Towing a 5th wheel

[KRSmitty]

Started out with a travel trailer, then to a 5th wheel, then back to a TT, now looking at 5th wheels again.

Towed my old 5er with a 07 2500 5.9 2wd...now have a 2017 2500 4x4 SRW. The new truck sits about 6" higher than the old one. So, thinking that the new truck may sit to high to tow a 5er, evenly?

Anyone with a 4th gen truck 4x4 SRW towing a 5er?

Thanks,

 

[apgambino]

Yes they do sit high. I tow a jayco 355w toy hauler with my 2015 3500 SRW and despite the sag from the weight of the pin it is still not level. I do not have bags yet either. You can make adjustments to the pin on most lippert frames and on some hitches (my b&w companion can be adjusted up or down about 5 inches).

Depending on the weight of the pin on the rig you are looking at you can expect to make some adjustments.

2015 3500 SRW 4x4 MegaCab Laramie Aisin

 

[KRSmitty]

Is it bad enough that you foresee raising the height of the 5er? I have heard of people raising the height of the 5er to get things even. I guess there are kits to do that.

 

[apgambino]

Is it bad enough that you foresee raising the height of the 5er? I have heard of people raising the height of the 5er to get things even. I guess there are kits to do that.

I would be very careful raising a fifth wheel up like that. The big concern is changing your center of gravity. Additionally, whatever leveling system you may or may not have will have to be modified to account for the increased height. Then you have the height itself. My 355w is 13'4" tall when level, probably move on the back of my truck. Once you flip the axels you could be really limiting what you can and cannot drive under.

2015 3500 SRW 4x4 MegaCab Laramie Aisin

 

[KRSmitty]

True...one of the reasons I went back to a TT was the height of 5er. Surely would not want it higher.

How far are you out of level?

 

[wyosteve]

I flipped the axles on my 5th the day I bought it and it sits level and has never been a problem fwiw.

 

[apgambino]

True...one of the reasons I went back to a TT was the height of 5er. Surely would not want it higher.

How far are you out of level?

To be honest I've never measured how far out I am...best i can say is that it is noticeably nose high once you are far enough away from to see the entire thing.

2015 3500 SRW 4x4 MegaCab Laramie Aisin

 

[KRSmitty]

I flipped the axles on my 5th the day I bought it and it sits level and has never been a problem fwiw.

How much higher did it raise it?

 

[wyosteve]

About 4 inches. Basically the diameter of the axle. Take springs from under the axle and mount them above it.

 

[jacknife]

Most new 5th already have the springs over the axle. When you go shopping for a 5th wheel have your in and hook up to what you are interested in and see just how they sit.

 

[Wiredawg]

I had a 2000 Travel Supreme with three 6K Lb axles that had to be flipped to accommodate my 4x4 Ram. It handled great, never any problems. To me, it's real important to have the rig level for even distribution of weight and best handling characteristics. Ron

 

[762vram2043]

Just saw this post, had same issue with SRW 2016 3500. Had to raise RV to avoid pin box impacting pickup rails when backing into driveway at home. Ended up adding Correct Track and Trailer Blocks to raise RV a couple inches, get nose down, and get clearance above rails. Did this in 2016. So far no issues.

Started out with a travel trailer, then to a 5th wheel, then back to a TT, now looking at 5th wheels again.

Towed my old 5er with a 07 2500 5.9 2wd...now have a 2017 2500 4x4 SRW. The new truck sits about 6" higher than the old one. So, thinking that the new truck may sit to high to tow a 5er, evenly?

Anyone with a 4th gen truck 4x4 SRW towing a 5er?

Thanks,

 

[SnoKing]

New trucks settle down a bit more with loads.
2015 3500 4x4 with around 2600 pin weight when new. Now run with 2800-3000. Your 2500 with be more limited on pin weight with lower RGAWR.

Trailer is 39'4" long and 13'3" high. So it could only be raised 3", and axle flip usually raises trailer 5.5".

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[BarryG]

Our 5th was pretty level when towing with my 01. When I got the 17 not so much. I was not nearly as concerned with the out of level as I was the 4 inches of clearance at the tailgate and sweating every dip in the road, every rr crossing etc. Our trailer the axles came from the factory underneath the springs so flipping them was not an option. So I added a sub frame to the trailer. I only went two inches and added some cross bracing between the tubes. I then changed out my tires and wheels from 15/225 to 16/235. That netted me another 1.5 inches of height, as well as a higher load range on the tires. While still not quite level I have the clearance needed at the rear of the truck. IIRC the out of level is 1.3 inches from front of frame rail to rear of the frame rail. The trailer tows fine have not noticed any ill effects. I did make some jack pads out of 4x4 wood and plywood just so my jacks weren't extended out any further than they were originally before the lift. My trailer tpms shows tire heat to be between 0 and 2 deg difference from the front to rear axle tires and it can go either way so I am calling that insignificant. So while I may be out of level 1.3 inches over 26 feet or so I don't see that the rear axle tires are holding that much more weight if any.

Do know that if you lift, the amount of lift will not translate the same to the truck. IE you raise the trailer at the axles via whatever method the front of the trailer over the bed will not raise that same amount since it is a fixed point due to the hitch connection. On my trailer between the sub frame and the tires I raised it at the axles by 3.5 inches that translated to approx 1.7 inches additional clearance at the tailgate. If you have plenty of clearance at the bed rails and all you want to do is level then it doesn't matter as much as every bit will help level it. However if you are needing more clearance at the bed rails/tailgate you can get a piece of string that is the length of from the kingpin to the center point of the front axle, measure the distance from the king pin to the tailgate. fix one end of the string to fixed point. make a mark on the ground from that end to the tailgate distance you measured. Then go to the far end of the string making sure the string is resting on the mark you made for the tailgate measurement and make a mark for the end of the string then move it 1,2,3,4 etc inches and note the difference of where the string is now compared to the mark for the tailgate measurement. Once you have the desired difference measure the mark at the end of the string starting point to where it is now you now know how many inches you need to raise the trailer to get that clearance.