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Willcoc
09-08-2018, 18:20
Does anybody have a rule of thumb on pounds / inch of bumper going down? With a trailer on today it went up about 8" when we took it off. Without scales, tough to know how much is to much weight on the truck. So looking for an educated guess on weight. This load was gooseneck trailer.
DmaxMaverick
09-08-2018, 20:24
8" seems like a lot, however it may not mean much. Too much depends on the ball position in relation to the axle, the settling of the springs (exercised over time with heavy loads), how level the ground was, etc. On my 2001, a 2400# pin weight dropped about 6" on well settled springs (before I installed air bags). This was a 5th wheel, which positions the pin center ahead of the axle (which will drop less than a typical GN ball installed over the axle, for the same load). How much did the front drop/raise? As you said, we won't know w/o scales. In my experienced opinion, 8" is probably near maximum load on a new truck, while 8" on well settled springs is likely well over loaded.
More Power
11-19-2018, 14:04
Does anybody have a rule of thumb on pounds / inch of bumper going down? With a trailer on today it went up about 8" when we took it off. Without scales, tough to know how much is to much weight on the truck. So looking for an educated guess on weight. This load was gooseneck trailer.

I think the ideal would be for the truck to appear level when viewed from the side and while loaded. This helps to maintain the headlight aiming and steering/chassis geometry to at their designed angles. It just looks better too. ;)
Willcoc
11-25-2018, 20:25
Hopefully the photo is attached. Don't think it looks to bad. For the return trip, the tractors where further back on the trailer. Ride was rougher and the tractors bounced more.
More Power
02-25-2019, 14:52
Hopefully the photo is attached. Don't think it looks to bad. For the return trip, the tractors where further back on the trailer. Ride was rougher and the tractors bounced more.

Hard to tell from the image.

If this was a rare towing job, I'd be tempted to not worry about it, assuming it does sit a little low in the rear. If you ran this load a lot, I'd be inclined to add some airbags. Jim