I have Chevrolet 3/4 ton 6.6 diesel, duramax. This is our first experience with towing a 5th wheel. Intallled Flex Air King Pin air bag on 2017 Gateway 3660TBH Helped a little with chuking, however still terrible on rough roads. My next attempt to resolve the chucking issue is to instal airbags on truck. Anyone had simliar experience and can suggest pros and cons. Which airbags are best? Other options? Don't want to trade truck....only as last resort....
Chucking with towing vehicle
- Thread starter Perry521
- Start date
Jim.Allison
Well-known member
Re: Chucking with towning vehicle
Google "Trailer Saver hitch." You can also see it in action on YouTube, just do a YouTube search. You cannot eliminate all chucking, but you can have a tremendous affect on minimizing it. Airbags help too, it's not your truck. Everyone has experienced this on our failing infrastructure.
Google "Trailer Saver hitch." You can also see it in action on YouTube, just do a YouTube search. You cannot eliminate all chucking, but you can have a tremendous affect on minimizing it. Airbags help too, it's not your truck. Everyone has experienced this on our failing infrastructure.
rxbristol
Well-known member
Re: Chucking with towning vehicle
What type of hitch do you have in your truck? This can make a difference too because of the play between the jaws of the hitch and the king pin. Even if everything is tight, a good bump will still have the trailer pushing your truck, but should prevent constant chucking.
What type of hitch do you have in your truck? This can make a difference too because of the play between the jaws of the hitch and the king pin. Even if everything is tight, a good bump will still have the trailer pushing your truck, but should prevent constant chucking.
alwaysbusy
Well-known member
Re: Chucking with towning vehicle
While airbags resolve leveling issues, chucking is commonly attributable directly to the hitch/pin setup. With a heavy pin weight, we use the Trailer Saver. It is nice, if not impressive, to look in the mirror and see the coach bobbing up and down without the truck doing the same. We have very little chucking; I could not imagine the ride on a stationary hitch given all the bobbing I see the trailer doing. IMO, that hitch is some of the best money we've spent.
While airbags resolve leveling issues, chucking is commonly attributable directly to the hitch/pin setup. With a heavy pin weight, we use the Trailer Saver. It is nice, if not impressive, to look in the mirror and see the coach bobbing up and down without the truck doing the same. We have very little chucking; I could not imagine the ride on a stationary hitch given all the bobbing I see the trailer doing. IMO, that hitch is some of the best money we've spent.
Jim.Allison
Well-known member
Re: Chucking with towning vehicle
How do you install your hitch forward or aft of the location specified by the manufacturer of the hitch system? How far do you move it, and how does this help with "chucking"?
How do you install your hitch forward or aft of the location specified by the manufacturer of the hitch system? How far do you move it, and how does this help with "chucking"?
danemayer
Well-known member
Re: Chucking with towning vehicle
I'm sure you know that while newer trucks have pucks and frames, older trucks (my former 2011 GMC for example) had nothing. Correct installation front-to-rear relative to the rear axle was up to the installer to drill holes and place the rails in the optimum location.
If the hitch is incorrectly located, weight and balance will certainly be affected. More chucking? Seems possible.
Jim,
I'm sure you know that while newer trucks have pucks and frames, older trucks (my former 2011 GMC for example) had nothing. Correct installation front-to-rear relative to the rear axle was up to the installer to drill holes and place the rails in the optimum location.
If the hitch is incorrectly located, weight and balance will certainly be affected. More chucking? Seems possible.
Gary521
Well-known member
Air bags do help the ride quality. How much air pressure in the air bags will depend upon your particular situation. The manufacturer of the air bags does not matter, Firestone and Air Lift are both good. Installation is fairly straight forward. I am not familiar with the Firestone inflation system but the Air Lift is another easy install with the wireless system.
Jim.Allison
Well-known member
Re: Chucking with towning vehicle
Exactly. And suggesting that modifying the frame rail manufacturer's, vehicle specific instructions, to eliminate chucking seems not to be the correct course of action. I may be wrong, but I would like to know who has done this with success? And if this does work, then how is it done? And how far one must relocate it, and what effect it will have?
Exactly. And suggesting that modifying the frame rail manufacturer's, vehicle specific instructions, to eliminate chucking seems not to be the correct course of action. I may be wrong, but I would like to know who has done this with success? And if this does work, then how is it done? And how far one must relocate it, and what effect it will have?
danemayer
Well-known member
Re: Chucking with towning vehicle
I think the question might be more about the OP checking if the hitch was installed correctly in the first place.
I think the question might be more about the OP checking if the hitch was installed correctly in the first place.
Jim.Allison
Well-known member
Re: Chucking with towning vehicle
LOL, we are reading two different things but, I'm glad that no-one is suggesting that one move hitch rails forward of the manufacturer's installation instructions, in an effort to eliminate chucking.
LOL, we are reading two different things but, I'm glad that no-one is suggesting that one move hitch rails forward of the manufacturer's installation instructions, in an effort to eliminate chucking.
TravelTiger
Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
We had chucking on our ElkRidge, first trip. Changed pinbox to Reese 5th Airborne. No chucking for almost 6 years, even after changing truck and hitch. Moved pinbox to new BigCountry, and no chucking with it, either.
Granted, some bad roads (like 69 in OK) we do get some roughness but not the push-pull that we associate as "chucking".
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Granted, some bad roads (like 69 in OK) we do get some roughness but not the push-pull that we associate as "chucking".
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Jim.Allison
Well-known member
I am liking the "Goose Box W/ Air Ride Coupler" now that I have the RAM OEM system. What a way to clean up the bed.
Re: Chucking with towning vehicle
With short bed trucks, it is the tendency to place the hitch directly above or slightly behind the axle. This does not place any pin weight on the steer axle, and when placed behind center of axle, will remove weight. By placing the hitch forward of axle, you will place a portion of the pin weight on the steer axle, reducing the bouncing/porposing, reducing chucking.
With short bed trucks, it is the tendency to place the hitch directly above or slightly behind the axle. This does not place any pin weight on the steer axle, and when placed behind center of axle, will remove weight. By placing the hitch forward of axle, you will place a portion of the pin weight on the steer axle, reducing the bouncing/porposing, reducing chucking.
Jim.Allison
Well-known member
Jim.Allison
Well-known member
Reducing shock intensity by spreading it out over time, eliminates chucking and the abuse to your trailer frame and contents. You can accomplish this by using a Trailer Saver BD3, and airbags on your tow vehicle. The BD3 uses a tried and true 5th wheel, and has double locking jaws and two airbags.
Crumgater
Well-known member
We had chucking noises from two locations:
1) between where the hitch connects to the hitch-rails in the truck bed. We placed spongy shelf liner between the two, and removed that noise. Unfortunately, that also insulated the ground connection (in the Fords, the ground-pin connection in the trailer plug is undersized, so the circuit completes the ground through the hitch connection), so we ran into an electrical issue (truck kept telling us "trailer wiring fault" and "trailer disconnected")... so we now put the shelf liner in 3 out of the 4 connections, and leave one bare (or we have to use jumper cables as an extra ground wire connection).
2) there is an adjustment bolt on the head of our hitch (a Hijacker) - the going recommendation is, once hitched, to tighten this bolt, then back it off 1-2 turns. If that bolt is too loose, you get a lot of chucking. If it's too tight, things rub which you don't want to rub... and we've also found, if it's too tight, it's difficult to un-hitch. So, we now loosen before un-hitching, and re-tighten before driving away, every trip.
1) between where the hitch connects to the hitch-rails in the truck bed. We placed spongy shelf liner between the two, and removed that noise. Unfortunately, that also insulated the ground connection (in the Fords, the ground-pin connection in the trailer plug is undersized, so the circuit completes the ground through the hitch connection), so we ran into an electrical issue (truck kept telling us "trailer wiring fault" and "trailer disconnected")... so we now put the shelf liner in 3 out of the 4 connections, and leave one bare (or we have to use jumper cables as an extra ground wire connection).
2) there is an adjustment bolt on the head of our hitch (a Hijacker) - the going recommendation is, once hitched, to tighten this bolt, then back it off 1-2 turns. If that bolt is too loose, you get a lot of chucking. If it's too tight, things rub which you don't want to rub... and we've also found, if it's too tight, it's difficult to un-hitch. So, we now loosen before un-hitching, and re-tighten before driving away, every trip.
