bed rail clearance opinions please

[Berrigan]

Ok I know its been discussed before but here is my question



My new triple axle fiver has 8. 5 inches of clearance to the bed rails and sits about 3. 5 inches nose high when hooked to the truck. I dont want to flip the axles on the trailer. Its 13 foot 2 inches tall already. My concern is not to overload the rear axle on the toy hauler.



If it wrer your rig would you lower the hitch? The bolt patterns will go down in 1. 25 inch increments. I was thinking going down only 1. 25 inches. That would give me 7. 25 inches clear at the bed rail and leave the rig about 2. 25 inches nose high.



Is that a safe compromise between bed clearance and overloading the rear axle? The tailer is a 35 foot Warrior. Thanks for any advice. Bill

 

[RustyJC]

The 5th wheelers' rule of thumb for bed rail clearance is 6" minimum, 8" to 9" preferred. It really depends on the terrain - how much articulation you'll be experiencing between the truck and 5ver.



Your proposed settings sound like a good compromise. Check the 5ver's tire temperatures immediately after pulling off the Interstate - if they're consistent across all axles, you should be OK. Our 36' 2-axle 5ver (13,500 lbs) runs a tad nose high, but you can't feel any difference with the Michelin XPS Ribs on the 5ver - you can put your hand on the tread of all of them even pulling at 70-75 MPH on the Interstate in the summer!



Rusty

 

[Berrigan]

One more thing, I do go off road to the degree I can. Just pulling into camp sights and that sort of thing.

 

[RustyJC]

In that case, I'd watch it very carefully at 7. 25" clearance! What'll get ya every time are the turns where the truck has to articulate sharply while turning!



Rusty

 

[Berrigan]

Rusty thanks for the reply,



Maybe for now I should leave it as is and do some camping and see how close I am in tight situations.



Im also kinda thinkin that 3. 5 inches nose high in a 35 footer isnt that bad as far as a rear axle load is concerned. Do you agree?



And last I could load it up and go to a scale and weigh all three rear axles one at a time to check for even weight distribution.

 

[RustyJC]

I personally wouldn't worry about 3. 5" nose high unless I saw some evidence of unequal axle loading (tire temps, etc. ).



JM2CW



Rusty

 

[Dkevdog]

The more clearance the better- TRUST me on this one. Even 7 inches or more can dissapear very quickly on uneven terrain. The truck's axle can be in a low rut in the road while the trailer runs over a bump, and its very easy to use every bit of clearance you have, and then wish for more .



Kev

 

[BV]

Unless you are maxing out (one tire up and the other down) the equalizer bar between the tandem axles, the weight is being distributed between the 2. That is what they are designed to do so don't worry unless you start climbing curbs which could put all the weight on one axle or the other.

 

[RustyJC]

Originally posted by BV

Unless you are maxing out (one tire up and the other down) the equalizer bar between the tandem axles, the weight is being distributed between the 2.

He has 3 axles.



Rusty

 

[BV]

Originally posted by RustyJC

He has 3 axles.



Rusty

It still applies with triple axles since there are equalizers between the axles. Thanks for the correction.

 

[mconstable]

I have a similar set-up, but have about 6 inches clearance, and the trailer is about 2 inches off-level, I'm a bit obsessive-compulsive, so I'd like to get it level, but it's no big deal, just shut off the fridge if parked for a while, if you have enough money, best fix is bigger wheels and tires, our trailers 15's are pretty much at their weight limit, so I'm told... good luck, tell us how you like the trailer, we love ours... Michael

 

[y-knot]

Hey I have a 36' tri-axel gooseneck, and my bed clearance is 7. 25". My trailer sets about 2" out of level, but so far no problems. It tracks very nice and I haven't noticed any tire problems. Also I'm be more worried about flipping the axels, you are already 13'-2",max legal height is 13'-6". And oh yeh, not all trailers have equalizers... . mine don't. . It's toflex.

 

[WOT]

Not sure if the setup is the same as a 2000, but if you really want to get the nose down 1 1/2" without sacrificing your clearance then you could pull the rear blocks and have 1 1/2" milled off. Mine is a 2500, but that's what I did to get my 5th wheel a little more level. I only have a touch over 6" of bed rail clearance, but so far haven't had any issues. If I am going to be on uneven terrain I just take it easy. I had around $25 in new ubolts and $60 in machine shop work.

 

[Berrigan]

Thanks for all the ideas guys. You know nothing is a perfect set up. You try to do something to improve in one area and it makes it worse in another area.

 

[rweis]

I've had 6" and the under frame of the 5er contacted the toneau cover rail once. Slid the rails offset, and put a slight dent in the top rail of the left rear where it squeezed the toneau rail down into the bed top side rail about 1/4". Flattened the toneau rail at that spot.



More clearance is better, believe me.



My hitch is a 20k fully articulated (side to side and front to back).



Obviously I raised the hitch after this screw up and my 5er sits a little nose high NOW, duh! Something about closing the barn door after the horses are out?



Bob Weis

 

[jrandol]

Originally posted by BV

It still applies with triple axles since there are equalizers between the axles. Thanks for the correction.

Hit the nail on the head here. As long as these are sprung axles the load can and will be spread out between all 3 axles. If these are Torsion Axles (probably not) than this is a totally different story and real problems exist.



Jeff

 

[DHawthorne]

I run mine about like RustyJC. The only place I ever had a problem was in Bolton MASS, off 495, at a camp ground entrance. Had to turn about 270 degrees to the right and go down hill at the same time. The trailer landed on the tail gate left side and not the bed rail. It bent the lower pivot on the tail gate. Fixed it with hammer. (V-notched tail gate)



Won't go there anymore from that direction. .



Dave