Ok, Sierra and Fiver<br><br>I know you guys are 5th wheelers.<br><br>Was wondering this:<br><br>Hooked up the RV tonite, 27' Komfort pull trailer. Had it on my '88 Ferd suck diesel, sucked! IT has been in the shed for a year and a half and finally got Daisy rigged up.<br><br>Was wondering this, when I dropped it on the ball, the 3500 went down a full 4&quot;!<br><br>So, lifted her up, and snapped the EZ lift levlers on and pretty tite I might add. She is up 2&quot; now, only dropped 2&quot;<br><br>But was kinda surprised a 3500 would drop like a rock!<br><br>Curious on how much drop ya all are seeing and how much pressure the tow bars need?<br><br>Thanks<br><br>Hunter<br><br>

 

Well I'm not a &quot;fiver&quot; but a &quot;goosenecker&quot; instead, but when I hooked up trailer which is heavier than most I dropped about that much. They made the distance a lot furthur between the overloads and the stoppers so it squats more before it hits em

 

I had a 20ft tag along biker hauler with it loaded (2 bikes) and all the crap I would carry with... my hitch would drop 3-4&quot; remember you'll get a drop because your behind the axel.. most tag hitches only take up to 500 lbs tough weight without a Weight-Distributing Hitch

 

Hunter Don,<br><br>Up until a year ago I was towing a 25' Coachmen. It had about 550# tongue wt. It dropped the rear of my 98 about 2'.<br>I know that the Komfort has a much heavier tongue wt, probably around 950#. The Eaz-lift bars should be tight enough to bring the truck to near level. Remember your hitch is a couple of feet behind the rear axle so any weight applied there will tend to raise the front end.<br><br>Here's some tips for hooking up: <br>Without the trailer being lowered onto the ball measure the height at two locations on your truck, front axle and rear axle. Best way to do this is to measure from ground up to the bottom fender. <br><br>Next lower the full weight of hitch onto the ball and measure again. (The front location will be the same or more, rear measurement will be less.) <br><br>Now attach your spring bars and adjust to bring the rear axle measurement up to within two inches of the first measurement. Measure at the front axle again. If the measurement here is less than the first measurement the spring bars are adjusted properly. If it still same as the first measurement, then tighten up one link.<br><br>The secret of hitching with Eaz-Lift is to transfer some of the hitch wt from the rear axle. When this is done a transfer of an equal portion of weight is made to the trailer axles.<br><br>If you don't have enough links to properly adjust the spring bars, the hitch head needs the tilt adjusted, the ball pivoted backwards. This requires the two bolts on the side of the hitch to be loosened and an additional washer to be inserted on the &quot;stop pin&quot; between the two main parts. Of course the trailer must be unhitched for this.<br><br><br><br>

 

Yeh, what Sierra said. 8) 8)<br><br>I think Sierra covered it well. My fiver is heavy - - about 16000 pounds wet and loaded. When I dropped it on the White Ghost, I went down about 2 inches at the most. I did not check my overloads - - I will next time I hitch up. I was quite surprised and consequently ended up front high because I was expecting more drop. I have now lowered my hitch two notches - - have not hitched since. I have only bumper towed with a boat and no equalizer hitch for that - - only a 25' cruiser. <br><br>Bob

 

Well gang, towed the RV around today about 300 miles or so, trying to get the 500 at 50 in.<br><br>A few things I have noticed<br><br>1. When you drop direct weight on the hitch, the 2003 is soft. That is what DC said they did, make in &quot;nice to ride&quot; without a load, but sturdy with a load when it hit the overloads. Not sure I like it that &quot;soft&quot; in the a$$<br><br>2. If you are gonna do a lot of towing, me thinks that you better get the 4.10. Even if you gotta sacrifice mileage etc.<br><br>3. If you are not gonna do a lot of towing, then go with 3.73<br><br>I have not pushed it yet, so can't really tell, but it seems that 6 is pretty soft. At 51MPH in 6th it is 1600 RPM<br><br>But, it seems like it has no guts in 6th, wondering when I get the 500 miles on it and I can run thru the gears properly if it is gonna have more snort?<br><br>At the moment, am wondering wondering. Seems kinda light weight :-(<br><br>But, like I said, not been into the turbo etc. as holding her down for a few more miles (145 in fact)<br><br>And ideas guys?<br><br>Hunter

 

Hunter Don,<br><br>Sounds like 50 mph is gonna be your downshift speed for towing. You are still at maximum torque at 1600 rpm. If you have any hills over 2-3% you may want to take them is 5th gear and make it easier on the engine with the higher rpm. My 4.10 in 5th (overdrive) turns 2000 rpm at about 60 mph. That seems to be where she purrs like a contented kitty when towing.<br><br>Phil

 

6th is too high to tow at 50mph, it is going to feel gutles, that is why you down. Heck you can run up to 65 in 5th with 4.10's<br><br>My pesonal feeling is forget their 50mph for the first 500 miles thing. They are just protecting themselves, you think the motor cares how fast the truck is moving. You have to work it and get some heat built up in their to brake it in, creaping along at 50mph is not even starting to work it. Hammer down man, have broke in 2 that way and they run perfect.

 

Mopar<br><br>It is not for the sake of the engine I don't believe, it is the axles and tranny and all the other parts that gotta mesh together is my understanding. I don't believe Cummins cares if you wind it to red line, DC just does not want those other parts to heat up etc. until they mesh up<br><br>Hunter

 

If they are going to fail they will fail either way, go 50 will just prolong the enevitable. I have set-up may gears and trannies, they are pretty much either right or wrong and that is that. I guess it is a safety factor that if you aren't going as fast you wont crash as hard : like I said DC is just protecting themselves.<br><br>When I broke the 2000 in it had 1500 miles on it and I hooked close to 10,000 of trailer behind it and drug it 5000 miles traveling around 70-80 mph, you could tell it was running better when we got done :

 

Hunter, <br> I had that same feeling when I first towed my fifth wheel. I keep the speed down in the 50's like suggested by Dodge. It is awful at those speeds with the 3.73's. Not to mention being a hazard to navigation running that slow on the highway.<br> I had been towing with an F-350 Powerstroke auto before. Honestly it crossed my mind a few times while keeping it in the 50's towing that I might have screwed up buying a Dodge. Get the speed up and it is a different truck. Everytime I tow with it I am more and more impressed with it.<br> I am getting ready to go spend 2 weeks with it and the trailer I am excited to get to spend some time trying it out on an extended trip.<br> Also my pin weight is around 2200 lbs and the rear end on my truck drops seems like it drops more than two inches when the trailer is on the truck. I will measure it next time I have a chance.<br> Hang in there I think you will be impressed when you have it past it's first 500 miles of towing torture recommended by Dodge.<br> FWIW Randy

 

Ok Gang!<br><br>And special thanks to Sierra Phil (anyone got tow questions, just e mail Phil, he knows!)<br><br>I added 2 washers to the hitch adjustment like Phil advised, and took up a total of 7 links on the ez lift hitch. It moved 450# off the hitch.<br><br>Put 250# more on the front axle, and 200# more on the trailer axle.<br><br>Amazing what a few physics thingies can do!<br><br>And, even more amazing, I got over 500 miles towing at 50ish, and today, took her to the scales to check the final weight etc. and cranked her on.<br><br>I can say this, it feels mushy at 50ish, but at high 60ish, OMG! It is a different truck totally! Took a 7% grade by running at her at 70, 1/2 way up at 60MPH into 5th, took the rest at 55MPH cruising over!<br><br>No more towing at 50 in 6th. 50ish is meant for 5th and over 60ish is meant for 6th!<br><br>2000 RPM towing is 67 1/2MPH which should be my best fuel economy I would think<br><br>Anyway, maybe I didn't need to break in the axles, tranny etc. for the 500 miles at 50ish, but I am glad I did, and feel confident now that the girl is gonna go to tow!<br><br>LOF on Tuesday AM to get the breakin crap out.<br><br>Best to you all over the Holidays!<br><br>Happy Hunter

 

OH, by &quot;hooking up&quot;, you meant a trailer! I thought this was a thread asking for advice on picking up women...never mind then.

 

;D ;D<br><br>Gotta check with Ton4Fun on the other issue it seems!<br><br>Hunter

 

Dealseaker, I suppose if Hunter had started this thread, &quot;Hitching Up Questions&quot;, You'd of thought he was gettin married and needed some fatherly advice.