Hey guys. Just picked up my new 2011 Springdale and brought it home today. My question is from looking at this picture is the trailer level enough or should I make some adjustments? The tech at the dealership said that once I load up the trailer and truck he's expecting that it'll level out more. Plus, he said better to be a little high in the nose than to point downward. Opinions?

I would say that its sitting pretty good. You might have some small adjustments when your loaded though

Hey guys. Just picked up my new 2011 Springdale and brought it home today. My question is from looking at this picture is the trailer level enough or should I make some adjustments? The tech at the dealership said that once I load up the trailer and truck he's expecting that it'll level out more. Plus, he said better to be a little high in the nose than to point downward. Opinions?

Your truck is a bit squated in the back and the trailer is nose high. When you pack up for a trip you may find that weight in the basement will indeed lower the front end of the trailer but that is going to further lower the back end of the truck which is already just a tad low. If the fresh water is arrears of the trailer axles filling it may help as it will raise the front somewhat. My opinion you need to raise the trailer over the axles as the clearance at the bed looks good so I would not raise the pin box. Packing everything you will normally take on a trip is going to tell you a lot about what will or will not be needed.

The tech was referring to what being "better" high in the front? The rv or the truck? I disagree that you would ever want the nose of the truck higher than the tail.

It may be just me, or a poor picture, but it looks like your hitch is too far rearward. The 5ver pin should sit over, or preferably a tiny bit ahead of the rear axle to put a bit of weight on the front wheels. To me, that rig is sitting back too far, and the truck is nose high.

The 5ver can be a tad high in the nose, and it won't be much of an issue, however an exaggerated stance can adversely effect the weight distribution on the rv wheels.

wozz157 I see 2 problems from your picture. I agree that the hitch is too far back and should be centered over the truck's rear axle. The bigger problem is that the nose of the trailer is too high. The trailer should at least be level to as much as 1" low in front. 15% of the total weight of the trailer should be on the hitch for towing stability.

What will happen if you tow in this configuration is that in windy conditions, semis passing you, etc. the trailer will try to "drive the truck" and you will have difficulty controlling the rig. If your water tank is behind the axles and it is filled, this will make the situation worse as the weight of the water in the back acts like a teeter totter and takes even more weight off of the hitch. Not Good.

Your "tech" (?) should know better than to send an unbalanced rig out of the door. Maybe the hitch can be lowered enough, if not, then the trailer should be raised. Since your tech thinks that this can be corrected by weight, then I would suggest you find someplace else to correct this. At the very least, contact the manufacturer for reliable information. Set it up right and you will love the rig. Don't and you will grow to hate it.

Hard to tell from the picture but the hitch does look to be too far back. The nose of the trailer is too high. It appears you have more space between the truck bed and the trailer than you really need. Unless you are driving off road. Good rule of thumb for highway use is about a hand width between the bed rail and the bottom of the trailer.

Load the trailer, and the truck ready for a trip. You will have junk in the basement of the trailer and the box of the truck, in the kitchen, bath/clothes closets, and fresh water tank, all needed and good stuff.

Split the combo on level ground. Then measure the distance from the wheel well bottom to the tire, front and back. Then re-hook, and remeasure. Both front and back should lower about the same. If not, move the fifth wheel forward or put air springs on it. Still hooked up, measure the distance from the ground to the floor line on the trailer. Should be about the same or a bit higher at the front.

From the picture, it appears the front of the truck is a bit high. Is it like this when empty, no trailer on? That should be fixed if not level or at least rear high when empty.

It is all a matter of degrees. Best if both truck and trailer run down the road level. Next best, is as close as you can get it, and/or know how it will handle on the road.

Thanks for all the responses. Truth be told my wife was taking the pictures while I was working with the tech. Now that I look at the picture more closely I see what you are talking about regarding the location of the hitch. I have a Reese 16K with round tube sliders. I installed the in bed rails using the kit made specifically for a 2011 2500HD and would say that in the tow position the hitch is perfectly over the rear axle. We were going over all the positions and clearances while my wife was taking pictures. I suspect she took this picture while the tech and I were reviewing the clearances in the "maneuvering position" between the pinbox and the tailgate.

For clarification the tech was saying that ideally the truck and trailer would be perfectly level but if that can't be the trailer is better off a little nose high than nose low. My opinion is that this tech was well versed and not trying to push us through the shop. I was just looking for 2nd opinions from experienced individuals. Thanks to all for your input.

I've got to move the trailer today and will get some better pictures of everything hooked up with the hitch in the towing position, check for level, and some of the measurement you've all suggested.

The drive back from the dealership was a dream as compared to coming from a tow behind and a 1/2 ton. Zero sway, smooth acceleration, no worries about cross winds or passing semis. The exhaust brake practically make the truck stand on end! My wife even made the comment about how as compared to our old setup she couldn't tell if we were towing something or not. Doing approx 60-65 mph we got 12mpg.

Ok - so if I understand, you have a slider-hitch and it was in a rearward position during the picture? That makes more sense.

Also, I agree that having everything level is the preferred position, but a slight nose up or down rv position will not hurt the rig or truck. Slight, but not exaggereated.

Sounds like you got set up correctly. Have a great time!

Assuming that the load is well distributed and the rig tows well, the trailer is not really too high in front to hurt anything. The truck shouldn't be sitting down like that in back with no more load than is on it though. That may be an optical illusion from the camera angle.

However, there is one minor drawback to having the front of the trailer higher, even if just a little. If you're traveling, and stop at an RV Park for the night, it's nice to not have to unhitch the trailer. If the nose of the trailer is a little low, you can use your front trailer jacks to level it. If the front of the trailer is a little high, you're stuck with sleeping in an unlevel trailer or unhitching your truck or putting the trailer tires up on blocks.

It's a little thing, but as a full-timer, I appreciate being able to pull into a park for the night and not having to unhitch.

You really need a minimum of 6" clearance between trailer chin and top of truck bed. I prefer 7" so lowered my truck bed with shackles.

Here is mine dry. Adding about 3000lbs for upcoming trip from Regina Saskatchewan to L.A. Pin box looks like it is back to much but the hitch was installed with center point about 1" ahead of center point of axle.

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111004&d=1292004970 (http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111004&d=1292004970)

A late addition but will add that the trailer frame needs to be level (parallel to ground) when trailer is fully loaded / outfitted. I like using a level and tape measure to establish a baseline -then make adjustments from this point. I keep a notebook of this stuff... This ensures the trailer suspension is in the neutral position and has the full range of travel available to work.

Having the trailer suspension in the neutral position minimizes the potential for chucking, tugging and porpoising while towing. It is going to tug, chuck and porpoise some on rough roads - a cushioned pin box, cushioned spring equalizers (EZ Flex, Equa-Flex and others) and trailer shock absorbers will help tame the roadway impact energy before it reaches your truck.

PIN weight and load balance can have a great influence on towing manners. PIN weight in my experience needs to be in the 18 -20% of loaded trailer weight for best towing. Acceptable weight percentage is 15-25% for a fifthwheel. I also like to keep the load fairly even on the individual axles.

Last but not least -trailer to bed clearance needs to be about 6" for a pavement queen trailer. Going off-road needs much more. I have 9+ inches on my set-up as off-road camp spots are the norm.

It looks a little nose High on the trailer. There are to ways to adjust that. Also a set of air bags in the rear of the truck will help with the extra weight on axles, to bring up the rear of the truck so that you will maintain the needed weight distributed to the front of truck to keep those front tires in full contact with the road. A light rain and some hydroplaning with a a trailer is a very eye-openning experiance.

Take a better pic, the camera looks like a semi wide angle (Fish Bowl) and its impossible to really tell cause its almost an optical illusion.

Sorry about the picture, i can see that effect that is happening. I need advice! I have a Curt Q5 with slider and i have found that there is excessive chucking, i mean really bad when i am towing. For the most part the trailer has not been loaded and olny towed empty. But, i have found that this thing really likes to slap you back and forth at certain times. I have also discovered that there seems to be excessive free play in the sliding unit between the wheels and the sliding rail. As a result, i can move/lift the base back and forth almost a half a inch. Will this be better with more weight in the trailer? I am also surprised about the amount of sag in the rear end with an unloaded trailer. Should i invest in a set of air bags? I would have thought that this truck would be able to handle the weight without extra equipment.

If the hitch is moving around -you need to fix that before going/doing anything else. After that your towing stance loaded needs to be set. If it ain't near level (frame parallel to ground) with PIN weight near 18-20% it will have bad towing. Correcting sag is part of the towing stance setup.

Don't know about your Curt hitch, but my Husky slider had two bolts underneath each rail that the wheels roll on that you cold adjust to take up the up/down slop. Take a look at the underside of your hitch.
A lot of times, chucking is caused by too little weight on your pin, but I don't think that's the case for you. I have a MorRyde pin box on my rig that virtually eliminates any chucking.
You really need to weigh your rig before you can fully understand what's going on.

You really need a minimum of 6" clearance between trailer chin and top of truck bed. I prefer 7" so lowered my truck bed with shackles.[/QUOTE]


Luckyman, Did you use 2" drop shackles? Also, does using shackles void the warranty?

You really need a minimum of 6" clearance between trailer chin and top of truck bed. I prefer 7" so lowered my truck bed with shackles.


Luckyman, Did you use 2" drop shackles? Also, does using shackles void the warranty?[/QUOTE]

I used Belltech 2" drop shackles, it lowered the bed 1" over the axle and between 1 1/2" and 2" at the rear bumper. I have a long bed crew cab.

I don't know why using 2" longer shackles would void any kind of warranty. It doesn't change suspension geometry at all.

heavybrewster.... your looks a lot like mine, but mine is loaded heavy in the front, basement packed full, front closet full of clothes, rigged for a winter south.

I do have airbags and if the bags are down, it will chuck a fair bit. I do air the bags to level the truck (loaded), which for me sets the trailer a bit front high.

Pulling mine trailer empty - dry, is a whole different game.

Luckyman, Do the drop shackles cause the top spring to hit the bumper stop (or what ever you call it) more or harder than without the shackles?

Luckyman, Do the drop shackles cause the top spring to hit the bumper stop (or what ever you call it) more or harder than without the shackles?

I was concerned about that, but haven't noticed any difference.

I have drop shackles on my setup. When drop shackles are installed, the clearance between the axle and the bumpstop is decreased, so bumps will occur more often and will be much more harsh. When towing my fifth wheel home to Kansas from Colorado just after purchasing it, I noticed a very harsh bang from the rear when I would hit a bump in the road. It was the axle hitting the bump stop. Then I added more rear spring (Maxloader springs), which re-established the bump stop to axle clearance and that solved not only the bump problem it also gave me much better handling overall. I have NO CHUCKING at all with my setup.

So if you don't use more spring, or airbags, cut off enough bump stop to get back to that original clearance. But note - it you hit a bump big enough, you WILL still hit the stop and it will be harsh.

Ron, I didn't think about the bump stop over the axle but I can see where that could be a concern.
The bump stops I was referring to are located over each end of the top spring on my 3500. I don't recall having those on my old 2500.

Luckyman, I think you are referring to same bump stops I am.

That's funny - I didn't think of the stops over each end of the top spring you were referring to!