Back end scraping on 2020 377FL Montana High Country

[Patrickdoran]

Due to the design of the 377FL, the back end is closer to the ground than the rest of the camper. The backend scapes when I pull into and out of my driveway. I was thinking of installing a sacrificial steel plate on the rear of the camper. Modifying my driveway would be a real pain since it is paved. Anyone have any other ideas?

[Ram Montana High Country]

depending on how bad the drag is - think about laying down some 2x12 lumber to raise the trailer going in or out of driveway. Saw someone else had to do that to keep the nose off of the bed rails. Is the rig running level? If the nose is high when hooked to TV you might investigate getting it level.

[Oldharley]

weld some steel rollers on the back so if it scrapes the wheels hit before the 5th wheel. draw a line from the rear wheel to the bumper just make sure the rollers are lower than that line.

[DmaxDually]

I have a 2012 3750FL and I had the same problem. The ground in front of the storage unit where I keep the RV has a steep angle. I didn't even know I was scraping the bottom of the RV pulling in and out until one day I noticed gouges in the asphalt in front of my storage unit. I looked at the bottom of my camper and found that the support bars on the bottom of the receiver tubes, on the hitch that was installed by the previous owner, were gouging the ground. I am lucky the hitch was there to take the hit other wise I could have done a lot of damage to my rear cap and ladder.
I immediately had skid wheels welded to the bottom of the hitch assy. on both ends. The back of the RV now only clears the ground by an inch or two when the skid wheels make contact.
Here's a link to etrailer. They have good info and videos on skid wheels. Click the tabs at the top for product pictures, videos and FAQ's.

https://www.etrailer.com/s.aspx?qry=skid+wheels
Check Amazon for the prices.

[kingdaddy]

Same problem on my 3580RL...found some very heavy duty bolt on roller wheels at my local RV store.
I can take some pics if you want to see them. Very happy with them and they don't hang down too far...

[PSFORD99]

Originally Posted by kingdaddy

Same problem on my 3580RL...found some very heavy duty bolt on roller wheels at my local RV store.
I can take some pics if you want to see them. Very happy with them and they don't hang down too far...

I wished I would have done something like that ,I had the Steadyfast wing nut on the rear drag twice ,and broke off the bolt both times, lost it the first time, realized what happened the second time Had to replace it. Finally modified it so there was no wing nut ,and bolt hanging down when traveling . Of course after that never got in a spot where it dragged again

[Montana Man]

I put 1 1/2" blocks on the axles. That raised the rear 2 1/2". Doesn't sound like much but it leveled the trailer and hasn't dragged yet.

[lightsout]

Originally Posted by Montana Man

I put 1 1/2" blocks on the axles. That raised the rear 2 1/2". Doesn't sound like much but it leveled the trailer and hasn't dragged yet.

I was going to do a lift however since most of the newer Montanas are 13'5" I do not want to exceed 13'6" that can be a game changer with routing and low bridges.

[Texan]

Originally Posted by lightsout

I was going to do a lift however since most of the newer Montanas are 13'5" I do not want to exceed 13'6" that can be a game changer with routing and low bridges.

Raising the rv at the axles does not raise the total height of the rv. When Mor-Ryde installed my I.S. they raised the rv at the wheels about 3 inches to level the rv with the truck. What you are doing is you are pivoting the rv up at the axles but not actually raising the rv in the front where your front air is most likely the highest point of your rv. My rv was 13.5'' before and after the I.S. install. It doesn't matter if you are installing the I.S. or or any other type of suspension as you are raising the rear and not the front and the rear is several inches lower than the front already. Using your rear jacks if you have 6 pt. leveling you can measure the height of the front at the start then raise the rear 3'' using just the rear jacks then measure the front and rear and you should find you have not increased the front height yet the rear will have increased but should still be below the 13.6 maximum height required by law.

[lightsout]

Originally Posted by Texan

Raising the rv at the axles does not raise the total height of the rv. When Mor-Ryde installed my I.S. they raised the rv at the wheels about 3 inches to level the rv with the truck. What you are doing is you are pivoting the rv up at the axles but not actually raising the rv in the front where your front air is most likely the highest point of your rv. My rv was 13.5'' before and after the I.S. install. It doesn't matter if you are installing the I.S. or or any other type of suspension as you are raising the rear and not the front and the rear is several inches lower than the front already. Using your rear jacks if you have 6 pt. leveling you can measure the height of the front at the start then raise the rear 3'' using just the rear jacks then measure the front and rear and you should find you have not increased the front height yet the rear will have increased but should still be below the 13.6 maximum height required by law.

Laws of physics suggest otherwise. Unless the AC is over the kingpin you are correct if the AC (highest Point of the RV) is set back it to also raises while not linear withe the rear it still raises.

[Bob P]

We have the same problem on our 2016 375 FL and the only place I scrape is on the bumper area where I store the sewer hose. I am not sure if that bumper area is strong enough to hold the wheels and have the wheels work like they are supposed to. Any suggestions would be great, thanks. After looking a little closer to the bumper it is welded to the frame of the 5th wheel.

[beeje]

Originally Posted by Texan

Raising the rv at the axles does not raise the total height of the rv. When Mor-Ryde installed my I.S. they raised the rv at the wheels about 3 inches to level the rv with the truck. What you are doing is you are pivoting the rv up at the axles but not actually raising the rv in the front where your front air is most likely the highest point of your rv. My rv was 13.5'' before and after the I.S. install. It doesn't matter if you are installing the I.S. or or any other type of suspension as you are raising the rear and not the front and the rear is several inches lower than the front already. Using your rear jacks if you have 6 pt. leveling you can measure the height of the front at the start then raise the rear 3'' using just the rear jacks then measure the front and rear and you should find you have not increased the front height yet the rear will have increased but should still be below the 13.6 maximum height required by law.

Texan, I beg to differ. We just had the IS installed in June. I was concerned about the amount of lift because I only had about 3" of overhead clearance at the head of our pole building where the camper lives. As you can see from the pic, we lost most of that clearance.

So stating that raising you unit at the axles will not raise your overall height is just simply not right. It all depends on where the highest point of you unit is. If its the front a/c then your are probably right. In our case, the highest point is the fantastic fan max air cover, which is directly above the axles.

[beeje]

I would be very Leary of putting any kind of drag wheels on the unit. There is no way of telling just how much pressure/force is being applied to the camper frame when they hit the ground. Given enough, one could easily bend/crack/rack the frame and cause Permanente damage.

[Patrick&Mindi]

Can you tell me more about how you had the RV raised at the axle? Who did it for you? What did you ask for? What product was used, etc. etc.?

[SharonC]

Originally Posted by Montana Man

I put 1 1/2" blocks on the axles. That raised the rear 2 1/2". Doesn't sound like much but it leveled the trailer and hasn't dragged yet.

Can you post a pic of this? We need to do the same or get rollers.

[rohrmann]

I got 2" blocks and new U-bolts several years ago and this solved our scraping problem. Photo was taken before I cut off the excess threaded part of the U-bolts. https://www.trailerblocks.com/collec...00lb-axle-kits

[Patrick&Mindi]

Did you add blocks at both axles or just at the back/rear axle? I.e., 2 sets of blocks or just one set at rear?

[Patrickdoran]

Thanks for all the replies. I think I will install the skid wheels.

[kingdaddy]

Originally Posted by Patrickdoran

Thanks for all the replies. I think I will install the skid wheels.

I will post up a few pics of mine in the next couple of days or so...thought I already had some, but can't find them.

[lightsout]

Originally Posted by Patrickdoran

Thanks for all the replies. I think I will install the skid wheels.

I have the same problem looked in to wheels however all the wheels had many reviews where the wheels broke and do not hold up to regular use. This is very understandable. Adding wheels will mean you will have a longer impact zone as they will reduce your clearance by a couple inches. For me I have about a 1' scrape and the receiver seems to easily handle the scraping. I would be more incline to have a actual skid welded to each end of the receiver and let it scrape.