2020 Chevy\GMC 3500 and 2500 Bed Height.

[fam5mel]

Getting ready to order a 2020 Chevy 3500 Crew Cab Duramax. Wondering if anyone has gotten one. I've read where the 2020 trucks sit higher which would make the bed height higher. We have a 2930RL Solitude. My question concerns the Solitude still being level with the truck. I've read some stories where people are having to raise the height of the fifth wheel to get it level with the truck. I do not want to go thru that. I will install a BW Companion hitch. Seems like the auto manufacturers haven't informed the Fifth wheel manufactures of height change and its becoming an issue. So anyone out there with a new GM 3500 truck hitched to a Solitude? Any height/leveling issues?

[Canyonlight]

Getting ready to order a 2020 Chevy 3500 Crew Cab Duramax. Wondering if anyone has gotten one. I've read where the 2020 trucks sit higher which would make the bed height higher. We have a 2930RL Solitude. My question concerns the Solitude still being level with the truck. I've read some stories where people are having to raise the height of the fifth wheel to get it level with the truck. I do not want to go thru that. I will install a BW Companion hitch. Seems like the auto manufacturers haven't informed the Fifth wheel manufactures of height change and its becoming an issue. So anyone out there with a new GM 3500 truck hitched to a Solitude? Any height/leveling issues?

I recall at least one member with a new 2020 GM 3500HD. Here is the thread from @Duck Hunt Dobber post #9 . Possibly he will chime in or you may want to send a PM with your questions. Sure, your 2930 may drop the bed much somewhat more than his 311......but not much it would seem.

Hopefully you have a dealer relatively close by and you can simply go take some measurements and compare with your existing setup. There are alot of 2020 HDs out there already on dealers lots.

https://www.mygrandrv.com/forum/show...t=payload+2020

Dan

[Duck Hunt Dobber]

Unless something in the suspension setup causes the Solitude to much different than my Reflection 311BHS (they both do have 16" wheels though and similar dry weights), you will have no issues, especially if you go with the BW Companion Hitch (I went with the fixed BW 3715) designed for the puck system. I sit almost perfectly level with 6-7 inches of bed clearance with my GMC 3500 Crew Cab standard bed 4WD Duramax. Looking at the website specs, dry pin weight of the 2930 Solitude is 2174 lbs versus 2180 lbs on my 311 Reflection so both rigs should be fairly close on pin weight even after loading up. Note that I may travel a little heavier than you though since I have 3 boys and the wife with me.

You will love the truck - huge improvement over previous generations. Although I have to tell you that the GMC Multipro tailgate is a lifesaver when getting the hitch and other stuff in and out of the truck bed. I thought it would be a gimmick, but I'm constantly using it with the height of the bed. Also that front bed step comes in handy for getting at the hitch handle (that's on both the GMC and Chevy). Might want to consider GMC instead of Chevy just for the tailgate if you can swing the slight price difference... JMHO

[m&mjones]

I have a 2020 Silverado 3500 Duramax SWD. It's a fairly well equipped LTZ just so you have an idea of curb weight. I was also concerned about any possible hitch height problems. So here's what I can tell you and my experience.

Before buying this new truck, I had a 2016 Silverado 2500 Duramax LT, with a Comfort Ride 184 hitch, pulling a Reflection 29RS. Gross weight of the loaded trailer was around 10K. CAT scale pin weight was around 1,600 loaded (only 16%). The hitch is over 150 itself and uses "air cells". I had 4 of the 5 air cell slots used when towing the Reflection. When we decided to upgrade to a Solitude 344GK, I ran all the numbers and of course confirmed that I need more truck to pull the Solitude if we were going to buy it. After buying the new truck and the Solitude, the way we have it loaded, the total trailer weight is 15,140 (well under the 16,800 gross), with a pin weight of 2,800 pounds. The scales confirmed that everything is below max load. I also had to buy a Demco puck adapter for the new truck to be able to use the same hitch.

So what happened in the end? Using the old setup, the truck bed and trailer were level loaded and ready to go. With the new setup, the truck bed and trailer are also level and ready to go, and yes, the truck height is a little bigger in the 2020. Back in November we towed the Solitude down to SW Florida (1,300 miles) for our winter stay and had no problems, other than picking up a nail around Ocala in one of the Westlakes (looks like a good opportunity to replace all the tires with Sailuns instead of buying one new Westlake). The added air cell in the hitch does not change the static hitch height by the way, so using a more conventional hitch shouldn't make any real difference, just wanted to make apples to apples comparisons.

Hope that helps!