Suggestions For Helping with 5th Wheel Chucking with 2021 Forest River 2621WS Ultra-Lite

Question:

Recently purchased a 30’ fifth, 2021 Forest River 2621WS ultra lite and I’m pulling it with a Chevy Silverado 2500 with Duramax. I have a Curt 20 fifth wheel hitch and am experiencing “chucking” quite often…starting, stopping, open roads, etc. is there an adjustment to make on the jaws, brakes? I’ve tried the fifth braking from 1-10 settings and no difference. Please help! Thank you.

asked by: David F

Expert Reply:

I'll start out by saying that this is going to be fairly normal with a trailer that size and there's really not a way to completely eliminate chucking; additionally there aren't adjustments on the hitch or trailer that can be made to help curb this. However, there are components that are better suited to help reduce the effects than others and if you wanted to go about trying to reduce this as much as possible there are 2 routes you could go.

Without knowing the exact hitch you're using, I'd suspect that you have a dual/double jaw hitch like the Curt A20 # C16070; Curt makes some really great 5th wheel hitches but dual jaw hitches have a lot more play in them than a single hook jaw that makes 360 degree kingpin contact like the Demco # DM37VR. Upgrading your hitch would be one way to help reduce some of the chucking you're getting.

The other option would be upgrading to a Reese Goosebox like the # RP85FR (replaces Lippert 0719 and 1621 Pin boxes), and utilizing a gooseneck connection in your truck- either with a factory prep package or aftermarket gooseneck like the Curt # C60642 (fits 2020 Chevy 2500 HD). A goosebox or other upgraded pinbox like the RotaFlex have extra cushions built in to help reduce chucking as well, so this could be another avenue to explore.

At the end of the day when you put a trailer that weighs 3-4x what the tow vehicle does, and using this type of connection, a certain amount of chucking is inevitable and will always be there. These options help cushion it a little bit more so that you notice it less, which is the ultimate goal. If you would like to explore these routes and can provide either the model year of your truck or the model number of your pin box, I can help locate some specific parts for your truck and trailer that would work to dampen this down.