Level 5th wheel when towing?

**Radcolt** · 10-18-2020, 03:02 PM

Originally Posted by Txfivver

@Overtaxed that's so strange that you can only get 5" of rail clearance with your 450. On my 2019 F350 dually I have 6" easily with the B&W set on the highest setting, 18.5 inches I think it is. On the '20 F450 I had the exact same clearance, same hitch same trailer different truck. What made a nice improvement in clearance was switching to the MorRyde pin box. That moved me up to over 7 inches of clearance and the trailer tows level. What hitch and pin box are you using? Attachment 29900 You can see the rail clearance in this pic.

That is a nice looking pinbox. I plan to swap out my stock Lippert with a Morryde. I have been price watching. They are priced $699 for the 14 - 18,000 version with just about everywhere with free shipping. I saw one place has a 5% fall discount code. Does anyone know if the prices will drop lower over the winter or if they do Black Friday sales?

**geotex1** · 10-18-2020, 04:04 PM

Originally Posted by Radcolt

That is a nice looking pinbox. I plan to swap out my stock Lippert with a Morryde. I have been price watching. They are priced $699 for the 14 - 18,000 version with just about everywhere with free shipping. I saw one place has a 5% fall discount code. Does anyone know if the prices will drop lower over the winter or if they do Black Friday sales?

Can you make it to one of the rally events? That is where you will get the best pricing, and the MORryde guys will even install it for you.

**zinman** · 01-02-2021, 09:12 PM

This thread has been interesting reading regarding truck bed to 5th wheel clearances and those stating they are towing pin high. I do have to ask how many of us are towing with 4x4 trucks versus a 4x2 ?? I know for a fact a 4x2 will set several inches lower than my 4x4 and would likely alleviate some of the clearance and towing concerns laid out in this thread. Safe travels.

**Grandesigner** · 01-03-2021, 09:35 AM

I've seen in some forums where truck owners are replacing the rear suspension blocks with shorter ones to bring the rear down an inch or 2, with no bad side effects. Ford SDs from 2017-19 are especially tall...

**bertschb** · 01-03-2021, 09:56 AM

Ford shortened the suspension blocks for 2020 (except for the Tremor package).

**KLR650goldwing** · 01-03-2021, 11:12 AM

CORRECTION Earlier on this thread, I posted that after much research, I was prepared to lower the back of my 2017 F350 4X4 DRW in the attempt to level our 5er while traveling down the road. Since that post I have taken the truck to a local specialty spring and chassis shop. I went there with the 5er hooked up so we could get accurate measurements etc. The technician measured from the ground to the wheel well on the front and rear. Comparing the two we found out they were the same, or the truck was riding level with the trailer attached. The trailer on the other hand was three inches high on the front. My original intent was to lower the back of my truck. However, the tech said that handling problems will exist on trucks that are lower on the back. So, I'm back to the beginning on this issue. I don't want to raise the trailer because that will put the height higher than 13'6".

**Grandesigner** · 01-03-2021, 11:26 AM

^ What part of your trailer is highest? The AC maybe?
The spec I saw for your trailer puts in under 13', unhitched of course.

**KLR650goldwing** · 01-03-2021, 12:31 PM

We have a Dish Trav'ler on the roof. According to Winegard the height retracted is 10". But that would be measured from the roof, not the A/C unit. I'll have to measure it once things warm up.

**TheLexx** · 01-03-2021, 06:00 PM

From what I've read the 2017-2019 Superduties have a block in the rear suspension. If you remove the block, you would in effect, lower the suspension.

As for the Goosebox, I'm hesitant about this pinbox because I've read too many stories about the Goosebox hitting inner rails of a bed cover. It seems if you have a Retrax Mx like mine, the wings of the Goosebox can contact and munch the inner rails of the bedcover.

I'm very very slightly nose high right now. I'm thinking of getting a Carli levelling kit for the front suspension, and 35" tires with 20" wheels. That would raise my bed height 1.5", so I'd have to raise the fifth wheel by about 2". I am concerned however, about being level, as that would mean that the truck would be nose high if the rear settles down after hitching up. Carli stated I should use some Timbrens but reduce the sag, but I have no idea how well that would work and if there would be an increase in suspension harshness. Certainly the Fox or King shocks they spec would be softer riding, as well as their springs. They also have an expensive torsion arm that will reduce the harshness of the front sway bar.

From my research, the correct way to lift a trailer is to build a separate subframe. I think this is the way MorRyde does it. The subframe gets bolted (and I would imagine welded) to your existing frame and the new (or re-used) suspension components gets bolted to the subframe. Fortunately my Reflection is only 12 and a half feet, so I do have plenty of room to go up.

**Barnabas** · 02-05-2021, 08:53 PM

Originally Posted by zinman

This thread has been interesting reading regarding truck bed to 5th wheel clearances and those stating they are towing pin high. I do have to ask how many of us are towing with 4x4 trucks versus a 4x2 ?? I know for a fact a 4x2 will set several inches lower than my 4x4 and would likely alleviate some of the clearance and towing concerns laid out in this thread. Safe travels.

I'll be putting in a hitch on rails Saturday the 6th, then I'll get a measurement on the truck bed rails/tailgate to ground. There's some stuff back there now that won't be afterwards, so an accurate measurement can't be taken now. Truck's a '17 F250 4X2 gasser with 3838 pounds of payload, maybe it'll work with a 150 Series. This is kind of a bump so it'll be easier for me to find tomorrow.