Hitting Bottom W/ Sundance

Calvin · Oct 24, 2008

I have a Sundance 3200 5th wheel hooked to a Ford 250 4x4. I'm having problems the rear hanging up even on slight grades. I tore off a stabilizer jack before my first trip. Any suggestions?

Pictures added.

October 28th...more pictures on level ground. Camper is about 8.5" off truck rail. Top of 5th wheel hitch plate is 17" off truck bed. Going to try an lower 1.5" (increments on hitch) to see how much it pulls the rear up. May have to make jacks removable. Not a great design for our mountain area I guess.

As previously noted this is an off the shelf 2000 Ford 2500 4x4 SB.

jnbhobe · Oct 24, 2008

Please tell us more, what year f-250? lift kit? where is your hitch set? Where is the pin box set? over size tires? How much clearance between the trailer and bed rails?

jimtoo · Oct 24, 2008

If you can, post a side view picture of trailer and truck all hooked up and ready to travel.
Jim M

pslincs · Oct 24, 2008

Like they said above, make sure the trailer is level hooked up to your truck. If the front is in the air, that means the rear is to low, and you can hit things!

Netem · Oct 25, 2008

I have a 2900 MK Sundance pulled by a 2500 HD Chevy and have never had the rear drag. If you have the trailer level it should not drag.

Calvin · Oct 25, 2008

Thanks for the replies...

This is my first time using this site. Thanks for your replies.
The truck is standard issue..no lift kit. Tires are mfg recommended size. Pin box appears to be adjusted as high as it can go. Bed hitch is probably too high...it is set at max. My truck is in the shop so I need to determine the distance between the camper and the bed next week. I've been told it needs to be between 6 and 8 inches min. The dealer set it up. The camper does not trail level that's for sure. I plan to put some caster wheels on the back.
I tried to get some advise from Heartland but that was pretty much a waste of time. More on that later.

How do I attach a picture???

jmgratz · Oct 25, 2008

When parked on level ground your trailer should be level when hooked up. If the rear of the truck is high then you may need to adjust your hitch. The problems I have heard about and even had myself is the kingpin assembly hitting the top edge of the pickup bed side at the top. When the hitch in the bed of the truck is adjusted properly it does not hit. I have never had the rear of my Landmark drag but in know a Landmark owner that did when he went up a steep driveway entrance at 90 degree angle. Sometimes you have to enter a steep driveway at an angle to keep from dragging. That is the fault of the driveway design not the truck-trailer hookup.

Calvin · Oct 25, 2008

Hitting Bottom w/ Sundance

Where I hung up was not very steep but you are coming off a flat road maybe w/ a crown. This is a common issue when going in and out of parking lots off of highways so I have to fix it. Hearltand said if I put a lift kit on the frame it would void the warranty. They also were not sure if the warranty would be good if I installed skid rollers.
My problem w/ Heartland was their attitude..just didn't seem to care.

truknutt · Oct 25, 2008

Calvin,

What brand/model of hitch do you have? I have a Reese 16K in my F250 4wd and a Reese 20K in the 350 2wd. The 250 is set one hole down from the center of the adjustment range (this raises the hitch up slightly above center). Does this make sense? I'll have to run out to the barn and measure the hitch height from the floor and post it later. (On Edit: Measured the height from floor to top plate of hitch head to be 17".)

I had to raise the hitch height in the 350 'cause the truck sat lower.

Unless you're taking this rig through some serious "woop-dee-doo's", you shouldn't need casters. If you hit the stab jacks I don't think they would help much anyway.

jbeletti · Oct 25, 2008

Calvin said:
...How do I attach a picture???

Calvin,

Go to Heartland Owners Online Tools here.

Then follow the link in the short article. It will download you a pdf file that are instructions on how to add pictures to a post.

Jim

Calvin · Oct 26, 2008

Attaching pics

I attempted to follow the instructions for the "below post" option. I did not see the "Additional Options" button. I did find a "Go Advanced" button. When I went to this screen there was a paper clip attachment on the tool bar (its on this screen also). That allowed me to go to my C drive where I had my pics stored. Pretty easy.

Shadowchek · Oct 26, 2008

sounds like you need to lower your hitch to get it as level as you can while still allowing 6" of clearance. Mine was too high and I lowered it as much as I could it is slightly high in the front but not bad. The problem with being too high in the front also is your rear axel weight will be too high making you suseptable to axel and tire failures. Also it just won't pull right. You get it leveled out and it should pull great.

Greg

jpmorgan37 · Oct 26, 2008

Calvin said:
My problem w/ Heartland was their attitude..just didn't seem to care.

Wow, I've dealt with Heartland for nearly three years and I found that they not only care, but bent over backwards to help all of their customers. Maybe it is the way the request was made or question asked. JMHO

John

Netem · Oct 27, 2008

Are you talking to Heartland the factory or the Heartland dealer? Some of the dealers are not very helpful but most people are are very happy with the service they get from the factory.

Calvin · Oct 27, 2008

It was the factory. Dealer has been very good. Problem w/ dealer is they are 3.5 hrs away.

Hitting Bottom W/ Sundance

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