wotter01
Wayne County, OH
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21,800# loaded w/fuel and water- 2150# on pin
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wildernesshd
Alex.,La.
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Joined: 12/21/2008
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went across scales on the way to pick up new unit.
03 Chevy3500 crew cab 4x4 dually duramax/allison.
had 1/2 tank of fuel,tool box, Daughter, and wife.
frt.axle=4740lbs.
rr. axle=3700lbs.
gross=8440lbs.
on the return trip with Our new rig =Keystone Avalanche 330RE
frt.axle=4660lbs.
rr.axle=6220lbs.
trailer axles=9780lbs.
gross=20660lbs.
pin wt.=2440lbs.
trailer wt.=12220lbs.
trailer was as shipped + propane and 1/2 tank fresh water, and will probably gain another 1000-1500lbs. camp ready.
seems strange that the front axle lost 80lbs. when loaded.
thats My story and I`m sticking to it.
2012 GMC \Denali 3500 4X4 DURAMAX Allison EFI live tuner 4 inch Exhaust
2012 Keystone Avalanche 330RE 5th wheel 4 slides
statements in this post should be considered opinions and not facts
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DW-gray
Lompoc, CA
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Joined: 01/05/2009
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wildernesshd wrote:seems strange that the front axle lost 80lbs. when loaded.
You may want to take a look at where the center line of 5th wheel is over the axle. It should at least be over the axle. And if it is, you may want to move it forward a notch toward the front axle so that weight is transferred. You don't want less on the front axle. When you load it, that will most likely be a bigger problem for the front axle.
Dave Gray
RV Safety Educator & Consultant
08 Dodge Ram 3500 4X4, Dually, 6.7L Diesel, 09 Heartland Cyclone 4012
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JohnD222
Florida
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Joined: 05/22/2009
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I think that the front axle that lost weight was on wildernesshd's tow vehicle. If so, the pin weight is too much for the rear springs on the truck. Headlights are probably in the trees at night. Some possible solutions:
Add airbags. Already have them, add more air to them.
Move stuff in 5er from front of 5er to the rear behind rear axle.
Load all new stuff as far to the rear as possible; if it isn't going behind the rear axle of 5er, it will add to your problem.
Most 5ers have fresh water pretty far forward, reduce the amount of fresh water until you get closer to where you will need it.
Make sure that your hitch has the pin centered over or up to 2 inches forward of the rear axle. If it is behind the rear axle, something was installed wrong.
Leave your heavy tailgate behind.
wildernesshd wrote:went across scales on the way to pick up new unit.
03 Chevy3500 crew cab 4x4 dually duramax/allison.
had 1/2 tank of fuel,tool box, Daughter, and wife.
frt.axle=4740lbs.
rr. axle=3700lbs.
gross=8440lbs.
on the return trip with Our new rig =Keystone Avalanche 330RE
frt.axle=4660lbs.
rr.axle=6220lbs.
trailer axles=9780lbs.
gross=20660lbs.
pin wt.=2440lbs.
trailer wt.=12220lbs.
trailer was as shipped + propane and 1/2 tank fresh water, and will probably gain another 1000-1500lbs. camp ready.
seems strange that the front axle lost 80lbs. when loaded.
thats My story and I`m sticking to it.
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Camps with Critters
Texas
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Joined: 03/08/2006
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wildernesshd wrote:went across scales on the way to pick up new unit.
03 Chevy3500 crew cab 4x4 dually duramax/allison.
had 1/2 tank of fuel,tool box, Daughter, and wife.
frt.axle=4740lbs.
rr. axle=3700lbs.
gross=8440lbs.
on the return trip with Our new rig =Keystone Avalanche 330RE
frt.axle=4660lbs.
rr.axle=6220lbs.
trailer axles=9780lbs.
gross=20660lbs.
pin wt.=2440lbs.
trailer wt.=12220lbs.
trailer was as shipped + propane and 1/2 tank fresh water, and will probably gain another 1000-1500lbs. camp ready.
seems strange that the front axle lost 80lbs. when loaded.
thats My story and I`m sticking to it.
80 lbs lost from the front axle is no big deal, if you lost 200 or 300 lbs it would be time to consider moving the hitch forward. Go camping & see how it feels, I'm betting no issue.
05 Freightliner Century with Smart Car on the back
2010 Spacecraft 44.5 ft with a fully stocked bar-room
The Critters: Boogie & Jack (2 great dogs)
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wildernesshd
Alex.,La.
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headlights are not in the trees. and the rear overload springs are barely tuching the stops. the truck still sits somewhat level. it is a 4x4 so the front is higher than a 2wd. I thought about backing off the torsion bars some. but its not like the front end is lite,it still has well over 4000lbs. on it. the hitch is almost exactly centered,maybe 1/2 inch forward over the axle. and as for weight in the 5ver. it was basically empty ,maybe 1/3 tank of fresh water. so loading it up will make this worst. I may move the hitch forward, but this will intel drilling holes and moving brackets.
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rhagfo
Portland, OR
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Joined: 07/06/2012
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DW-gray wrote:wildernesshd wrote:seems strange that the front axle lost 80lbs. when loaded.
You may want to take a look at where the center line of 5th wheel is over the axle. It should at least be over the axle. And if it is, you may want to move it forward a notch toward the front axle so that weight is transferred. You don't want less on the front axle. When you load it, that will most likely be a bigger problem for the front axle.
^^^^^ I agree ^^^^^^
It would seem that your pin is sitting slightly behind the rear axle, I gain 50 to 60 lbs. to the front axle when hitched, I would be a bit concerned as to the placement of the hitch.
I know for the same hitch, the distance forward of the axle varies from 0" to about 4" depending on the make of the truck.
Russ & Paula the Beagle Belle.
2016 Ram Laramie 3500 Aisin DRW 4X4 Long bed.
2005 Copper Canyon 293 FWSLS, 32' GVWR 12,360#
"Visit and Enjoy Oregon State Parks"
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JohnD222
Florida
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Joined: 05/22/2009
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Wilderness,
If you have certain Reese hitches, you can rotate the head and turn around the hitch on the street rails, and this will move the center of the pin 2 inches forward of its original position.
If you don't have that Reese, and your 5er storage areas are behind the 5er axles, I would load up and go back to the weight station before the effort of redoing rails to frame mounts. If you can simply move rails without messing with the frame mount, 1 step forward should do it.
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kc81c
ND
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Joined: 06/03/2012
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Finally got around to posting this. Combo is a 2011 F250 Crew Cab Short Box 4x4 6.7L with a B&W companion hitch. GVWR of 10k, front axle 5600 GAWR, rear 6100 GAWR. The fifth wheel is a 2011 Heartland Sundance XLT 285BH listed as 31ft with a empty weight of 7200 pounds and a GVWR of 10000#s. It was the wife 2 kids and I in the pickup 2 dogs in the camper all our clothes, food, full propane, few tools ect basically ready to camp. The only odd thing when weighing was we had been camping at the inlaws yard that had no place to dump and we were heading to the lake lot were we have no easy water but a place to dump. So we had the black, grey 1, and fresh tank full and the grey 2 tank half full roughly a total of 150 gallons so around 1200 pounds and I usually try to travel with the fresh half full and the waste tanks empty. My weights are as follows.
Front Axle 4800#
Rear Axle 5360#
Front Trailer 3640#
Rear Trailer 3560#
Tow Vehicle Total 10160
Trailer Total 7200
As you can see I'm over my GVWR on the pickup by 160# but could easily be fixed by not filling all the tanks full or moving some of the tools from the front of the trailer to the back. Otherwise I have a lot of room to spare on trailer GVWR, GAWR, and GCWR. Pulling the trailer at 70mph I get around 11.5mpg with 3:55 gear ratio.
* This post was
edited 08/24/12 10:41pm by kc81c *
2013 Ram 2500 Megacab 6.7L
2011 Heartland Sundance XLT 285BH
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avvidclif1
Texas
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Joined: 02/10/2012
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Everything looks great but do me a favor and look at the side of your tires. Specifically for max towing speed. Most show 65mph. YMMV
Clif & Millie
2009 Ford F350 SRW CC Lariat 6.4 Diesel
2015 Heartland Cyclone HD CY3418 Toy Hauler
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