

 

[lizzyhermit]

Originally posted by mberry

I put Bilsteins on mine ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

what model number did you install please ?

 

[JDougherty]

i dont know if it will help but... . i towed my boat many times with an extremely jarring ride and changed a few things to make my life much better. first i changed to racho shocks..... huge difference. second i added tongue weight to help smooth things out.



just my experience. hope it helps.

 

[SRehberg]

I'm open to all suggestions, and appreciate all the help. I have the Easy Rider air hitch, so I don't know if I would gain much adding additional air to the pin box. The trailer seems to be "floating" o. k. on the hitch, I just get the severe jarring from the truck. I think the overloads are the issue from what has been suggested, as the truck feels like it has no suspension in the rear, so it just rides extremely stiff. Are the Bilsteins or the Ranchos best or equivalent? I'm going out today to check them out.



The Firestone air ride sounds like you can adjust to cushion the ride as well as carry some additional weight if necessary. They don't seem to be that expensive from what I see on the web.



I thought about loading the nose of the trailer heavier, even filling the black water/gray water tanks (they're ahead of the axles) to see if it helped. It would probably bring the weight down onto the overloads. I am looking for a softer ride, maybe not possible, but I am going to give it the best shot I can.

 

[RVPILOT]

ride

You live in Stockton, go see Detoini truck works, They installed my Kelderman Air ride in 97, after 615,000 no problems, rides like a luxury auto. I have pulled hundreds of trailers many sizes and weights, you can adjust the ride any way you want. Stormy

 

[MMiller]

The bad thing about the ranchos that are listed, unless I am wrong, are they are adjustable. Which isn't bad, except you need to get under the truck to adjust the rear shocks. The exception to this is buying their kit to adjust them in the cab. I do have the adjustable ranchos and agree they offer great adjustment from empty to loaded heavy. BUT it is not fun having to lay under the truck to adjust them everytime I hook/unhook from the trailer. My setup MUSt be adjusted every time or the ride is brutal unloaded with a high setting and very bouncy when loaded and a low shock setting. I will be trying some bilstens when the ranchos give up.



Good luck.



Michael

 

[SRehberg]

It's funny you mentioned Dentoni's, as I just called them today; I'm going there tomorrow to have some U bolts made because I'm taking the camper overloads off. While there, I'll ask about the Kelderman set up as well. I appreciate the comments about the Rancho's, as crawling under the truck is a tough one for me. I was looking at both the Rancho's and the Bilstein's; both appear good; do they help the ride a lot over a standard gas shock for trucks?



I checked out the Firestone Ride Rite system and it is a lot cheaper buying it over the internet rather than locally. It might be the same with the Kelderman system.

 

[John - K5AWO]

If you are "even" thinking of the Kelderman setup... . Just do it. You will never regret it for as long as you own your rig.



My stomach is sensitive to jostling as well. Kelderman is on my wish list... ... after the MAD ECM project

 

[ProspectorTim]

I have the Rancho 9000's and Airlift bags and love that combination. Both offer in-cab controls, but I'm cheap and didn't opt for them. I don't crawl under the truck - I just reach through the fenderwell to adjust the shocks. It is a good combination that I would recommend to most anyone; but considering your condition I would have to agree with John and RVPILOT - go for the Keldermans.

 

[SRehberg]

I appreciate the help, as I need to smooth out the ride. I am going try the shocks, air bags and removed overloads first, then if it is still to rough, Kelderman here I come. I tried to find a air ride seat like the big rigs, but they only make them for Ford or Chevy at the moment. Susposedly down the road one will be available for Dodge. With the price of an air ride seat, for a couple of hundred more, the Kelderman can be installed. I think it would be the better route.

 

[Turbo Thom]

The Kelderman setup is the way to go. I have it on my truck and it alone stopped the bounce the trailer was going through. The ride is much smoother empty but the surprise was the ride loaded. . The air springs are designed to keep the frame level but the ride is just a bonus. I've installed 3 units on customers trucks and they all tow fifth wheels. All the comments are very positive.



The way to go.



. . Preston. .

 

[MMiller]

Preston

Which kelderman do you use? Mine is old school and doesn't hold loads. It is merly for empty ride. When loaded the air bag compresses and the leaf springs do their job.



Michael