Looking for experience towing PrimeTime Crusader 5th wheel with 4th Gen Ram 3500 SRW

[tony1461571]

762vram2043 for me 3 things.
1 Do you have Factory 5th prep?
2 What type 5th wheel hitch are you using?
3 Short or long bed? As NIsaacs said you can raise or lower the pin box on your 5th wheel. There are also adjustments on the hitch. As per my sign truck I pull 2011 5th wheel with a 2014 Ram 3500 DRW no problems I did have to lower the 5th wheel hitch because the trailer set to high in the front

 

[RVTRKN]

Can you raise the 5th wheel? Can you extend the pin Box? Show up and hitch, if you can't adjust your 5th wheel or pin box to get the desired clearance then don't buy it. There is no guarantee it will be perfect but if it's adjustable, more than likely it will work. The distance between the pin and 5th wheel will not change when coupled. So measure the 5th wheel where it sits in bed and measure the pin to ground when level and that should give you an idea of the clearance. As you will find out over the years there is not a standard for this and will vary between truck and pin. Good luck, but the only way to know for sure is to hook up and see what adjustment will do.

 

[tony1461571]

Can you raise the 5th wheel? Can you extend the pin Box? Show up and hitch, if you can't adjust your 5th wheel or pin box to get the desired clearance then don't buy it. There is no guarantee it will be perfect but if it's adjustable, more than likely it will work. The distance between the pin and 5th wheel will not change when coupled. So measure the 5th wheel where it sits in bed and measure the pin to ground when level and that should give you an idea of the clearance. As you will find out over the years there is not a standard for this and will vary between truck and pin. Good luck, but the only way to know for sure is to hook up and see what adjustment will do.

What would be the problem with making the changes that I posted. The best way would be to hook up to the 5th wheel. But that won't tell you everything he needs to know. Those changes aren't a big deal each pin box and 5th wheel hitch are made to be adjusted.

 

[dfb]

Go with 18 inch wheels, add picture frame to in bed puck system. The wheels will lower the truck one inch, thepicuture frame with the hitch will raise the nose about 3 inches.. That s 4 inches right there.. I have over a foot clearance. Montana rides nose high...I can adjust the hitch box upwards to bring nose 3 inches down..

 

[RVTRKN]

I'll take a look at my B&W Companion flat bed 5th wheel hitch, but I don't think it has vertical adjustment. There is too many variances and the only way to be sure is to hook up. If your way works, great then it works. The OP is asking a question that there is no sure answer and he needs to hook it up. As far as the 90 miles distance, I drove 1200 miles when I bought mine, however I did take my C&C and not my 2500 to be sure it would work out.

 

[Cummins12V98]

What is the measured distance between the underside of the 5th wheel bottom and the top of the bed rails shown in your picture?
I am always a firm believer in at least 6 to 7 inches of clearance at this area!

It is in the 6-7" range at the tailgate.

 

[kthaxton]

Go with 18 inch wheels, add picture frame to in bed puck system. The wheels will lower the truck one inch, ..

The wheel size is irrelevant, it's the tire size that matters.

 

[TxLaramie]

Marv,there might be some adjustment holes in the shackles the dealer can make but those will be slight if at all.Also they can put the springs on top of the axles,hopefully,and that alone should gain you about 3.75-4 inches.Auto level on your truck so there is no bed sag but you do have 1 inch between the bed of your truck and RV and a good rule is 6 inches.If you have to pull a hair high,say 1 inch I think you could live with that and one other option might be keep your rims but maybe smaller size tires ?.

 

[Ram4Sam]

Marv,there might be some adjustment holes in the shackles the dealer can make but those will be slight if at all.Also they can put the springs on top of the axles,hopefully,and that alone should gain you about 3.75-4 inches.Auto level on your truck so there is no bed sag but you do have 1 inch between the bed of your truck and RV and a good rule is 6 inches.If you have to pull a hair high,say 1 inch I think you could live with that and one other option might be keep your rims but maybe smaller size tires ?.

Excellent advice here(except maybe the tire part)......Trying to gain the needed clearance with just pin box and hitch adjustments, the trailer will look like an east Los Angeles low rider......nose in the air and tail draggin'.....:-laf

Sam

 

[TxLaramie]

I thought I would throw the tire part in as a last resort

 

[NIsaacs]

If the OP has a 35' trailer, you would be hard pressed to see with the naked eye, a 3" high nose. If the center of his trailer axles to his pin is 25' or 300", his front axle shackle would be 1/2" high and his rear shackle 1/2" low, from level. I doubt with the mixture of trucks and RV's on this site, there is 1 in 10 that is level.

Nick

 

[762vram2043]

Thanks for all the info, suggestions, discussion. Keeping fingers crossed for next week, will post results.

Marv

 

[Ram4Sam]

Hope it works out for you Marv. I googled that trailer and it looks like a nice one.

Sam

 

[762vram2043]

Forgot to say thanks to those who posted pix of their rigs. Lots of great looking setups, looking forward to getting ours on the road.

Marv

 

[Dogpatch]

My Truck is the 2015 Ram 3500 Laramie 4x4 SRW. I run LT 285/60R20's.

I don't know who came up with the 3" drop when loaded, but my 5er pin weight of 2900 lbs loaded on my truck only drops it 1.25". I have 6" clearance to the rails using my Pullrite Superglide on bed rails. My fifth wheel is only slightly nose high. My 5er tires are 235/85R-16.

 

[762vram2043]

Good looking rig.

Thanks for the info, appears it's gonna be hard for us to get 6" clearance without 3 to 4 inches nose up. Will find out Tuesday when we hitch up.
Marv

My Truck is the 2015 Ram 3500 Laramie 4x4 SRW. I run LT 285/60R20's.

I don't know who came up with the 3" drop when loaded, but my 5er pin weight of 2900 lbs loaded on my truck only drops it 1.25". I have 6" clearance to the rails using my Pullrite Superglide on bed rails. My fifth wheel is only slightly nose high. My 5er tires are 235/85R-16.

 

[Jim W]

Good looking rig.

Thanks for the info, appears it's gonna be hard for us to get 6" clearance without 3 to 4 inches nose up. Will find out Tuesday when we hitch up.
Marv

Marv,
Let us know what the results are and how much distance there is.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Dogpatch you have air bags.

 

[JPalachuk]

My 2014 drw fit just fine from a 97 srw pulls great

 

[762vram2043]

Towed the rig home on Tuesday, just ahead of DC rush hour traffic. Ended up with nose up 3 to 4 inches and 6 to 6.5 inches clearance between RV and TV bed rails. DC beltway traffic speed was up and down, a little bit of stop and go and I really like the tow/haul engine braking. Had 980 miles on pickup when hitched up, owners manual says don't exceed 50 mph for first 500 miles towing so we were the slow guy holding up traffic a good bit of the time. Gonna tow around the neighborhood to get the 500 slow miles behind us before head to Kentucky in May.

Thanks for all the replies and information. Not sure at this point what we'll do if anything to get the nose down. Will get axle weights next month and that will be a factor in what we do.

Marv