Lifting a small 5er? Good idea?

[aerialimage]

Ok new 5er buyer here!
One of the units I'm looking at is a 97 coachmen Catalina 31'
That needs some work but can be used right now which I need!
Trouble is my 99 ram 3500 drw qc measures 57" to top of tailgate.
The coachman measures only 54" under the front and of coarse the hitch hangs below that.
It looks like I could get something like 8"-10" of height by re mounting the axles and axle pads under springs.
Looks like I would have to also re mount the shocks too.
I was surprised to find this camper so low, guess I expected them all to sit high and be some standard dimension!
The camper needs plenty of other work but what is good is very good and the sellers are asking a fair price!
Is this common to have to raise these or does this simply belong behind the 2 wheel drive much lower trucks?
Thanks for any info !

 

[Wertles]

I haven't had to do it but flipping the axles is a very common solution to get these trailers to hook up to our 4WD. I remember a thread about this before so if you search the forum, you should find directions somewhere.

 

[GaryCarter]

I did it on our fiver some years ago for the same reason. Worked out fine. IIRC Dexter makes a kit with the hardware to put the spring over axle.



Just don't "flip" the axles upside down because they are crowned in the middle to keep the alignment correct under load.

 

[RVTRKN]

My old 27' wilderness had it axles turned and was still too low for my old 2500 Look at sig. I just hauled it at an angle, and I asked before I towed, if that would damage the suspension or anything else. I was told that the suspension will equalize the weight, and it was OK. Of coarse, thats with the tech looking at the setup combined. Before I purchase my Arctic Fox, I looked at that very issue, to see if it would ride level for (at that time) both of my Dodges. I had to raise and lower the pin height from one to the other but it worked out well.



If your close to your's or another RV Dealer, hook up and have the suspension checked to see if its OK through the equalizers compensating for it.

 

[p-Bar]

Here is some info on Dexter popular axle.
http://i.b5z.net/i/u/1080235/f/Trailer_Height_Adjustment.pdf

 

[Grunt]

Do a "spring over". All you need is new spring perches to weld onto the top of the axles... or you can grind off the welds and reuse the originals.

Here's a picture of mine with a "spring over" and a subframe

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[HBarlow]

Lifting the suspension is often done to allow towing smaller, lighter fifthwheel trailers behind tall 4wd trucks.

The smartest, safest, strongest way to do it is to lift the trailer on stands, cut away the spring mounts from the frame, and create a new subframe by welding in sections of square tubing longer than the distance between front end of front springs to rear end of rear springs. A good welding shop can do the work. The square tubing can be welded securely along the frame then the original or new spring hangers can be reattached to the new subframe. More than one section of square tubing can be used depending on the amount of lift required. The welding shop will have to measure very carefully to ensure the suspension is attached with precisely the same measurements along the frame on each side to avoid the trailer "dog trotting" or tracking at an angle.

Equalizers between axles on tandem or triple axle trailers will equalize only enough to allow all four (or six) wheels to contact the pavement. They will NOT equalize weight transfer.

If you tow a trailer in a nose up position considerably more weight will be on the rear axle and tires and since we're almost certainly talking about 15" passenger car style wheels and tires (or ST, no difference) tire failure is guaranteed.

 

[ed9824v]

Just did a spring over axle conversion last week on our 30 foot 5er. the hardest part is getting the trailer safely up so the wheels were off the ground by about 5 in the rest was a snap, I checked around home and the axle flanges where about $20 a piece got them form etrailer.com for about $4 ea. and went to town. Left the old flanges in place. Decters are a bolt on kit at about $50 per axle and seems like more work if you can weld. Just use a level on the old flanges and then level and space the new one and give them a weld. good luck ED

 

[RVTRKN]

If you tow a trailer in a nose up position considerably more weight will be on the rear axle and tires and since we're almost certainly talking about 15" passenger car style wheels and tires (or ST, no difference) tire failure is guaranteed.

Well the tech that talked me out of a subframe, told me that the angle its sitting at, is not going to hurt the suspension or tires. I hauled it for 5 years like that, before I donated it to a homeless cancer victim, after I purchased my Arctic Fox. I never blew out a tire and they were the cheap 15" ST tires. I never liked hauling it that way, but at a cost at almost the value of the coach to have a subframe welded on, it had a lot to do with my decision, and the tech was correct in his assessment of my configuration.

 

[HBarlow]

Your source of information is always a "tech. " Some of them are very knowledgeable and skilled, many are not. It is a rare Dodge dealer tech who owns a Cummins-powered Dodge Ram and a rare RV tech who owns an RV. Many of them have opinions, nothing more.

It doesn't make any difference how long you owned that little trailer, how many miles did you tow it like that? Anyone who knows anything about RVs or any trailers with the crude equalizer between tandem axles knows they will not equalize weight. Try weighing one instead of simply posting what some tech told you.

 

[mwilson]

Equalizers are designed to keep even pressure on the brakes, tires and axles on a LEVEL trailer frame due to fluctuations in road surfaces.



They are not designed to compensate for the trailer frame being a foot taller at the front than at the rear for any length of time.



Plus starting out with the equalizer already at 3/4 of its total travel means that the slightest uneven surface will put the low axle in the unforunate position of having to carry the full weight of the trailer when the equalizer can move no more.



If you want to prove it to your self watch and see how hard the tires scrub when doing a tight turn with a level trailer, then go to an RV dealer that moves trailers with a forklift that picks the nose up and watch those trailer tires when the trailer is pulled in a tight turn. You'll see the difference.



How many semi-trailers do you see going up the road that are not level??? Not many.

Standard fifth wheel height on a big trucks fifth wheel is 48", semi-trailers are built to that standard.

Keeps the equalizers level and doing their job.



The only chronic violater I see is the US Military when they try to pull a standard semi-trailer with a 6X6, they will stand them up pretty hard.



Just my opinion. We welcome yours... .



Mike.

 

[surfbeetle]

Everything I have read says to put the nose of the trailer between one inch below level to level. On my last fifth wheel, a 25 foot Fleetwood Wilderness, I went to a local spring shop and they put perches on the top of the axle and put the axle under the leaf springs. The axles on these had the offset spindles and backing plates that put the spindle up higher than the axle tube.



Another option is to get axles that are straight all of the way across and even with the spindle which gives a few inches of height.

 

[RVTRKN]

Your source of information is always a "tech. " Some of them are very knowledgeable and skilled, many are not. It is a rare Dodge dealer tech who owns a Cummins-powered Dodge Ram and a rare RV tech who owns an RV. Many of them have opinions, nothing more.



It doesn't make any difference how long you owned that little trailer, how many miles did you tow it like that? Anyone who knows anything about RVs or any trailers with the crude equalizer between tandem axles knows they will not equalize weight. Try weighing one instead of simply posting what some tech told you.

I'm sorry you feel offended in some way, but thats what I was recommended by a "tech" who worked for Arrow Trailer. (Arrow Trailer Supplies, Inc. - Ontario, CA) <Arrow Trailer Supplies> Home Page if you don't believe me, look up their services. I have posted I didn't like it but thats what I did and never blew out a tire. I agree with a lot that was posted in this thread, but it doesn't mean you can't tow it that way. I also stated that it was a judgement call with the tech looking at the rig combined, how can you know if it was OK or not, you were not there nor did you see it that way. Its not like it was 12 inches higher or something as radical as that, it's was something like 3-4 inches higher. If I had a need to do it to my Arctic Fox, then it would be worth the money vrs the worth of the coach. In the case of my Wilderness it was not.

 

[Grizzly]

I'm sorry you feel offended in some way, but thats what I was recommended by a "tech" who worked for Arrow Trailer. (Arrow Trailer Supplies, Inc. - Ontario, CA) Home Page if you don't believe me, look up their services. I have posted I didn't like it but thats what I did and never blew out a tire. I agree with a lot that was posted in this thread, but it doesn't mean you can't tow it that way. I also stated that it was a judgement call with the tech looking at the rig combined, how can you know if it was OK or not, you were not there nor did you see it that way. Its not like it was 12 inches higher or something as radical as that, it's was something like 3-4 inches higher. If I had a need to do it to my Arctic Fox, then it would be worth the money vrs the worth of the coach. In the case of my Wilderness it was not.

You can prove your theory by weighing each axle of the 5er separately. If the rear axle weighs significantly more than the front axle, it would be dangerous to tow.



george

 

[dcallaway]

I totally agree with Harvey. The rear axle can't help but have more weight on it. I have a 28 ft Jayco 5er, and pull it easily with an 03 dually. Same problem, however, I felt comfortable with it. My problem was that my fvorite parking spots were not flat campground spots. The truck bed corners were making fairly heavy contact with the bottom of the trailer due to the lack of clearance. Did the spring over axle thing, works great. I haven't figured a good way to mount the shocks yet. I've pulled it that way for two years now with no problems. It's very close to being perfectly level going down the road. Now I can start fixing the damage caused by our favorite river banks.

 

[aerialimage]

Thanks for all the help, I found another unit with more beds and able to fit the entire family plus a guest or two. No lifting required. Like all the units I looked at this one needs a little love ( think tread separation and related damage) But it tows nice and looks nice and it will make a good first 5th wheel.

I'll post pictures when I have some. It's a 27' Rockwood ultralight with Bunks.

Most likely a cheap model but it was a real bargain and has the beds we need!

Thanks again for all the educated answers!

 

[surfbeetle]

Glad to hear you got it resolved. You will like having the bunks for the kids. My fifth wheel has the rear room with 4 bunks, we love not having change the couch bed or table bed back and forth when it's bedtime for the kids.

 

[aerialimage]

Here it is, The kids are already using it for their Lemonade Stand and we didn't even get a chance to wash it yet. Never mind fix the tire failure damage!







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