New Springs?

Tampakayaker

First let me start by saying I like the jack wheel, and don't want to get rid of it.  I'm not the greatest at backing into sites and the wheel helps in getting into tight spots.

So I get hooked up to my truck, 2006 RAM 1500, raise the jack, remove the wheel, and after a safety check I'm on my way.  We traveled about 70 miles, about an hour and 45 minutes.  Roads were fairly decent, typical bumps and holes.

Got to the site, tried to attach the wheel, and I couldn't get it under the jack.  I was lacking maybe a 1/2 of clearance.  I was able to get it on by unhitching and lifting the hitch while my wife got the wheel on.  Wasn't the easiest thing to do, both the lifting and her fitting it on.

So for the experts out there, what happened? 

Are my springs starting to give out and sag from the T@B weight?

When we got back home I was able to get it on, but just barely.

We did have a little less weight in the truck bed on the way back home.

ChanW

We've been in that predicament a few times... For us it had to do more with the level of the site we were on. The truck's front wheels and the Tab's wheels were a little higher than the truck's rear wheels.

webers3

Agree, site level

ScottG

On unlevel sites I've occasionally had to dig out a little under the jack to get the wheel on. Now I mostly just use a metal foot which has a much lower profile.

Of course, either approach does make moving the T@B around after it's unhitched a bit more difficult.

DougH

@Tampakayaker ; Because of my unfortunate experience a year or so ago, please check your tow bar under your truck too!

I'm basing that on your clue: "When we got back home I was able to get it on, but just barely." 

Hitting potholes while towing, or just the passage of time, can occasionally wreak havoc on the tow hardware. If some of the bolts holding it to the frame came loose (were never fully torqued with loctite by whoever originally put the tow kit on), or the welds connecting the receiver to the towbar, or towbar to frame brackets failed or are failing, or if you just have stress cracks...  then the standard jack wheel can no longer fit, or just barely fits, when everything was normal on the previous trip.

I didn't notice the front of the 320 riding lower when this happened to my tow vehicle a year ago; I DID notice the jack wheel didn't fit as well, and started to wonder why.

Hopefully that's not what your issue is, but it is a big safety issue if it is.

My less than stellar original frame bracket:

TabberJohn

I'm with @ScottG and use a foot plate for most sites. 
When we occasionally want the wheel to move around and there isn't enough clearance to mount it, the routine is to lower the bare jack enough to unhitch, lower the front stabilizers, raise the jack, install the wheel, lower the jack, raise the stabilizers a bit, maneuver the T@B into position, then level.
I'm not into dead lifting 200 lbs any more.  Been there, done that. Hurts just thinking about it.

Marceline

Aside from what others have mentioned, I've had that happen when I put too much weight (like a full cooler) at the very back of my SUV. I'm a lot more careful how I load it now (heavy stuff further forward) and it's not as much of a problem. 

Tampakayaker

@DougH and @Marceline, thanks for your input.  I will check my hardware, but I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary when I was running the wiring. Tonight I was discussing it with my wife and I think Doug may be on to something.  I connected the T@B to the truck the night before we left, took the wheel off, put a piece of wood on the driveway and lowered the jack to take the pressure off the springs.  The next day the truck bed got loaded with 3 of those black totes with the yellow lids, a tent, and a full ice chest.  The first time at the site my wife was still in the truck when I tried to put the wheel on. When we left the site we didn’t have the tent and the ice chest had a lot less food and adult beverages so the wheel went on.  Same at home.  So maybe I need to take some weight out of the truck bed before I try to put the wheel on.  But I will look underneath the truck for damages before our next trip.

Marceline

Tampakayaker said:

  The first time at the site my wife was still in the truck when I tried to put the wheel on. 

Hey. Don't be blaming this on your wife. You'll end up in a world of hurt. 

Sharon_is_SAM

“ So I get hooked up to my truck, 2006 RAM 1500, raise the jack, remove the wheel, and after a safety check I'm on my way.“

I was going to ask if you had added any weight to the truck after hitching up, but your scenario did not suggest that.  Maybe consider some air bags for your TV springs.

Tampakayaker

@Sharon_is_SAM, yes, that's what I remembered yesterday talking to my wife.  I had hitched up the T@B the night before and the truck bed and back seat was empty.  We had added quite a bit of gear because two of my daughters and a granddaughter were joining us.  Hopefully the weight of all the extras was the cause of the tight squeeze trying to get the wheel on.

DougH

@Tampakayaker ; Yup, it sounds like @Marceline nailed it with the extra equipment in the back of the TV hypothesis.  Whew!  And kudos for getting a Dodge truck to last so long.  We've had a couple, and after 100k miles, everything started going out.  Maybe we were just unlucky, or maybe they weren't as reliable in the 90s.

Tampakayaker

@DougH truck has about 125,000 on it.  Hasn't had any major issues so far.  Brakes, A/C, universal joints, shocks, has noise in the front end I can't locate, may end up taking it to a shop.

N7SHG_Ham

@DougH my Dodge is 19 years old, 308k and is what I use to move my Tab down the road. I do have a Cummins diesel and I have had to do maintenance but pretty solid older truck.

DougH

@N7SHG_Ham @Tampakayaker ; Thanks, I have a couple friends who have picked up Rams recently, and I like the idea of a diesel Gladiator or PHEV if they make one. Sounds like FCA has improved things. Or at least things are looking up from the days when we had ours.

Tampakayaker

@DougH mine is still hanging in there and it's paid for.  I'm the 3rd owner, I knew the previous 2.  Those newer RAMS sure are pretty, but I will be retiring in June and I don't want to take on what equal to a mortgage payment for a new truck! :-)

atlasb

I keep a couple 2x6 boards about 2 feet long with a bevel cut on one end.  Just back up on the board and hitch up when needed.  Don't need them much but handy when needed.  Usually adds enough height to hook up.  Also always look under the coupler and make sure it is engaged with the ball and not sitting on top of it!

Tampakayaker

atlasb thanks for the hints.  Yes I check the hitch, the older one I had for my pop up was easier to verify than this new type on the T@B.  

BrianZ

We had a similar issue when trying to use an 8" inflatable double tire assembly that we got rid of.  We mostly have the flat plate foot under our jack, but sometimes use a shorter set of non-inflatable double wheels for rotating our tab at the campsite.  We have also alleviated the issue in a couple more ways:

1.  Added air lifts to our Sienna's rear springs, which raised the hitch about an inch. (Also makes for better handling on curves).  Documented.

2. Raised our jack mounting plate by putting spacers on the mounting bolts between it & the trailer frame (this was a side effect of needing the crank pin higher to avoid a storage bin for using a drill from the rear).
Also Documented.

Now, we sometimes are close to having the opposite issue when using the foot plate where we need to jack up as far as it will go just to clear the hitch ball when mounting.

Tampakayaker

@BrianZ thanks for the info.

Cherokee

I added an additional spring to the leaf pack in back - Lifting my jeep 1" higher in back, but setting level with the 200# tongue weight of the 320 Boondock 

Mouseketab

You could also cut off about two inches on the jack post and drill new holes