Lift blocks on 5th wheel suspension

[Darkside]

I was wondering if anyone is running lift blocks on their 5th wheels to raise the suspension and level out the RV. I have a small 26’ 5th wheel and I have the front as close to my bed rails as I feel comfortable with and it still runs nose high. I have a 2500 with the air suspension and run in alternate trailer height, already raised the camper using the lower holes on the spring mounts, but it just isn’t enough… my biggest issue is when I go to dump I lower my truck all the way down but the grey and black tank outlets are on the front of the tanks and I can’t get them fully emptied. I ordered a 2” lift block kit from Simcoe Spring Service and was wondering if anyone else has run this type of set up on their RV?? I’m kind of running out of options and may just have to deal with it…

 

[Brutal_HO]

I was wondering if anyone is running lift blocks on their 5th wheels to raise the suspension and level out the RV. I have a small 26’ 5th wheel and I have the front as close to my bed rails as I feel comfortable with and it still runs nose high. I have a 2500 with the air suspension and run in alternate trailer height, already raised the camper using the lower holes on the spring mounts, but it just isn’t enough… my biggest issue is when I go to dump I lower my truck all the way down but the grey and black tank outlets are on the front of the tanks and I can’t get them fully emptied. I ordered a 2” lift block kit from Simcoe Spring Service and was wondering if anyone else has run this type of set up on their RV?? I’m kind of running out of options and may just have to deal with it…

Get 2" square tubing welded to the frame rails and new spring hangers on those. That's how all the new trailers are coming. You also then have room to upgrade to 16" wheels/tires if you want to go that route as well.

 

[Darkside]

Get 2" square tubing welded to the frame rails and new spring hangers on those. That's how all the new trailers are coming. You also then have room to upgrade to 16" wheels/tires if you want to go that route as well.

I haven’t looked at any new trailers to see what the suspension looks like, everything I have looked at is a lot bigger than what I have, and I think the bigger ones are set up better for the taller trucks…. My 26’ is only 10080 GVW and really looks small behind a CCLB lol

 

[slvrsix7]

Trailerblocks.com

Years ago I had my brother machine blocks pretty much identical to the ones offered on that website because my trailer was so nose high. It worked fine. If I ever switch to 37s I'd probably compensate with a similar setup. Just remember to make sure you can afford the height. My current 5er sits around 13' 5" so not much room.

 

[Darkside]

Trailerblocks.com

Years ago I had my brother machine blocks pretty much identical to the ones offered on that website because my trailer was so nose high. It worked fine. If I ever switch to 37s I'd probably compensate with a similar setup. Just remember to make sure you can afford the height. My current 5er sits around 13' 5" so not much room.

I’m lucky, my height is only at around 11’6” right now

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

Are your springs on top of the axle or underneath the axle?


If the springs are on top blocks are fine aslong as they use a center pin If you go to more than a 2” block i would also ad a ladder bar setup to keep the axles from wrapping when braking.

If your springs are under the axle just an axle flip putting new perches and new u bolts on the axle and putting the axle under the springs it nets 5” of lift.

When i did my flip i made my own perches and made them taller i got about 6” of lift which it sits much better on my truck i would have liked to go 7” but my brake press at work does not have tall enough dies for a sharp bend with a leg that long

 

[Darkside]

Are your springs on top of the axle or underneath the axle?


If the springs are on top blocks are fine aslong as they use a center pin If you go to more than a 2” block i would also ad a ladder bar setup to keep the axles from wrapping when braking.

If your springs are under the axle just an axle flip putting new perches and new u bolts on the axle and putting the axle under the springs it nets 5” of lift.

When i did my flip i made my own perches and made them taller i got about 6” of lift which it sits much better on my truck i would have liked to go 7” but my brake press at work does not have tall enough dies for a sharp bend with a leg that long

My springs are on top of my axle, the blocks are made very strong, the one I bought them from actually has a YouTube channel and I watched him build and test them. The reason I wanted to go with blocks is because they are easier to remove if there is ever a reason to lower the camper back down.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

My springs are on top of my axle, the blocks are made very strong, the one I bought them from actually has a YouTube channel and I watched him build and test them. The reason I wanted to go with blocks is because they are easier to remove if there is ever a reason to lower the camper back down.

Yea blocks are the only real way to lift it unless you start hacking and welding at the frame with spacers and fishplating. The block should be solid not tubing and have a centering pin. I dont trust youtubers as they either promote stuff they are paid to premote or they just post stuff they have no clue what they are talking about expecially the RV people!

 

[Darkside]

Luckily he looks like he knows what he’s doing, plus he’s Canadian;-)

2

This kit contains 2" lift blocks to lift a TANDEM-AXLE trailer. Check out our new part numbers1" lift block kits: Click here2" lift block kits: Click here3" lift block kits: Click here **Verify springs are 1 3/4" wide and it only works if springs are on top of the axle Always measure your...

simcoespring.com

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

Luckily he looks like he knows what he’s doing, plus he’s Canadian;-)

2

This kit contains 2" lift blocks to lift a TANDEM-AXLE trailer. Check out our new part numbers1" lift block kits: Click here2" lift block kits: Click here3" lift block kits: Click here **Verify springs are 1 3/4" wide and it only works if springs are on top of the axle Always measure your...

simcoespring.com

Thats a nice kit and solid blocks not cast crap or tubing

 

[Drumminguy81]

a lot of sites i read recommended against using lift blocks on tandem axel trailers due to the amount of side load when turning, using a block increases the leverage on the spring hanger and can break the hangers off. I have seen 4 fifth wheels sitting on the side of the freeway near my house in the last few months with broken spring hangers, cant say if they were lifted or not but either way the hangers are a weak point. I used Lippert correct track to lift my 5th wheel about 2.25" (basically extends the length of the spring hangers, i would argue this puts just as much added stress as lift blocks but this kit is lippert approved for frame warranty), also used MORryde x-factor crossmembers to brace my spring hangers for side load. I still was nose high and decided to upgrade my wheels/tires from 225/75/15 to 235/80/16 which gained me about another inch of lift. i can post pictures later.

 

[Darkside]

I honestly can’t see the side load being any different than without the blocks, as long as the u-bolts are tightened properly it is not going to change the side load. I do agree that the spring hangers are the weak point, probably wouldn’t hurt to truss them.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

a lot of sites i read recommended against using lift blocks on tandem axel trailers due to the amount of side load when turning, using a block increases the leverage on the spring hanger and can break the hangers off. I have seen 4 fifth wheels sitting on the side of the freeway near my house in the last few months with broken spring hangers, cant say if they were lifted or not but either way the hangers are a weak point. I used Lippert correct track to lift my 5th wheel about 2.25" (basically extends the length of the spring hangers, i would argue this puts just as much added stress as lift blocks but this kit is lippert approved for frame warranty), also used MORryde x-factor crossmembers to brace my spring hangers for side load. I still was nose high and decided to upgrade my wheels/tires from 225/75/15 to 235/80/16 which gained me about another inch of lift. i can post pictures later.

Thats a crock of crap its not going to add any side load, the hangars broke off because trailer builders do not require any weld standards they are not mandated by the AWS (CWB In canada) and they have no engineering or quality control. Litteraly anyone can walk in to a trailer building shop and start welding.

If they were welded properly you could fold the spring hangars over and they would still not break the weld as it is stronger than the parent metal…

 

[Drumminguy81]

Thats a crock of crap its not going to add any side load, the hangars broke off because trailer builders do not require any weld standards they are not mandated by the AWS (CWB In canada) and they have no engineering or quality control. Litteraly anyone can walk in to a trailer building shop and start welding.

If they were welded properly you could fold the spring hangars over and they would still not break the weld as it is stronger than the parent metal…

While I don't disagree that rv manufactures build junk to the lowest standard, added side load is simple physics. Extending the length of a lever creates more leverage. The lever being between the contact point of the tire to the pavement, and where the spring perch is welded to the frame. If you have ever taken a very tight turn slowly and watched the wheels on your fifth wheel they flex in opposing directions due to the side scrub, the force on the front axle is outward to the turn radius and the force on the rear axle is inward to the radius. This is side load. While not a big deal on city streets or freeways typically, it can be a big issue if you do a lot of slow, tight turns at funky angles. The longer the distance between the axle and the spring perch, the more leverage to cause issues. I'm not saying you cant run blocks, thousands of people do without issue. I would have as well but I was specifically told lippert would not honor my frame warranty with any lift except the correct track lift they sell (coincidence? Ha!). Again I dont believe it is any better for the frame than a block but warranty is warranty. FWIW dexter also explicitly says do not run lift blocks on tandem axle trailers.

Here's a couple pictures of my lift and cross braces.. so far happy with them and the added bonus of ability to do an alignment on the axles. I have about $500 into everything, 3 morryde x-factor braces and lippert correct track lift kit.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[Darkside]

Being my RV is a 2005 I think the “frame warranty” is the least of my concerns. Again, as long as everything is properly tightened it shouldn’t be a problem. Any type of lift can cause failure if you don’t check on things before every trip.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

While I don't disagree that rv manufactures build junk to the lowest standard, added side load is simple physics. Extending the length of a lever creates more leverage. The lever being between the contact point of the tire to the pavement, and where the spring perch is welded to the frame. If you have ever taken a very tight turn slowly and watched the wheels on your fifth wheel they flex in opposing directions due to the side scrub, the force on the front axle is outward to the turn radius and the force on the rear axle is inward to the radius. This is side load. While not a big deal on city streets or freeways typically, it can be a big issue if you do a lot of slow, tight turns at funky angles. The longer the distance between the axle and the spring perch, the more leverage to cause issues. I'm not saying you cant run blocks, thousands of people do without issue. I would have as well but I was specifically told lippert would not honor my frame warranty with any lift except the correct track lift they sell (coincidence? Ha!). Again I dont believe it is any better for the frame than a block but warranty is warranty. FWIW dexter also explicitly says do not run lift blocks on tandem axle trailers.

Here's a couple pictures of my lift and cross braces.. so far happy with them and the added bonus of ability to do an alignment on the axles. I have about $500 into everything, 3 morryde x-factor braces and lippert correct track lift kit.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

I get why you bought that but man does that look sketchy more so the design but that just adds to my statement about how the trailer industry are hack jobs but if it works for you thats good i dont really pay attention to the trailer warranty's my 97 5th wheel is out of warrenty and my 18 keystone Retreat 40 ft park model does not move lol … there are better ways to do it while blocks are cheaper and also very safe the best way to lift a trailer that the axles are already flipped (or can be used on non flipped axles too) is by making a sub frame that would bolt/weld to the old spring hangars then have its own spring hangars welded to that, you could make em 2”-4”-6” depending what is needed …. I have ran blocks on trailers that we take on hunting roads and trails with out issues but they were old, not the crap that is produced now. Idk how many new trailers i have seen with missed welds or welds beside the joint, porosity welds broken welds its brutal