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Newbie guy, New to us rig Pinbox & ET lineups


tippey

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I will be learning a lot and hope to be a quick study later this week. I have a question on Hitch operation on my HDT. My DW and I will have our next rig and first 5th wheel rig delivered on Friday. It's a 2010 Carriage Royals 36MAX1

 

  1. We've aired up and measured with a level off the ET head to the ground and we measured it to be 48.75 inches. (air bags inflated with no weight on the hitch head)
  2. We've had the dealer measure the 5th wheel (when level) from the pin box plate to the ground and it measures 47"
  3. We have MORryde IS on the 5th wheel suspension
  4. We have a MORryde pin box set on it's lowest position of the 3 bolt pattern.

 

I will assume. LOL that we want to start an un-loaded new rig out with a measurement on a level rig and a level HDT/ET hitch. We'll need to start up with this until we've loaded and weighed all our corner weights. I just want to start up with an equal playing field for both axles (MORryde IS on all four wheels.

 

should I make this initial calculation based on a level placed on the rig and the HDT after the HDT is loaded or can I use the data I have before hitching with no actual load on the ET hitch?

 

I hope I've stated the right stuff and also hope you'll let me know if I should have more data before you'd comment or suggest anything.

 

Most appreciated,

Steve

 

Tipper


"GAR" is a 2001 White Volvo 660 singled long w/ VED12 465 3.58 - Eaton Fuller Auto-shift 10spd. 3 pedal- Onan QD 6500 Gen. (aka "Joyrider")

2010 Carriage Royals International 36MAX1 w/ MORryde IS, G114's 17.5" wheels, (SOLD)

2014 Honda CRV AWD (ready to flat tow but driven separately by my DW!

 

Class of 2016 Full-Timers

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47" is the standard. Your ET will remain at the present level, regardless of whether loaded or empty, withing it's design parameters.

 

So, it appears you should investigate how to lower the ET head. Is the link on the leveling arm adjustable? If so, can you do so and still keep the bags inflated to their design height?

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The ET hitch has a self leveling valve on the air bag so the head will remain at the same height, whether hitched or unhitched. It is best to hitch everything up and load up as you would be for travel and then check the trailer level. If adjustments need to be made, make then by moving the pin box up or down in its mount.

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The pin box on the trailer should move in 2- inch increments. Ask the dealer if the box is currently all the way up, down , or in a middle position.

While you do want to be as level as possible. 1 3/4 inch isn't that bad.

What might be suggested is that leave everything alone until you are completely loaded. Then get weighed. Weighed by individual wheel positions. If being that little nose high is transferring too much weight to the rear trailer axle, then adjust the pin box.

No matter how much weight you put on the back of the truck, (within say 30,000lbs) it will remain at the same height.

 

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Thank you guys for your input. This is all good info for me. I will not be traveling more than 50 miles before it gets loaded and getting a CAT weight until I can get a custom corner weigh at the next rally this June. I'll take it slow. It's just like me to try and perfect something without all the ingredients added. LOL

"GAR" is a 2001 White Volvo 660 singled long w/ VED12 465 3.58 - Eaton Fuller Auto-shift 10spd. 3 pedal- Onan QD 6500 Gen. (aka "Joyrider")

2010 Carriage Royals International 36MAX1 w/ MORryde IS, G114's 17.5" wheels, (SOLD)

2014 Honda CRV AWD (ready to flat tow but driven separately by my DW!

 

Class of 2016 Full-Timers

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Tipper, your truck has interesting "history". It was one of the first trucks I converted and it has one of the first ETs produced.

2387355050096176628ecRIPU_fs.jpg

The frame was extended about 6 feet so that the owner could carry the DeSol two seater driven from the back (Joyrider Jr.).

2536980130096176628GZFpzB_fs.jpg

The ET was mounted very low to clear the car so we extended the pinbox on his New Horizon to make things level.

 

The next owner took it to a builder in Texas (not Larry Herron) to shorten the frame, the bed and to mount the Smart sideways. Instead of modifying the bed he replaced the entire bed with his "own design".

Next time I saw the truck was when the new owner brought it to Florida (couple years ago) to upgrade the ET. So even though you have one of the earliest ETs it was completely rebuilt and upgraded to the new configuration.

Two things I noticed right away, since the builder is not familiar with ETs (never installed new ones in his trucks), it was not set up to the proper height (47 inches) and the way the bed was built around the ET it was a real bitch to remove the ET and to re-install it after conversion, but we managed. We did remount the ET to match the clients RV, but I don't remember the details of that fix. Give me a call so we can discuss it further, now that I know whose truck you have. I have some ideas how it can be fixed on your setup.

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Been offline. This is so good to read. Thank you! We're getting our new to us 5th wheel ready for the road as we also move into it from our Class A Motorhome. Just picked it up last week and drove it about 40 miles down to the park we're in. had a smell like overheated brakes and could not 'feel' that the Hayes Controller was talking to my trailer. I'll try the adjusting knob on my next hook up to be sure it's operating properly. We just sold our smart car and had a pair of rear ramp brackets made to accept my ramps so we can driver up from the rear as well. The deck bed will be used to haul a UTV (that we have not purchased yet) but we'll want to access the drom box when in camp so we'd like to drive a UTV up from the rear just to keep it secured and off the ground when we're not using it.

"GAR" is a 2001 White Volvo 660 singled long w/ VED12 465 3.58 - Eaton Fuller Auto-shift 10spd. 3 pedal- Onan QD 6500 Gen. (aka "Joyrider")

2010 Carriage Royals International 36MAX1 w/ MORryde IS, G114's 17.5" wheels, (SOLD)

2014 Honda CRV AWD (ready to flat tow but driven separately by my DW!

 

Class of 2016 Full-Timers

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