Lantley, What model 5th wheel do you own?
Tire Size - Avenue
- Thread starter DET29RL
- Start date
Doesn’t your unit have 235/85R16 tires? I was recently in Elkhart and met some people that had a Paradigm (don’t remember the model, but was an older one), they had upgraded their suspension to torsion and hydronic disc breaks. They had 235/85R16 with room to increase to 17” rubber. I did not see their unit hooked to 1 ton Ford Dually for how level it towed.
I'm not sureif your
I 'm not sure if your question was directed to me but Yes I have 235/85R16
Socal-Paul
Well-known member
DET29RL I'm towing our ML22 with a F250 4x4 with much the same problem as yours. Wondering if your springs are mounted above or below the axles?
I hve been following the posts from Det29RL as i have a 2024 29RL also and a 2022 Chevy HD Duramax 4 dr and it rides nose high. I don't notice the pulling issues after 2000 miles in past 3 months. I am worried about the rear wight axle as well as incorrect tire wear and premature spring failure on the rear axle and my rear jacks are only 6" above the ground while traveling and i can't raise them any more. I need to get actual measuremnts when hooked up and flat rd for comparisons. My springs are on the top of the axles. 7ACMike
How did Alliance work with you on a tire/wheel swap out? I have a local tire store i use and have been thinking about talking with him and trading out my tires and wheels as he is very fair and does a lot of that and its local. Been here in business for 40 years and he does all of my tire/alignment work. Thanks, 7ACMike
Springs are mounted on top of the axles.
They would not exchange tires and rims on the camper. I ended up hauling them off with me! If you can work something out locally for a decent price, that is what I would do? I actually was on the road and swung into Elkhart and swapped the tires out at the campground. Alliance helped me out on the tires. I will say that Bill Martin stands behind their product and customer satisfaction. Bonus of the trip into Elkhart is that we met some really nice “Alli” owners and we received a lot of good information.
Socal-Paul
Well-known member
Our springs are underneath, I put 4" of blocks under all tires which leveled it within 1/2" front to back and 7" of clearance to the bed, Moving the springs to the top will bring it up 3" which will go a long way to making it level. When it's time for new tires I will revisit the 16" rims and tires. Thanks for your information.
Just finished installing 235/85R16 tires with new wheels on our 29RL and Sumo springs on both axles. I also found that all the Avenues were to come with the 235/85R16 tires and ours did not! Been a concern since picking up in May as our rear jacks were 5" off the ground when hooked up and the bed clearance at the rear of the bed was 6" as well so "NO" room there to lower it. Stock Chevy 2500 Duramax. Got a close friend with a tire store so got tires and wheels from him, installed and did some measuring and all looked great with the 235/85R16. Reread the Avenue owners manual and it states "we use 235/85R16 on all Avenue trailers". needless to say my rig now tows very close to level with "8 of clearance on the rear jacks 7 1/2" of bed clearance (i could and may drop the 5th wheel 1 bolt hole" after really towing a distance rather than a short drives for checking things out.
My new wheels/tires worked as expected with no issues so thought i would share. The Sumo springs were just an extra add on as i was under the trailer anyway and have heard great things they do for the ride. Thanks, 7ACmike
My new wheels/tires worked as expected with no issues so thought i would share. The Sumo springs were just an extra add on as i was under the trailer anyway and have heard great things they do for the ride. Thanks, 7ACmike
Did the Sumo springs give you more clearance/height? I put 235/80R16 on our 29RL and clearance when slide outs were in tow mode was about 2 1/2 inches to the motor brackets on the slides. I took a grinder and rounded any sharpe edges on the angle iron near the tires.
The 235/80R16 tires being 3” taller than the 225/75R15 helped in leveling the trailer in tow now being about 2” from leveling front to back. I have 6” clearance to bed rails. How difficult were the sumo springs to install?
Thanks for your reply to this thread I started. I do believe that Alliance is going to make some changes to at least the 29RL tire size. Pretty clear that the 29RL needs a larger tire than 15”?
Dave
The Sumo springs did not raise the trailer any. More than anything they will help with the movement of the axle and keep the tires from bouncing and rubbing the "sharp areas" you mentioned. They were an hour job at most as you can have them set up before crawling under the trailer. I used 1 spacer on the front axle as you will see if you get the kits. Yes, Alliance needs to step up to the table with this issue as the 29RL will not pull close to level with any stock 3/4 ton truck that i have seen. I am going on a 300 mile camping trip (back roads and bumpy) this week and will know a little more about the Sumo springs performance when i return but the small trips i have pulled it so far seem to show that it sways and moves around less with a better overall ride. Good Luck, 7ACMike
Thanks, I originally was going to put 235/85R16 and took the advice from Alliance to not go any larger than 235/80R16. Difference between 80 and 85 is .44 inches (1/4” in actual height increase). But, 13’ from the back of the camper to the axel 1/4” increases the ride height. By adding the 80R16 tires in raised the back of the camper ride by about 4 inches. The actual increase in tire size 3”/2 is 1 1/2 inches.
I would like to hear more on how you make out with the trip and Sumo springs. I was told to spend money on shock setup on axles. Three times the price, but was told that the gains in handling and ride are far superior to the Sumo option. Also, was told that shock setup will increase ride height?
Thanks again for your information. It takes people such as ourselves to do research. I will tell you that you should send your information and findings with Bill Martin at Alliance. Bill does listen to the end users of their product. I think that the 29RL may not belong in the All Access line of Avenues? Axels and frame should be beefier and tire size increased. I am certain this would increase the cost, but something I would be more than willing to spend and not have to do as we have to make right!
Dave
Bricknhank
Member
I know that this is an older thread. We are in the market for a different fifth wheel. We currently have a Grand Design Reflection 150 and we had the same towing nose high problems so the pin height issues concerns me. The Reflection 150’s are theoretically designed to be towed with half ton trucks so that’s why I think that the pin height is setup with a lower height. Hook it up to a 2500 or 3500 and it can ride quite nose high. I would not have thought that would be a problem with the Avenue line since they are larger and heavier.
MikeInRaleigh
Member
I tow with a diesel 2013 F350 SRW and recently moved from a 30 foot Rockwood to the 32RLS. I had replaced the axles on the Rockwood to get closer to level, but was only getting to 3 or 4 " from level. With the 32RLS, I think it is within an inch or 2 of level, so if you go with the larger Avenues, you will be ok. As I understand it, the Moryde suspension, distributes the load between the axles, so being a little out of level isn't the problem I had with the Rockwood, which had torsion axles. The extra pin weight helps take the truck bed down a few inches. I know there are other threads on truck capacity, but if you are looking at a diesel 2500, you are probably going to be over on pin weight with the larger Avenues. My F350 is just under on pin weight with the 32RLS.
when it comes to ride height each combo is different because each truck is different.
Bed height, suspension stiffness, pin weight, RV weight, pin box, hitch type are all factors. Each combo will always be a bit different.
There will always be pin box and hitch adjustments which I imagine resolve 90% of issues. From there suspension mods are the next step. But there is not a one size fits all solution
Bed height, suspension stiffness, pin weight, RV weight, pin box, hitch type are all factors. Each combo will always be a bit different.
There will always be pin box and hitch adjustments which I imagine resolve 90% of issues. From there suspension mods are the next step. But there is not a one size fits all solution
I was told by Alliance that the 29RL was designed to be 1/2 Ton towable. I disagree with a pin weight at around 1500 lbs. there are few 1/2 tons in the market with the payload capacity to tow the weight legally. But, I found that manufactures nor dealers care about towing legally? That is the owners responsibility!
My 2500HD Denali has a 2 inch factory lift. My truck bed is about 59” from the ground to the top of the bed. I also have a rolling bed cover that sits on top of the rail which adds another 3/4”. I have set my hitch in the top holes and have 6” of bed clearance. My 29RL with the 285/80R16 still is a bit nose high.
I would never purchase another 5th wheel camper that came with 15” tires. It makes no sense to me to the bare minimum in weight capacity under these tall heavy 5th wheel rigs. I put the 235/80R16 on because that is all the tire that Alliance said would fit. They are kind of correct? There were some close areas that I ground the sharp edges off of for extra clearance. If I went larger on the next set of tires I would look at Zumo Springs or installing shocks as suggested in posts on this thread.
The other piece on my set up is I installed a Pull Rite auto sliding hitch. It is a great hitch other than you must be almost perfectly square and level to back into it. It also has a capture plate that installed under the pin box to activate the auto sliding mechanism. That plate is 1/4 inch thick, which raises the front of the 5th wheel. Not a big difference, but every fraction at the pin box affects everything in the back.
If you are looking for any advice and you are towing with a tall truck, I would not buy the 29RL. You will have all the same problems with nose high that everyone else has. Money can fix some of the issues, but I didn’t buy this thing to work and rebuild it to be able to haul it. Step up to 32RLS or 33RKS if you have the truck to haul it. Pin weight on these are going to be in the 2200lb. range and are going to require a larger payload. I did not have the payload capacity to legally haul either so I purchased the 29RL. Great camper, but Alliance needs to make some serious changes in the running gear for me to ever buy another one. Like the old saying goes “A house is only as good as it foundation” the 29RL is a nice camper, but the running gear under it is sub standard.
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