replace driveshaft update

[Montana_3939]

Hi all.
After 2441 miles up from Florida to Wisconsin and back this past week, we now have the entire rig For Sale. Seems the combination of truck and Rv don't like each other on cement tar strip roads or bridges. Like riding a bucking horse. Tar roads are reasonably smooth though. We thought a dually (this,our first rig) was supposed to ride like a cloud and be very stable. Not. Respectfully, this just isn't us.
We enjoyed the first two destination stops very much. We/I enjoyed 6 out of 7 camping experiences, but my wife had to fly home from Milwaukee thursday morning, to not bounce anymore.
To all you fine people that have taken your time to help us with information, we sincerely thankyou very much. I did see 5 other Montana's on the road while traveling, but none in our campgrounds.
We did hear two weather reports for where we were going that had received almost 2 feet of snow. Thankfully we didn't get into that. So for now, Happy Camping to You. Keep up this great forum. Earl

[fulltimedreamer]

Earl,
Sorry your RV experience did not work out to be what you expected. The concrete seams can be rough. Interstate 20 going into Birmingham from the east is some of the worst I've seen.

What kind of rig did you have? What are you asking for them? There is a forsale area on the MOC if you go ahead with your plan to sale.

[Bob Pasternak]

Earl; Whoever told you a dually would ride better was probably a salesman. You have 2 more tires to hit bumps. Also, you didn't mention if it was 4X4 or 4X2. A short bed/short wheel base 4x4 will not ride particularly good anywhere. That is the reason I have the unit I do; Long wheel base 4X2. Also, sometimes going a few miles per hour faster or slower will stop harmonics. Sorry you had so many problems though.

[Montana_4625]

Hello Earl, I'm new to this web site, so excuse any screw ups. We have the same trailer as you do, and love it. I pulled it last Aug. up California state highway 395 (Eastern Sieria's), with a 03 Ford F250, crew cab, short bed, V10 gas engine. Pulled like a dream, hills were a bit of problem. It make it up them OK, but on long grades, in 2nd gear, winding 4500 rpm, it had me wondering. I just traded it in for an 06, but with the 6.0 diesel, 4X4, and 6 speed automatic trans. This new truck seems to ride a lot smoother then the old one. It came with Rancho shocks all around, don't know if this would be any help to you. Our freeways out west have good and bad sections, the cut concrete is the troublesome one. Have you checked the weights? I know how easy it is to pack just a few more things! If you don't sell the rig, come out west, away from the city's, the road a really great. Take care, Bob "Lucky" Baldwin. P.S. That 6 speed trans, with "tow-haul", is sweet. When you back off, or going down hill, it's like having a stick shift. Use's the engine compression to slow you down.

[Dave e Victoria]

Earl,
I had almost the same response to my first fiver tow. We had a brand new 3295RK. I pulled it 60 miles from the dealer in Mesa to our stickhouse in Northwest Phoenix over I-101. It was both annoying and rough. I immediately went for the purchase of a Trail-air hitch pin. The product performed about as advertised and we were happy -- even over difficult surfaces like I-69 between Lansing and Flint MI. When we bought our Cambridge, I ordered the Mor Ryde hitch pin. It tows like a dream. We have over 4000 miles across the country.

One other thing needs to be mentioned. Fifth wheel dynamics usually improve with higher hitch pin loading. That means more weight in the front of the trailer. Conversely, light loading usually means a jerkier ride. We are towing with 20 to 21% of the trailer weight on the Hitch pin.

Also, we rarely try to do the trip you did in a week. It is not the enjoyable part of fifth-wheeling IMO. We try to stay under 300 miles in any one day. And, if possible, try to layover every other day or two. All the bumps and jerks get much larger after six hours on the road no matter what you do to the equipment.

If the camping life is a dream of yours, experiment a little. You might find it better than you remembered.
Dave('')

[Montana_3939]

Thankyou all, for your answers. In the big picture, we're not sure what's next or where exactly, and have to leave it at that for now. We have posted in the for sale area of MOC yesterday for the entire setup, ready to go anywhere. So for now, have a great day. Earl

[PowellsMonty]

We put those Firestone air bags on the rear and that eliminated 75% of the bucking. I couldn't believe the difference in the ride. Most improvement for the $$ I ever spent. Make me warm & fuzzy inside just thinking about it. Sorry to hear of your dilemma.

[NJ Hillbilly]

The Colibert gooseneck adapter is the culprit.
I guarantee that if You remover the adapterand installed a conventional 5th wheel hitch the ridw and driving experience will improve 1000%. I had one on my trailer for 100 miles and removed it because of the ride.


John

[bob n pam]

I'm so sorry you had such a bad experience with your rig. Hope you find just the right situation to enjoy camping/RVing.

[sreigle]

We don't have much problem with the concrete strips with this shortbed truck and it rides great. But it is a crewcab and has a pretty long wheelbase (156 inches). Remember, shortbed does not equate to short wheelbase. A shortbed supercab will have a longer wheelbase and better ride than a longbed standard cab. Short wheelbase does contribute to the problem, though. Articles I've seen indicate the distance between truck wheels and trailer wheels relative to the distance between concrete strips is the culprit. I don't know much more than that.

In any case, there are solutions out there for that jerky motion. A TrailAir or MorRyde or similar pinbox will make a big difference. Also, we like US highways rather than interstates when possible. That eliminates most of the problem, too.

Good luck in your future endeavors.