bucking issues

[therollingstones]

this is our first 5th wheel 2011 3625rl. we love it, but when going down the road, it bucks us badly. we have a curt brand hitch. a mor ryde and air bags on the truck (2011 ford f250, short bed) any help would be appreciated.

[gr8330]

Congratulations on the new fifth wheel. When you are connected to your truck does the trailer sit level or is it higher in the front? If ss that could cause some bucking.

[awaywego]

A couple of week ago I left home headed for a park and every dip in the road made me bounce like I was pulling a travel trailer. I have never had this before. I found I had forgotten to put air in the airbags so I stopped and aired them to 35# and all was good again.
Are you running enough air in your bags?
Hope this helps you.

[Art-n-Marge]

I used to buck a lot more, but most of this went away when I got air bags. I agree with awaywego and I used from 50# to 60 # of air in my bags and you should check your bags. I only get an occasional buck stopping or starting depending how severe I stop or start.

Check the bed rail bolts. I had some extra movement until I found I had to check the bed rails periodically. Also the trailer suspension u-Bolts. Initially I found a lot of these loosened but now that my maintenance includes checking these things and re-torquing as needed, things are pretty solid.

Another thing, I am not level. I have about a 1 to 2 degree upwards slope, but from what I've read this should be okay. I still have over 7" truck bed clearance and no rear end sag. I also have a basic Husky/Valley 5er hitch. I provided all this only for comparison sake. Maybe something will apply to your situation that you can try.

[drknapp]

I have air bags also. We had a problem also with bucking when we first got it and kept playing with the air pressure in the bags. I found that for our truck, I needed about the same setting as Art's to minimize the bucking (60lbs with the trailer hitched).

[sfish]

I run my Firestone air bags at 60 lbs. it helps but there is still some bucking when hitting rough spots in the roads. I have thought about changing my shocks to a heavier brand.

[racerjoe]

My 2 cents worth. Do you have a slider hitch? Are you in the tow position? If you are too far back on the truck it will buck. you need to keep it over the axle

[therollingstones]

we are pretty level, we have had the air bags with 60 lbs. but yesterday there were only 20 lbs. we have a hitch that you have to manually slide. haven't tried the bed rails. thanks for all the input. we have to do something. the cat and I don't like it too much! We pulled a travel trailer for 10 years. love the montana, but get anxiety everytime we have to pull it. my husband is fantastic at manuevering it, just the bucking, yech!

[racerjoe]

Is the slider in the tow position?

[therollingstones]

we have made that mistake not having it in the tow position before for a short distance! not good! ha! but yes it is in the tow position. we are going to try lowering the hitch to allow to get a 1 to 2 degree slope to the truck and air the bags to 60 lbs. we will tow it to the dealer friday for a new fantastic fan and ask them about this too.

[Bill-N-Donna]

Once you get the bucking out of it your husband will probably love the way it handles. The 5th wheel takes a little getting used to after towing trailers but just remember to watch the corners. We had a few pull trailers & 1 M/H before going to the 5th wheel and the 5th wheel is by far the best decision we ever made in all aspects of towing and camping.

[HOOK]

I noticed from your photo that I could not see Moryde on your pin box. Makes a lot of difference. It allows pin to move about and takes out a lot of jerking. Couldn't see well, just a guess. You will find the problem, lots of knowledge on this forum. Larry

[therollingstones]

i haven't put a photo up yet (not computer literate) we had the mor ryde installed, definately a "cushion" feel. worth the money