Best Way to Reduce Fifth Wheel Towing Chucking
Published 01/05/2017
Question:
I am a newbie to the 5th wheel tow crowd and need advice on what I beleive is called chucking. My tow vwhicle is a 2015 Ram Tradesman 3500 8foot bed SRW, with Cummins 6.7 and 4 wheel drive. The 5th wheel is a 2016 Keystone Fusion 385 toyhauler. On pickup day I noticed the truck was markedly low in the rear, undoubtedly from the 3020lb pin weight. When we towed the 385 home, about 45 miles, on on the freeway, we were thoughly spanked by a for\aft shake. I checked the suspension on the truck and found it did not come with any secondary springs overloads. I checked the weight capabiliy for the truck and the numbers say the trailer weight is within spec for my TV. I added a set of 3500lbs Helwig helpers springs which brought the TV back to a level set when hitched. The springs reduced the for\aft shake a significant amount, but would like to continue investigationg options to minimized this as much as possible. What should I look into next? All help is appreciated
asked by: Mike
Helpful Expert Reply:
The hitch you use will play a huge factor in how much chucking you will experience. If the hitch uses a slide bar type jaw which leaves a lot of room for movement you are going get more chucking. If you use a hitch with a very tight jaw system like the Reese M5 # RP30928 chucking would be greatly reduced. In nearly every situation of chucking we have seen the solution has been to go with a fifth wheel hitch that has less movement.
Cushioned pin boxes like the one you referenced can help too but they tend to smooth things out but not stop the movement that is causing the chucking.
