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Old 12-22-2010, 05:41 AM   #1
oldelmer1
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Finally got my hitch

Had my Pullrite 20.5K hitch installed in my 2011 dodge 3500 dually yesterday.

The Dodge stood 58" tall at the back of the bed rail without the camper.

With the camper, it is 53.5" tall. That's a 4.5 inch drop.

From the bed rail to the underside of the camper is 5.5".

I can really see a drop in the back, and it looks like the front is off too.

Any of you DODGE owners have this much drop?

Here is a picture, although the driveway does slant to the back of the camper too.

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Old 12-22-2010, 05:56 AM   #2
Captain Joe
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by oldelmer1

I can really see a drop in the back, and it looks like the front is off too.
From the top of my bed rails to the bottom of the camper, I have 5" of clearance. Do you have airbags?

I do not understand what you are saying in the above quote. Please explain.
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Old 12-22-2010, 06:28 AM   #3
CamillaMichael
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Looks like an awful lot of drop...if you were driving a lesser vehicle, I would wonder if you had exceeded your payload capacity. In that regard, I saw a piece in the Good Sam Mag about an unlucky fellow who discovered that his vehicle had come from the factory SHORT one set of springs in the rear of his truck??????
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Old 12-22-2010, 07:28 AM   #4
pineranch
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Michael,
Look at your picture, the Ford appears to be nose up a little. Airbags installed???????
Mike
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Old 12-22-2010, 07:33 AM   #5
oldelmer1
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Captain Joe

Quote:
quote:Originally posted by oldelmer1

I can really see a drop in the back, and it looks like the front is off too.
From the top of my bed rails to the bottom of the camper, I have 5" of clearance. Do you have airbags?

I do not understand what you are saying in the above quote. Please explain.
Captain Joe,
It looks like the front suspension is pulled down also. I really need to take it somewhere where its level and see what it looks like.
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Old 12-22-2010, 07:38 AM   #6
Art-n-Marge
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I don't know if that's a lot of drop for a dually. I wonder if the dually is correctly equipped with everything it's supposed to have for its rating, but I'd head to the dealer real quick to check!

I experience a drop as do many others even though I have a Ford and SRW. I believe ALL trucks will experience some amount of sag, some more than others. Air Bags are great at correcting this problem with the best degree of adjustability, especially if you do any driving at night. Oncoming traffic will appreciate your headlights not turning into high beams.

All this still assumes that the RV is loaded correctly (pin weight is no more than 25%), and none of the weights are over - the pin weight does not cause exceeding the TV's rear axle weight rating, Gross vehicle or trailer weight ratings or the Combined Gross Vehicle weight rating. This also assumes that the truck does have all the hardware required to support its ratings. There have been known to be problems like a prior post mentions (missing spring), just like there's some trucks that have more hardware than what's documented, like some Ford F-250s that are built out of the factory with the F-350 spring set and large wheels and tires, too but still tagged with F-250 numbers.

To me, the front end looks like it's aiming higher but not being there I can't tell for sure how much, but if he says 4.5" of sag in the rear there may be a correlating rise in the front. I'd first confirm with a dealer or parts department that the right parts are installed on the truck. If so, then the luck of the draw says in your case, your truck sags.

For Captain Joe, the recommendation is that the minimum clearance is 6", but I've read others who say that being under the minimum means they keep an eye out for the angles and turns you make and do them slowly and you should be able to prevent contact damage between the overhang and the truck bed rails. When I first got my fiver, I was at a campsite in the mountains that I had to drop into at a angle and it was VERY close and I currently have about 7" clearance. I sense you wouldn't have tried this campsite and fortunately this type of site is rare. Whatever the clearance this is a concern.

When a sag occurs, this can draw concern from "weight police" who might think you are overweight. Some owners who ARE overweight often use air bags to "hide" it. Not knowing better I was doing that, but now with research and being lucky that I could improve this with installing the proper springs and wheels/tires for my load, I am within weight, but I still use air bags to correct the aspect angle.

Your dually might be just fine, you may not be used to it, there's probably nothing wrong, but knowing what to check is good. Confirm your truck is properly equipped, weigh your rig and know the weights (at each axle and each wheel), then you might need to adjust how the RV is loaded to improve things. If all these things are good and you still don't like the angle, you might want to add some air bags.
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Old 12-22-2010, 07:51 AM   #7
Tom S.
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As long as the hitch pin is located as close as possible to the center line of the axle, you should be ok. One way to raise the truck back up is air bags. Another way is by adding a leaf or two BUT that will affect your unloaded ride, where as airbags can be deflated. Just out of curiosity - are you sure you have 1 ton springs? Seems like a LOT of sag...
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Old 12-22-2010, 07:53 AM   #8
oldelmer1
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Art & Margie,

Thanks for your thoughts, I will check with the dealer just to make sure all the springs are there.

I would hate to think I'm exceeding my capacity, considering the camper is empty. But I will weight it also.
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Old 12-22-2010, 07:59 AM   #9
oldelmer1
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I just went out and looked at the springs, from the top, there are 2 springs that are not connected on the ends, just sitting on the axle.

Then a set of 3, that are connected on both ends.

Then another 1 that is not connected on either end.

Then the 3 that are about 8" long that sit on top of the axle.
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Old 12-22-2010, 08:10 AM   #10
Tom S.
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by oldelmer1

I just went out and looked at the springs, from the top, there are 2 springs that are not connected on the ends, just sitting on the axle.

Then a set of 3, that are connected on both ends.

Then another 1 that is not connected on either end.

Then the 3 that are about 8" long that sit on top of the axle.
I'm confused. You said there are 2 on top of the axle, then the last line says 3 that are about 8" long on top of the axle. Can you post a picture? You know what they say about a thousand words...
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Old 12-22-2010, 08:31 AM   #11
mhs4771
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I don't know, but 4.5 inch drop on a 1 ton dually seems very much. Granted your 3150 is heaver than my 2955, but my Chevy 1 ton dually only drops about 1 to 1.5 inches with the Monty connected.
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Old 12-22-2010, 08:45 AM   #12
racerjoe
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from your picture it looks like the trailer is sitting way back in the bed of your truck. Is the hitch centered over the axle? Do you have a slider that is in the manuver setting? Did you put a hitch extender on the Monte? From where it looks like it is too far back of center. Did a qualified installer put the hitch in? The springs sould normal for a one ton truck. They would not all be touching each other because you are not at it's maximum capacity. That is what I get from the picture.
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Old 12-22-2010, 08:47 AM   #13
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I had a lot of drop on a previous truck because the hitch was installed to far back in the bed. It was about 4 inches behind the rear axle. Maybe the same case with yours. I don't think a dually would lower that much.
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Old 12-22-2010, 08:51 AM   #14
pbahlin
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I've got a 2010 3500 dually (see my pic in signature) and it doesn't seem to go down that much. I've never measured it but it always seems to be level under load.

I've got two helper springs followed by three leaves attached to the frame and at the bottom a single helper. The helpers don't attach to anything but the axle.

Before you get too concerned take the rig to a flat spot, park it, and get far away from it to check the appearance. A little bit of slope on the ground can really throw off your eye.

Also, when my truck is unloaded it has a bit of nose down attitude. Is that true of yours? You shouldn't expect a perfectly level truck with 3,000 pounds sitting on the axles.
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Old 12-22-2010, 09:20 AM   #15
kdeiss
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Also looks to me hitch is to far back and nose is up. Hard to judge from the picture
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Old 12-22-2010, 09:44 AM   #16
mtheo
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You need to check where the hitch is located, even an inch behind the axle will make a big differnce with a heavy load. Moved forward may also but a little more load on the front, be sure you stay with in the weight limits for the fronf axle
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Old 12-22-2010, 12:55 PM   #17
racerjoe
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shouldn't the hitch centerline be over or forward of the axle by a couple inches on normal installs?
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Old 12-22-2010, 01:00 PM   #18
oldelmer1
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My hitch was installed by an RV dealer that is listed on the PullRite website, and they seemed to be competent. The hitch pin opening is an inch or so in front of the axle, so I think its in the right place, and it's not a slider.

palin, so my spring pack sounds like its the same as yours. (two helper springs followed by three leaves attached to the frame and at the bottom a single helper)

The coach has the standard MorRide pin box on it. IT does seem to be a little "EXTENDED" to me, at least compared to my old Ford there was a good 3 feet between the tail gate and the Montana, as compared to my old SOB which seemed to have only 2 foot, or so.

The coach is sitting on a slanted driveway, so looking at the back of the coach, its close to 3 feet off the ground. But I don't think that would make a difference when the coach is placed onto the hitch.
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Old 12-22-2010, 02:12 PM   #19
racerjoe
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since you have an 8 foot box, you should be able to just have the standard pin box on your unit. that would put it closer to the center

Not trying to complicate the matter but the picture seems to say a lot on how far back the trailer is. wish you luck in fixing this.
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Old 12-22-2010, 03:38 PM   #20
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I have a 3500 Q-cab DRW Dodge LB. and have a 2980RL which has a very heavy pin weight 2400 Lbs or close to it and I do not have the drop that you are experancing. mine will go down about 3 inches at the most, and that is a loaded trailer as only my wife can do. I still get beat to death from the expantion joints. I can make milk shakes.
I would check that suspention out maybe they put the wrong springs or no overloads on it. 5 plus inches seep a bit extream for a 3500 DRW. just a thought.
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