Recommendations to Improve Ride Quality of Fifth Wheel Trailer Towing a Boat
Question:
My truck is 2013 f-250 I have a bandw companion fifth wheel, it looks to me like the front of pin is about in center of axle. The vehicle rocks front to back badly .making front of fifth wheel trailer go up and Down a lot wich makes boat do same thing at back of trailer boat takes a beating . Thx
asked by: Randy G
Expert Reply:
Does your fifth wheel bounce and chuck when the boat ISN'T hitched to it?
If the boat doesn't have much tongue weight, it can bounce around as well. This bouncing can make the ride of the fifth wheel suffer, thus making the bouncing/chucking situation at the connection between the fifth wheel and the hitch in your truck bed worse. You can try adding some tongue weight to the boat in front of its trailer axle to increase its tongue weight, and see if that calms things down. Make sure you stay within the tongue weight capacity of the hitch used on the rear of the fifth wheel.
Although it is legal in some places, we do not recommend tandem towing. Having the additional pivot point between the fifth wheel and whatever is being towed behind it can lead to instability as well as to the bouncing and chucking you mention.
An air ride pin box for your fifth wheel would be your best bet to improve your ride quality. Air ride pin boxes are specific to the pin box used on your fifth wheel, so I would need to know the manufacturer and model number of your existing pin box in order to make a recommendation. Your existing pin box should have a plate or sticker somewhere listing the manufacturer name and model number. If you could email me that information, I would be happy to recommend an air ride pin box for you. I have linked you to an article about air ride pin boxes that you might find helpful.
