F350 or not?

[timshoemaker]

That's good news. Is the height adjustable on that one? How's the chucking and ride quality?

[Richter]

The hitch ball has a choice of three heights. The dealer set mine up in the middle position, and the trailer sits very level. The ride is, as they say, “Smooth as a baby’s...” you know the rest. Seriously, there is no chucking, bucking or anything else. I used to drive over-the-road tankers and I know what a rough ride is.

The worst I have seen is the despicable section of interstate around Detroit. I’ve never seen roads so bad. If you know anything about the Detroit area, the roads fit right in. What an embarrassment. But I digress. I was afraid that my truck might fall apart, but the trailer towed just fine.

[Brother_Bluto]

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-I've read that you can't use the Anderson Ultimate hitch with the F350 short bed that has the 5th wheel prep, that the 5th wheel prep is too close to the cab. Is that right?

-The dealer is telling me that the Reflections aren't full profile 5th wheels like the Solitude's, that the front cap doesn't stick out quite as far and that turning is easier. He's still recommending a slider, but says I should be fine with a manual one and that the only time I will need it is when I'm backing into a campsite. Thoughts?

An AUH can certainly be used in a SB Ford. Refer to Jerryr's post #24 - You can see that he cut holes in the base of his AUH to use the safety chain anchors in the Ford pucks (approved modification by Andersen). That is exactly what I did when I used my AUH in the F350 CCSB.

AUH vs Slider is personal preference with pros/cons each direction. There is a lot of good info in this forum on the AUH.

[geotex1]

This post caught my eye since my daily driver is a 2019 RAM 1500 Crew Cab Laramie 4x4. You're likely over your payload given the family, fuel, and whatever you're tossing in the bed for camping plus that ~800# hitch weight. The air suspension is a nice ride, but not great when towing heavy. In fact, it's a real process to properly set up a WDH with the air suspension. I skipped it on my 1500. Having helped a number of forum members that tow TTs over at 5thgenrams and living nearby, an interim fix might be for you to swap over to an Equal-i-zer 4-point WDH and make sure you set up the hitch with the suspension in the right mode and then dial in the hitch on the truck scale. You won't get the "surety" of feel you're hoping for, but you'll not be white knuckling when the tail is wagging the dog!

Now for the grey hair advice you may take or leave - don't take such a hit immediately, financially. Take your time a find a nice, gently used 1-ton. If you're patient, you'll find a catch that it like new and with low years and miles such that the balance of factory warranty is available to you, but you'll be at a superior price point! You can also use that time to advertise a private sale on your RAM where you'll get top dollar for it versus any trade. The gently used market is SUPER RICH right now in prime condition half-tons so you'll be hard-pressed to get a great trade value. Get out from it cleanly without tacking on the balance to the loan for whatever you buy!

Now, if that financial hit is no big deal and you buy that 5er in weeks, I am available for hire and can fix and build most anything - an engineer's engineer.

[NavyGrog]

I have a 2018 F350 DRW, Diesel Lariat. I pull a 375-RES. With the trailer sitting fairly level, I have about 6 + inches between the bed rails and the trailer. The one thing you need to remember is if the 5th wheel hitch (B+W in my case) has height adjustments. I had to set it at the tallest setting. In case you are wondering, I have about 2 inches of clearance between the Tonneau Cover and the hitch.

[Philiprmcgovern]

Lots of good stuff in this thread, but I just wanted to add a few more thoughts:
1) Having recently gone from an F250 short bed to a F350 long bed DRW, there is a lot to be said for the extra range you get the the larger fuel tank. No more need to stop and fuel up on the way to your next campsite. Yay!
2) The long bed also gives you a LOT more cargo space and avoids the need for a slider hitch.
3) I’m still getting used to parking the beast, but I find our handicapped parking permit to be a big plus if I’m feeling too lazy to walk a few extra feet.
4) The 350’s turning radius is a lot wider than the 250’s and, I’m told it’s wider than the 450’s as well for some reason. I understand there’s a simple mod to reduce the 350’s turning radius and I my need to look into that.
Anyway, best wishes and safe travels. Phil

PS: I’ve been told that, if a one ton duality can’t pull it, it must be a house.

[Norcaldiz]

I had the same issue last year. Had RAM 1500 gas and purchased a 2500RL based on the specs. I was wring, the 1500 should have been enough, but the 30 miles drive home proved me wrong. I traded it in for a RAM 2500 Diesel and hardly know the trailer is there. The other thing I did based on the RAM dealer, is took the truck and trailer to a truck outfitter company to get the weight distribution right. The dealer tried twice with no luck. The RAM dealer was right and directed me to a very good shop. Only cost $40. Good Luck and Safe Travels.

[socal41]

Congrats on the new truck. I also have a 19 f350 srw. It pulls my toy hauler with a 3,400lb pin weight no problem. It scales out at 99.9% GVWR but she’s legal. Steady as a rock too. It is unaffected by passing big rigs or crosswinds.

To answer some of your questions-

I opted for a non-slider oem puck B&W hitch (highly recommended) because my front cap has indentations. Driving forward whiled turned full lock I have plenty of clearance. Trailer is 41ft long so I don’t try 90 degree turns backing up, it puts unnecessary stress on the tires, axles, etc. Smooth arcs are key if you have the room.

I also have the morryde pinbox. Almost zero chucking.

Other truck mods I added are rear air bags (due to heavy pin) and 2.5” adjustable rear shocks. I adjust them to 8 out of 12 when loaded and it eliminates all bouncing. Makes for a very planted and confidence inspiring tow.

[fez111]

Famous last words!

In all seriousness, while the pin weight is, in my mind, the key factor in dually versus no dually, the dually is incredibly stable.

That said, if you are absolutely, positively certain, there is no question that a SRW short bed is easier to manage for the daily commute. My 350 DRW is a daily driver. I always tell people that is is fine as a daily driver, it's the daily parking that is the challenge.

Speaking of Dually's... We have a Solitude 379FL (14,000+ Lbs). This 5er was within the towing specs of our 2006 F250 Super Duty (Super Cab, long bed). I did the math before I bought the Solitude. The 2006 F230 SD has the exact same drive train as my F250 SD, with the possible exception of the rear axle ratio. I was concerned about the rear axle but found out that the single rear wheel axle for the 2006 F350 is the exact same axle on My F250. Trading our F250 for an F350 would yield a net gain of about 1000# extra bed weight and a couple of hundred pounds of towing weight. I did not see that much incentive for buying an F350. I did, however, install air bags due to the heavy pin weight that was still 20% inside the max bed weight.

All that being said, we have pulled the Solitude from Michigan to Florida twice and several vacations. Last year I started having steering issues that ultimately (after changing the steering gear and 2 repair shops telling me there was nothing wrong) we found the left ball joints frozen. During this several trip diagnosis I realized how much lateral sway there is with a non-dually truck. Also, I was very concerned what would happen in the mountains if I blew a tire on the freeway..

Our solution was to put a "dually kit" on our F250 SD. The kits are manufactured here in Michigan. The total cost, including 4 new Michelin tires, was about $4000. I installed the kit myself in an afternoon and had the tires mounted on the new rims locally. It includes adapter hubs for all four axles and six new alloy rims. If all of the tires are the same size they are completely interchangeable. No more lateral sway or angst about blowing a tire as any of the four rear tires can safely handle the load. Here is the link for the kits: https://arrowcraftproducts.com/. The ONLY problem I have had is finding steel valve stems that, A: Are not made in China, and B: Have the correct bend, strength, and clearance to accommodate EEZ-Tire TPMS sensors.

Its really kind of funny when people walk by our truck say they never knew the Ford sold F250 with Dually's....

[Rtshun]

I have a 2019 F-350 CC SRW 4x4 with the short bed. Reese 16k manual sliding fifth wheel hitch. Towing a 2019 G.D. 337rls fifth wheel. Plenty of room in back seat and truck pulls very nice. No adjustment to truck or trailer necessary other than initial install. DW is short and is able to get in and out of truck just fine. Make sure you get the floor boards!