Adjusting Shackles

Grdsman

Member
Hi all! I just picked up my new (to me) 2008 3210 yesterday! I'm pulling it with a 2005 Ford F-250 CC 4x4 with Firestone bags and the trailer sits a little low in the rear. I looked at the shackles and see that it has two holes that it can be adjusted to. My question is, what is the best way to accomplish this? I woke up at 2:30 this morning thinking about it...my fear is that having it on the landing gear and raising one side might tweak the landing gear on the other side. Is it ok to have it hooked up to the truck and raise one side, drop the tires and adjust the shackles? Or is that too much twist on the hitch? My thought is that this is how I would change a tire on the highway (leave it hooked up) so it should be ok, right?
Thanks!
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
Hello Grdsman and welcome to the forum. You will find lots of good information here. And welcome to the Heartland family.
You are correct in that jacking up your rig will put undo stress on the landing gear. It is recommended that you have your trailer hitched to the truck. Also it is recommended by the axle manufacturer to only jack by the frame and not the axle. You can use a floor jack under the axle to support it while you work on the shackles.
If you make the shackles shorter that will raise your trailer. Have you looked into just lowering your hitch in the bed of your truck?
Be sure to use jack stands when working under the trailer.
Let us know how your project turned out.
Be sure to check out the Heartland Owners Club and the Colorado Chapter Rally for next year. This years rally is past.

Peace
Dave
 

Grdsman

Member
Hello Grdsman and welcome to the forum. You will find lots of good information here. And welcome to the Heartland family.
You are correct in that jacking up your rig will put undo stress on the landing gear. It is recommended that you have your trailer hitched to the truck. Also it is recommended by the axle manufacturer to only jack by the frame and not the axle. You can use a floor jack under the axle to support it while you work on the shackles.
If you make the shackles shorter that will raise your trailer. Have you looked into just lowering your hitch in the bed of your truck?
Be sure to use jack stands when working under the trailer.
Let us know how your project turned out.
Be sure to check out the Heartland Owners Club and the Colorado Chapter Rally for next year. This years rally is past.

Peace
Dave

Well, this might be a stupid question, but am I able to lower my hitch? I have a superglide slider hitch since I have a SB truck. I was looking at it last night and didn't see how.
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
I have a short bed as well and no slider. I have no knowledge of the Superglide.
Hopefully someone that knows about the Superglide can shed some light on the subject.

Peace
Dave
 

Grdsman

Member
I appreciate your input about hitching it up. That is where I was leaning and you've confirmed it. I'll be making an attempt at raising my camper tonight! Hopefully rusty bolts don't slow me down....I should have sprayed them last night.
 

GOTTOYS

Well-known member
My Super Glide is not adjustable for height. I have the model that uses std. rails in the bed. I have seen a kit to raise the Super Glide that uses the Super Rails but I don't think you can lower them. You want to aim for a minimum of 6" clearance between the bottom of the trailer overhang and the top of your box. A little more is even better. You do have an adjustment on your trailer pinbox. This can usually be moved up or down to gain some clearance or leveling. If you need to adjust the axle height I would do it while attached to the truck. Your hitch is designed to pivot sideways as well as front to back. Leaving it attached to the truck will help eliminate the possibility of damaging the landing gear and will provide a more stable working environment. There should be no problem in jacking your trailer while attached to the truck. Remember to properly block all the wheels to prevent it from rolling, and put some sturdy jack stands under the trailer. Good luck...Don
 

Grdsman

Member
I started the task last night and got the passenger side done with minimal blood loss. Tonight I'll hopefully get it done...just in time for the weekend!
 

JWalker

Northeast Region Director-Retired
Do all Heartland fifth wheels have adjustable shackles? I need to either lift the trailer or lower the rear of the truck. Maybe both. I have around 6" of clearance between the trailer and the bed rails. The nose still sits high.
 

Grdsman

Member
I recall reading that not all of them do. Just take a look at your shackles and see if you have holes below where your springs are mounted to your shackles. If so, you can drop the springs down to one of the holes to raise the camper. Mine probably still won't be completely level, but it will be a lot better. When I started this, with toys in the back, the back steps into the garage door could touch the ground when out. Now they are a good 5-6 inches up.
 

Grdsman

Member
This was definitely not the easiest project that I've done, but I got the other side of the axles done Wednesday night and we were gone Thursday morning for 5 days. The new to us 3210 pulled great!
 
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