Need Pro Pride Installer

[Gigi1957]

Just returned from a 3000 mile trip with our 14 Classic and 15 GMC Sierra 1500 TV. The AS came equipped with a Pro Pride hitch, but was set up for the 2500 TV of the original owner.

We have towed 7500 miles in the past 8 months, have tried multiple settings on the 1400 lb bars and have yet to find a good ride. Many of you have offered great advice, and Sean at PP has been helpful.

We are ready to have the hitch set up properly by an expert for our AS and TV combo, even if it means removing it and starting over. We have heard many references to guys on this Forum who provide that service and are seeking it out. We are in Hot Springs, AR and are mobile. We are heading to Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque in late September and will be heading through TX on our way. We can commit a day to the project if necessary.

We are prepared to compensate for the service. Please help. I'm afraid if we can't remove the porpoising and bouncing I will lose my travel companion (and she's been with me for 36 years. Thanks for any offers or referrals.

[dkottum]

The best person to adjust your hitch is yourself. It is unlikely the mounting of the hitch on the Airstream tongue is different for a 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton truck. The difference is in the hitch bar on the receiver. Or in truck or trailer loading.

Are the w.d. bars angled downward toward the rear after w.d. is set, so the bars are near the center of their range of movement. This is done by adding more washers to tilt the hitch down, or if that is not enough the shaft itself may have to be bent to angle down.

The truck is a half-ton, meaning very heavy loads cannot be carried in the bed (especially aft of the rear wheels) when hitched to the Airstream carrying its hitch load. Heavy loads should also not be concentrated in the rear of the Airstream, middle is best for the heavy stuff.

Weigh the rig when set up for towing, see what's on each truck axle by taking it to a CAT scale. I like to see front and rear axles on our half-ton truck carrying near equal loads when hitched. Very smooth ride with no porpoising issues.

[HowieE]

First thing I would do is question the factory why you need 1,400 lbs bars.
Is the trailer level while towing? If so or if the shank has room to move in the corrective direction you should not need a different one.

[dkottum]

You need the 1400 lb bars with the ProPride because of the longer length of the hitch. They are flexible and work quite well. Many have tried using smaller bars with their ProPride/half-ton truck and could not get enough weight distribution. It's also what ProPride recommends for this truck.

[KYAirstream]

Originally Posted by dkottum

Are the w.d. bars angled downward toward the rear after w.d. is set, so the bars are near the center of their range of movement. This is done by adding more washers to tilt the hitch down, or if that is not enough the shaft itself may have to be bent to angle down.

I can see the logic behind the bars being angled downward and Andy Thompson's article explaining it with an ordinary hitch makes sense. With a propride, however, it seems hard to accomplish and largely unnecessary to eliminate porpoising. Mine aren't angled as such and my ride has been fine. After going through the 1,400 post propride thread, none of the installs I saw had bars angled downward either (although I could have missed one given the size of the thread!). Would you mind sharing a pic of what you are referring to? Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're describing.

[Endodoc]

Where would I find the Andy Thompson article you reference? Thanks.

[daveswenson]

Originally Posted by Endodoc

Where would I find the Andy Thompson article you reference? Thanks.

Try looking here.

http://www.canamrv.ca/blog/category/hitch-hints/

[dkottum]

Andrew Thomson article

[Echelon73]

I have three washers on my ProPride (so some downward tilt on the stinger). I have learned that once I have the rig leveled (have the weight distribution close) that I can make small adjustments on the weight distribution jacks and it really helps eliminate the "porpoising" effect. Another thing that really helps on mine (30ft Flying Cloud) is towing with a full fresh water tank. There are differing opinions on that, but the water weight is located such that it really helps stabilize my trailer. That will not correct a hitch issue, but it may help with overall stability. I know it adds to towing weight, but in my case I decided it was justified.

[bono]

I have a similar request as OP – I would like to fine tune the PP setup. It was installed by people without any previous experience with PP hitch. I towed it for 2,000 plus miles and it tows very good. The only problem I need to solve is some kind of banging noise when making parking maneuvers.

Anyway, Sean suggested that I make the yoke frame more level and I will do this. However, I noticed that the car is not entirely level. Is this something that I can adjust with the jacks/bars?

When installing the hitch, they did not use any washers on the tilt pin. Should I add some, as I read that this helps with moving the weight to the front axle?

Any suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks!

[Ohiobrits]

bono,

As Sean suggested, your yoke should be level. Read the manual for instructions on how to adjust. It should just require loosening a few of the bolts at the rear of the joke and repositioning.

Definitely add some washers. I have 6 in there. This will give a slight downward tilt on the receiver end of the stinger (where it connects to your TV). This will set the WD bars with an angle to the rear which in turn means that as you crank up the jacks you will be able to apply more WD. The bars as you have them currently look to be lightly loaded. They should have a very pronounced bend for a smaller TV like yours where you are shooting for some solid weight transfer to the front axle. CanAm will actually bend the end of the stinger to get more downward tilt. Getting the proper amount of WD applied for a smaller TV is key to getting a good ride and in particular to reduce porpoising. As dkottum mentioned for his truck, approximately equal loads front and rear (without exceeding axle loadings) will give you a ride that closely approximates unhitched ride. A trip to a scale will help dial things in.

Note that with the added WD you apply with the washers you will lift the rear of your TV and nose of your trailer. You may then need to lower the stinger assembly one hole to get it all level.

It took me about a year to get things set up "right" including up and down on the stinger assembly a few times. It is therefore best if you learn to do all the adjustments yourself so you can continue to fine tune as and when your weights, TV, trailer or other circumstances change.

What kind of noises are you hearing and when? Driving forward, reversing, with a large angle on the hitch, level ground, brakes being used etc. The PP can make some weird noises......

[KYAirstream]

How did you manage to get 6 washers in there? With more than two washers the hole above the bottom slot for the pivot bolt doesn't line up on mine.

[Ohiobrits]

Make sure the rivet and washers are installed at the opposite end to the pivot bolt (the middle one in the second photo below). The top and bottom bolt holes should have a pretty decent amount of play due to the slots. Disassemble everything, slide the rivet in with washers and then loosely fit the center bolt, check clearance to the slotted holes, remove the center bolt and add more washers, check clearance again. Keep adding washers until you can no longer get the top and bottom bolts in. I have heard some people not being able to get 6 in but you should be able to get 3 or 4 at least I think. My rivet head is a bit flat now so that probably accounts for maybe 1 washer more than normal. I'm also using some washers I bought from Lowes that may be a bit thinner than the ones supplied with the PP. you can see the different colors in photo 1. Hope this helps.

[KYAirstream]

You certainly did fit a number of washers in there. I did try to get three washers in there, and I'd be damaging the threads slightly on one of the slotted bolts to get it to fit. Like you said, I think the propride washers are probably slightly larger, so that likely accounts for some of the difference. My rivet pin may not be as worn either. Thanks for sharing the pics.

[bono]

Ohiobrits, many thanks for your post. This is VERY helpful and I will try to adjust the hitch even though I am not a DIY person.

The noise I heard a couple of times when maneuvering in parking, i.e. when making sharp turns. I heard it also once when driving on highway speed and got a strong wind hit into the trailer. It is like something (metal) losing a tension… not sure how to describe this. I thought that maybe this comes from the bars?

Thanks!