Scamp Not Level Towing

[barryra]

I bought a 98 Chevy Silverado & notice tilts up a little at the hitch. Will this be a issue or should I find a ball that's lower? Thanks

[Joe Romas]

Get a lower "stinger" so your trailer rides level when yout Silverado and trailer are loaded.

[thrifty bill]

I use a 4 inch drop on my F150 when pulling my Trillium, while I use a zero drop when pulling my Escape 19. If the trailer is tipping up, your tongue weight is likely to be way low, which will lead to serious problems.

[Rzrbrn]

Load your truck with the stuff you will be taking camping. It may be enough to level the tongue.

Or put larger diameter wheels and tires the trailer plus the above. I can't get enough trailer height.

[ZachO]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

Or put larger diameter wheels and tires the trailer plus the above. I can't get enough trailer height.

There is a limit! I know a guy here in town who jokes that he needs to lift his truck to get his trailer level. The previous owner put a huge lift on it. He pulls with a full size 4x4 Chevy and it's not nearly tall enough.

This is all beside the point but as someone who takes my camper down some pretty crazy roads, I've found that any road requiring more clearance than my camper has after swapping out the drop axle for a straight one is not a road I should be hauling a camper down. If I really want to camp down those roads, I'll leave the trailer at home and bring my tent and cot, like I did this spring in the desert.

[Rzrbrn]

I suggested lifting the trailer, not the truck.

I have gone into more than a couple of gas stations that caused my lifted Casita to drag it's tail. These were in a towns out west. One entry was so bad I had to take it at an angle, and even then it was close.

The other times were mostly in CA. They have some of the most rugged roads in the primitive campsites I have encountered. Both State and Federal. It is like they are almost forcing people to go to private campgrounds.

[ehoepner]

When I traded tow vehicles, my replacement vehicles hitch was two inches higher than the old one. The result was going down the road everything was fine until I went above 58 MPH. At that point the Casita started to sway. It swayed slowly at 59 MPH and as the speed increased above 59 the sway speed accelerated.

So I raised the Casita four inches because I like dry camping on BLM land. That is the expensive way of fixing the problem. I'm very happy with the extra clearance I got by raising it. I then installed 225R75 15 inch tires with load range D which solved the tire blowout issue. Haven't had a tire problem since.

[ZachO]

Exactly what I'm saying: There's a limit to how high you want the trailer. You go too high with the camper and you'll need to lift the truck, too. My post might be confusing the way I wrote it. My point was that the trailer has a huge lift, so he jokes that his truck needs a lift to match. He's nowhere near level. And yeah, I get it. My Bigfoot easily clears any kind of pavement conditions with the 4" lift the new axle gave it, but some of the dirt roads I drive still scrape it a little. With where it's currently at, though, it's plenty high. Any road pushing my clearance limits is a road I should avoid.

If you're still scraping going in & out of parking lots I agree, you could use a 2-4" lift. Most of these trailers come way too low. A small lift takes care of it. Too much lift and you're creating a whole new list of problems.

[Daryl and Wendy]

We purchased a $30 adjustable ball mount. With some 16 possible settings; one is likely just right, and it is quickly adjustable to add or remove clearance at the rear bumper.

[Doctor Harold]

I took my Scamp to a local trailer specialist that mostly works on semi trailers, but they are also Dexter Axle dealers. I was concerned I needed a new axle on my 1975 Scamp.

The guy jacked up the trailer on each side and said since there was no movement I didn't need an axle. I'm not confident that he was being truthful -- maybe he just didn't want to work on my trailer, or maybe I'm paranoid.

Anyway, I had a generic, no drop stinger, and the Scamp was fairly nose up. I said to the guy: "I guess I just need to get another stinger so it rides more level." He said pulling it that way wasn't a big deal, so why bother?

Okayyyyyy.... I think a trailer should ride fairly level, so maybe that's why I'm questioning his advice on not needing a new axle.

Of course I know if I ask enough vendors, eventually someone will sell me an axle whether I need it or not.

Harold

[thrifty bill]

My thinking is just the opposite. If there is no movement when you jack it up then your axle is dead. It’s supposed to be a suspension. So handling the entire weight of the trailer should compress it. When you jack up the trailer you are taking the load off the axle.I’ll let the experts weigh in.

[Rzrbrn]

You should have level or somewhat nose down, and don't forget 10% to 15% of the weigh of the trailer should be on the nose.

Also when you load your truck try to keep most of the heavy stuff over and forward of the rear axle.

I am not sure what you guys mean when you say there is no movement when you jack it up. Are you are talking about a Dexter torsion axle or a Dexter axle with leaf springs? What is not moving?

Thanks for posting, interesting thread.

[Doctor Harold]

Originally Posted by thrifty bill

My thinking is just the opposite. If there is no movement when you jack it up then your axle is dead. It’s supposed to be a suspension. So handling the entire weight of the trailer should compress it. When you jack up the trailer you are taking the load off the axle.I’ll let the experts weigh in.

That's exactly what I thought. No movement means a dead axle, and one that flops up and down is no good either. It should act like a spring. My Scamp has the torsion axle, and I think it might actually be original.

Harold

[thrifty bill]

I am ass-you-me'ing that it means the gap between the top of the tire and the bottom of the top of the fiberglass body is not changing. But hey, that's a guess on my part.

Unloading the wheel (jacking up on the frame), the wheel should not go up as fast as the jack as it goes from supporting 750 pounds to supporting just itself. Even on my 42 year old axle, I get some movement in this regard.