Attention: TDR Forum Junkies A few weeks ago we came home with a new Forest River Cardinal 29' 5th wheel. Empty weight of this coach is somewhere around 9600 lbs. Then you start adding all the stuff that you need to carry and then things start to get heavy.
GVWR is somewhere a little over 12k. My truck didnt have an issue pulling the trailer once I got it moving. But getting it moving was turning out to be something of an experience that I really didnt like. My first thoughts were that my SBC 13. 25 Con OFE was having issues so I called Peter to get his take on the problem. He told me what I was feeling was not clutch chatter but axle wrap and he told me that I would need to add a set of ladder bars to stop this. .
I talked to a few other guys to get more information before I went out and layed down the cash for the wrong product. And then have to
explain to my wife that I had made a mistake!!!! The information that I did find pointed me to a set of ladder bars from
Rob Thomas. Rob and I played phone tag for a while before we finally got hooked up. I described the situation and what the truck was doing
and what I was doing when the truck acted up. He schooled me on the differences between the ladders bars that are on the market and how
his is different.
Once I cleared the purchase with the accountant(wifey) I called Rob to setup the deal. The only issue was that I needed to have them as soon as
possible so that I could get them installed before our next trip with the trailer. He said that he would do his best to have them to me so they could be on the truck before the trip.
Rob actually dropped the bars off to them powder coated at 9 pm on 2nd of August and he shipped them out on Tuesday the 3rd. . and FedEx showed up
at my door on Saturday the 7th. . 2 days before our trip. When I opened up the boxes I found gloss black powder coated bars and brackets. . WOW they were pretty. . and HEAVY!
The install went just fine! The installation instructions were great and told me all that needed to know about the install. I needed to replace the stock U bolts on the springs because they were not long enough to mount the plates for the ladder bars. My son and I got them installed and loaded the rear axle just like the instructions said. . Now the real test. . will they take care of the problem of the axle wrap. . and will I still have the bounce or vibration that I had when trying to get trailer moving??
We didnt have time to hook to the trailer and test them before our trip on the 9th of August. . From the time we left the driveway on the 9th. . I could feel the difference in the suspension and how it handled the trailer. No more axle roll! Even the reaction of the truck between shifts(5 speed) was different and more stable. There was vibration even between
shifts that these ladder bars took care of.
Are they worth the money... yes. . would I do it again. . yes. . do they look cool... yup!
If you are looking for a set of ladder bars... give Rob Thomas a call... @Michigan Performance Diesel (248)343-1665
Rick
P. S. I dont get kick backs or work with Rob... I just wanted to share the results...
I will take a couple of pictures of how they turned out...
GVWR is somewhere a little over 12k. My truck didnt have an issue pulling the trailer once I got it moving. But getting it moving was turning out to be something of an experience that I really didnt like. My first thoughts were that my SBC 13. 25 Con OFE was having issues so I called Peter to get his take on the problem. He told me what I was feeling was not clutch chatter but axle wrap and he told me that I would need to add a set of ladder bars to stop this. .
I talked to a few other guys to get more information before I went out and layed down the cash for the wrong product. And then have to
explain to my wife that I had made a mistake!!!! The information that I did find pointed me to a set of ladder bars from
Rob Thomas. Rob and I played phone tag for a while before we finally got hooked up. I described the situation and what the truck was doing
and what I was doing when the truck acted up. He schooled me on the differences between the ladders bars that are on the market and how
his is different.
Once I cleared the purchase with the accountant(wifey) I called Rob to setup the deal. The only issue was that I needed to have them as soon as
possible so that I could get them installed before our next trip with the trailer. He said that he would do his best to have them to me so they could be on the truck before the trip.
Rob actually dropped the bars off to them powder coated at 9 pm on 2nd of August and he shipped them out on Tuesday the 3rd. . and FedEx showed up
at my door on Saturday the 7th. . 2 days before our trip. When I opened up the boxes I found gloss black powder coated bars and brackets. . WOW they were pretty. . and HEAVY!
The install went just fine! The installation instructions were great and told me all that needed to know about the install. I needed to replace the stock U bolts on the springs because they were not long enough to mount the plates for the ladder bars. My son and I got them installed and loaded the rear axle just like the instructions said. . Now the real test. . will they take care of the problem of the axle wrap. . and will I still have the bounce or vibration that I had when trying to get trailer moving??
We didnt have time to hook to the trailer and test them before our trip on the 9th of August. . From the time we left the driveway on the 9th. . I could feel the difference in the suspension and how it handled the trailer. No more axle roll! Even the reaction of the truck between shifts(5 speed) was different and more stable. There was vibration even between
shifts that these ladder bars took care of.
Are they worth the money... yes. . would I do it again. . yes. . do they look cool... yup!
If you are looking for a set of ladder bars... give Rob Thomas a call... @Michigan Performance Diesel (248)343-1665
Rick
P. S. I dont get kick backs or work with Rob... I just wanted to share the results...
I will take a couple of pictures of how they turned out...
