UnclKracker
Active member
I am starting a new post on the subject because it's been nearly a year since the last time anyone commented on the thread started by BigD.
I had commented on the movement the ball allows the trailer to tilt when on uneven ground or on steep drives and the experience I had with the truck side rails contacting the bottom of the trailer cap and crushing the frame mounted on the truck rails that a soft bed cover is attached to. Since that happened I removed the frame. This past Spring we stopped at EastBank Campground ACE in Georgia. Eastbank has a section on the lake that has a steep entry drive. Because of past experiences with the truck to trailer clearance I parked on the road before entering the drive, raised the trailer and pinned the ball at the highest setting. As I entered the turn and the front of the truck started down the drive the tail of the bed tilted upwards and the bed rail contacted the bottom of the trailer cap. It buried one of the screws on the underside of the trailer cap into the bed rail shearing off the screw and cutting a slice in the rubber cap of the bed rail. It also drug the broken screw along the bottom of the trailer slicing an arc in the plastic cover under the cap. Afterwards, I watched rigs with standard 5th wheel hitches and could see their truck beds twisting when the limit of the hitches side to side travel was reached but none of them ever made contact with the trailer.
Also, when coupling and decoupling there are some things to watch out for. There is so much travel needed to decouple that as the landing gear raises and the nose of the trailer arcs upward it wants to pull the truck back until the ball leaves the receiver. I've learned to leave the truck in neutral until the ball is nearly out of the receiver then put it in park. The truck follows the trailer back about 3 inches as the trailer is raised. Before I began doing this the truck couldn't move while in park so a lot of stress was pulling on the truck. When the ball came out of the receiver the truck lurched forward shattering the plastic funnel on the receiver. I contacted Andersen about this and they replaced the funnel. Even sent me an extra one.
This also puts a lot of stress on the landing gear and motor as it's trying to lift and drag the truck back. When lowering the trailer onto the ball the truck wants to travel forward. If it's in park, the stress placed forward against the truck increases as the trailer lowers and when enough weight is taken off of the landing gear the truck and trailer move rearward a few inches. On dirt it's not that noticeable but when on concrete the landing gear skips along the ground. It doesn't sound like it's doing any good to the landing gear.
You won't always have this happen. There's a few inches of travel allowed when the truck is in park but if you're already at the limit for rearward travel when uncoupling then you will very likely break the funnel when the ball exits the receiver.
I had commented on the movement the ball allows the trailer to tilt when on uneven ground or on steep drives and the experience I had with the truck side rails contacting the bottom of the trailer cap and crushing the frame mounted on the truck rails that a soft bed cover is attached to. Since that happened I removed the frame. This past Spring we stopped at EastBank Campground ACE in Georgia. Eastbank has a section on the lake that has a steep entry drive. Because of past experiences with the truck to trailer clearance I parked on the road before entering the drive, raised the trailer and pinned the ball at the highest setting. As I entered the turn and the front of the truck started down the drive the tail of the bed tilted upwards and the bed rail contacted the bottom of the trailer cap. It buried one of the screws on the underside of the trailer cap into the bed rail shearing off the screw and cutting a slice in the rubber cap of the bed rail. It also drug the broken screw along the bottom of the trailer slicing an arc in the plastic cover under the cap. Afterwards, I watched rigs with standard 5th wheel hitches and could see their truck beds twisting when the limit of the hitches side to side travel was reached but none of them ever made contact with the trailer.
Also, when coupling and decoupling there are some things to watch out for. There is so much travel needed to decouple that as the landing gear raises and the nose of the trailer arcs upward it wants to pull the truck back until the ball leaves the receiver. I've learned to leave the truck in neutral until the ball is nearly out of the receiver then put it in park. The truck follows the trailer back about 3 inches as the trailer is raised. Before I began doing this the truck couldn't move while in park so a lot of stress was pulling on the truck. When the ball came out of the receiver the truck lurched forward shattering the plastic funnel on the receiver. I contacted Andersen about this and they replaced the funnel. Even sent me an extra one.
This also puts a lot of stress on the landing gear and motor as it's trying to lift and drag the truck back. When lowering the trailer onto the ball the truck wants to travel forward. If it's in park, the stress placed forward against the truck increases as the trailer lowers and when enough weight is taken off of the landing gear the truck and trailer move rearward a few inches. On dirt it's not that noticeable but when on concrete the landing gear skips along the ground. It doesn't sound like it's doing any good to the landing gear.
You won't always have this happen. There's a few inches of travel allowed when the truck is in park but if you're already at the limit for rearward travel when uncoupling then you will very likely break the funnel when the ball exits the receiver.
