I think I'm screwed

[timetogo]

Originally Posted by Erlingiii
... but what options do I realy have?

Have you considered 5th wheel tow dollys? They take the tongue weight off the truck.

If it drives well as is, a good driver would probably be fine. Good luck.

[Cumminsfan]

I had ride rites on another truck without a compressor. Separate lines. Some what a PITA, but doable. I told myself if I ever get bags again I will get a compressor.

[Erlingiii]

The hellwig are 5600# and the ride rite are 5000#, sounds like a lot of people use the ride rite. Is there anything else I should do while I have it on the lift? I'm working for a bodyshop, they'll help me with the installs and have a lift I can use.

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by Piker

... but for the most part, the DOT is looking to make $$ by handing out tickets to commercial entities. Sure, it all started out in the name of safety, but after the bureaucracy was established they found out it takes revenue flow so that the nice DOT officer can keep his job.

That's your opinion. In fact, both the state and Federal DOTs have different divisions. Law enforcement of maximum weight on each tire is one division. And that division does not receive the revenue from tickets issued. The revenue goes back to the city, county or state budget, not to the DOT budget.

[SmokeyWren]

Erlingiii -

Study the options on the RideRite website, and you'll see three primary options for the system to air up the bags:

1]. Manual. A Schrader valve for each air bag. Air up at a service station, or maybe carry a small 12-volt air compressor in the toolbox. The disadvantage of the small 12-volt air compressors is they are slow as Christmas.

2]. One Schrader valve with air lines connecting both air bags. Air up (or deflate) both bags at the same time with one air hose, or a compressor plumbed into the air lines.

3]. Automatic air system with on-board compressor, controlled by a smart phone, pad, or laptop, or maybe an airbag control console glued to the dash. The on-board compressor can be either a very slow 12-volt or a much faster but more expensive belt-driven compressor. Some people install an old York air conditioner compressor from a Ford vehicle from way back when. Google York compressor to read more than you probably want to know about a York DIY.

[DaveF-250SD]

Erlingiii,
You could change the rear springs of the truck to the ones used on the SRW 3500 to gain an advantage. I assume the truck has E rated tires already, like the 3500 does. Buy new springs from the dealership, and you and your co-workers can throw the truck on the lift one afternoon and do the swap. True, it will not change the door sticker, but it will up your axle capacity to that of the 3500, which will give you peace of mind while travelling down the road. Payload ratings on the 3/4 ton trucks suffer when the diesel engine is optioned, as it is hundreds of pounds heavier than even the largest of gas engines. IMHO, all 3/4 ton trucks should be gas powered, maximizing their payload capabilities, and the one tons should have the choice of the largest gas engine, or a diesel engine. For marketing reasons it will never happen, though.

[sknight]

Something to consider, with airbags you're adding weight, lots of weight if you opt for a full tilt onboard system with a tank, compressor and all. Since you're already worried about weight adding more, even with airbags, could be a losing return on investment.

With you saying it's riding level and not having ill effects driving then airbags might not be needed. Go and look at your bumpstops, on the helper spring and the actual bumps that hit the axle or spring pack and stop it. If it's not rubbing, then the suspension is fine. Could it be stiffer? Well, sure I guess. Is it necessary? My money is on no.

[Piker]

Originally Posted by SmokeyWren

That's your opinion. In fact, both the state and Federal DOTs have different divisions. Law enforcement of maximum weight on each tire is one division. And that division does not receive the revenue from tickets issued. The revenue goes back to the city, county or state budget, not to the DOT budget.

Semantics... point being... follow the money. It's a business.

-cheers

[Erlingiii]

I am going with the manual filled bags, looks like it won't add much weight. I can't switch to 3500 springs cause it's the 5 link coils. Sounds like the bags should do the trick, it sits good as is but it's new and stiff, and the bags will help on bridge transition and dips.

[caissiel]

I choose to add a leaf to my rear springs on 3 trucks except my 2500 Chev. The present F250 has 2 additional plies on each side. One to protect the main ply and a second short ply to keep the overloads of the brackets I found that the truck drove really rough with the overloads loaded.
The HD trucks of today have no springs to support the registered loads anyway because they are setup for smooth empty rides. Just look at the 60's and 70's 3/4 tons they had stiff springs to be loaded. The trucks of those years were not even powered to carry the loads so overloading was not even considered. I have seen blowing tires before the truck showed any loads.
For me it don't matter if its a 350/3500 or a 250/2500 the OEM springs cannot hold the load without help. Adding spring ply at a spring shop is the best investment.
My truck rides well with or without load. I loaded a pallet full of roofing at 2900 lbs behind the box fenders this summer and the truck barely dropped and the driving was not effected. I know the 2500 Ram will hold 700lbs extra with one additional ply added and the spring shop can set it for leaving the unloaded ride unchanged from stock.
The spring shops know and do those things all the time. Mine advised me to protect the main ply because they change a lot of those on the HD Fords.

[cbconway]

Originally Posted by UsualSuspect

There is only 1 way to really know. Go to the scales and weigh everything. Until you know what the weights are, it is best guess. Weigh it, then see what is needed.

X2 You need real world numbers, not hypotheticals.

[Gordon Dewald]

Originally Posted by sknight

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


And there you have it. A dose of reality for the weight police purists.

I've seen crashes where a 1500 was pulling a 5er and where a 4500 was pulling a 25' TT. I personally witnessed a 3500 that wasn't able to stop a 30' 5er in time and drove over the back of a car stopped in traffic.

I'm less concerned about the weight to overweight ratio than I am the abilities of the driver. They're easy to drive, it's when it goes wrong that the mettle is tested.

The sticker on the door falls way short when compared to the experience and ability of the one holding the wheel. I've known truck drivers that could get away with pulling a fifth wheel with a Neon, and seen the results of a new trailer owner jack knifing a big truck small trailer combo.

Sadly there's not a lot in the way of driver training for this segment. Threadjack over.

Some good common sense in the statements. I would like to add that generally when it goes wrong the overloaded TV is more catastrophic than the underloaded.

Unfortunately there is not a good training system to train recreational drivers. So 'rules' that govern loads for TV and RV have been adopted following the commercial vehicle guidelines.

IMO the rules for recreational is just as valid as for commercial. If we fail to comply it may be likely that we will be chasing across every scale along with the OTR.

Opinions about ignoring the rules because I have succesfully done it for years remind me of the statement "Hey Bubba, hold my beer and watch this".

[2000 Damon]

I notice in some of these postings they suggest you place more weight behind the tires of the trailer and reduce weight in front of the trailers tires. This will indeed reduce the weight on the truck hitch. If we are attempting to remain legal as possible, what is the minimum weight percentage of the trailer allowed on the 5th wheel hitch. I have read some tow at 15%, some at 17%, some at 20%. Most of the calculations I have read on here in the past referred to 20 %. Is there a legal minimum percentage?

[Cumminsfan]

There's no legal pin weight. Read any truck manual and the common stated pin weight is 15-25% of the 5'er.