I went to a local RV show with a tape and measured the height off the ground of the bed overhang of many leveled trailers. They ranged from 59" to 62" with the norm being around 60".On the way home I stopped at a couple of dealerships and measured 2017 trucks' tailgate heights. The trucks are new and are 4X4 as none had 2WD models on their lots.Ram 3500 4X4 SRW - 59"Ram 3500 4X4 DRW - 57"Ford F350 4X4 SRW - 60 1/2"Ford dealership did not have a duallyWhat gives? Do buyers of new trailers have to have them lifted right off the lot to fit a new truck and allow bed clearance or are they just going to tow really nose high? I suppose the 62" high trailer behind the dually and some truck squat could be made to work. Maybe the overwhelming recommendations of 1 ton SRW trucks should take the extra 2" of bed height into consideration. Frustrating for me as my 5er overhang is at 54" and would hit the middle of their tailgates.

I like the taller trucks but the trailer manufactures need to follow suit. My Ram is as tall stock as a several year old version would have been with a lift.

The tall trucks are just for looks, gives them the "macho" look that most guys seem to like. Serves no useful purpose since probably 90% of them never leave the blacktop. It's like the silly cars that are slammed, both serve no purpose other than for looks. Utility falls to a distant second.

With many of the new 5th wheels already over 13 ft. there is no way to make them fit on the new trucks. It seems like the truck makers need to wake up and make a useful vehicle.

My 15 RAM Duallywith factory rear air ride sits 55" to top of bed at back corner loaded or not in alt ride mode. Guessing the SRW 3500's are the same.

Durb wrote:What gives? Do buyers of new trailers have to have them lifted right off the lot to fit a new truck and allow bed clearance or are they just going to tow really nose high? I have a 16 Ram 3500 and a 16 Raptor FW. No problems at all with the hitch height. I suspect this mostly a problem with older FW trailers that were manufactured when the new trucks of the time were closer to the ground. With that being said a colleague of mine purchased an entry level FW last year that needed to have the axles flipped so that he was not towing nose high. I believe it was a Springdale or somthing. Best bet would be to make sure the truck/trailer combo you are wanting is compatible before you buy either!

5er overhang vs. 2017 truck height | Good Sam Community

Woodwalker2010
Explorer
Jul 25, 2017
I just ran into this problem 2 weeks ago,when I traded my 2014 F250 Crew cab in for a new 2017 F350 SRW crew cab. With the F250, my 2015 Rockwood 5er towed perfectly level. Now with the new F350, I have to raise the front so much to gain bed clearance, I am taking more wait off the front axle of the 5er than I want to. I'm afraid it's putting to much weight on the rear axle. The 5er has Dexter torsion axles under it, and they don't equalize the weight like a typical dual spring axles with an equalizer (correct me if I'm wrong here). I'm still hashing out what I'm going to do, right now I'm thinking the lift kit from dexter axles to fit these particular axles (D axle, 4000 lb). I will repost later with pics and actual measurements of before and after.
PhoneDude_8289
Explorer
May 03, 2017
I have a 2014 Ram 2500 4 X 4 TCD all stock. I pull a 2014 Rockwood 8289WS 5th wheel. My 08 Tundra towed the 5r level with air bags on the tundra. When I bought the Ram I had to put a 3" lift on the RV. No air bags on the Ram and all is level towing the 5r with the 3" lift on the RV.
laknox
Nomad
May 02, 2017
High5er wrote:
Gib3633 wrote:
I'm curious about your height sensor. Can you please post details? TIA...

Lyle

Lyle, I PM'ed you a message. I don't think I can publicly post products :)

Thanks, Doug. PM'd you back. Products aren't an issue, only sales of said products, especially if you work for the company. :B If you ever have a question about something, the mods are pretty good about answering quickly. Me, I "just post it all and Mod sort it out later". :B:B

Lyle
High5er
Explorer
May 02, 2017
^^^^^^ So True ^^^ LOL and crying at the same time! :R
Gib3633
Explorer
May 02, 2017
High 5er
Isn't it interesting how the repair shop can get paid for not listening and the customer gets to pay.
fj12ryder
Explorer III
May 02, 2017
^^^^^I don't think posting a link to a product you're using is forbidden, unless you have a business interest in promoting it.
High5er
Explorer
May 02, 2017
Gib3633 wrote:
I'm curious about your height sensor. Can you please post details? TIA...

Lyle

Lyle, I PM'ed you a message. I don't think I can publicly post products :)
Durb
Explorer
May 02, 2017
Durb wrote:
mtofell1 wrote:
OP you might need to measure again. Yes, bed rails on newer truck are a couple inches higher (not sure why) but the manufacturers of newer fifth wheels have adapted and there shouldn't be a problem. I stressed over this exact thing when buying my 5th.

In the end my 2016 Keystone Hideout fit perfectly with my 2014 Ram 2500 4X4. Keep in mind the truck will squat a couple inches once loaded. I actually ended with about 7.5" of clearance which was way more than I thought I'd have.

The only thing to worry about is if you have an older 5th and are trying to match it with a new truck.

I know how to read a tape measure.

Let's see, the overhang on a new Cougar 5er is 59" and the rails of the new Super Duty are 60 1/2". The truck would have to squat 9" to deliver your 7 1/2" of clearance.

I didn't measure any Hideouts but did measure Creekside, Montana, Grand Design, Cougar and others. These were all brand new trailers waiting to be sold. I didn't measure Ram 2500 rail heights.

I am sympathetic to an OP of a thread that is running concurrently with a newer Jayco and a newer truck. He is exploring costly modifications to make his trailer fit. Apparently manufacturers haven't adapted as well as we hoped they would.
buc1980
Explorer
May 01, 2017
Durb wrote:
I went to a local RV show with a tape and measured the height off the ground of the bed overhang of many leveled trailers. They ranged from 59" to 62" with the norm being around 60".

On the way home I stopped at a couple of dealerships and measured 2017 trucks' tailgate heights. The trucks are new and are 4X4 as none had 2WD models on their lots.

Ram 3500 4X4 SRW - 59"
Ram 3500 4X4 DRW - 57"
Ford F350 4X4 SRW - 60 1/2"
Ford dealership did not have a dually

What gives? Do buyers of new trailers have to have them lifted right off the lot to fit a new truck and allow bed clearance or are they just going to tow really nose high? I suppose the 62" high trailer behind the dually and some truck squat could be made to work. Maybe the overwhelming recommendations of 1 ton SRW trucks should take the extra 2" of bed height into consideration.

Frustrating for me as my 5er overhang is at 54" and would hit the middle of their tailgates.
2017 F350 DRW 4X2 56 in.at the tail gate no load.
laknox
Nomad
May 01, 2017
High5er wrote:
Gib3633 wrote:
High5er:
The legal height limit is 13 feet six inches. 13feet 5inches sounds better to me.

Thanks Gib, I certainly studied up on height restrictions before the work was completed. I asked the shop for a 4-inch lift. They screwed up and did a 5-inch lift.:S I gave them an ear full about the height at the top but nothing really came of it. I'm pretty careful now as stated. I have a height sensor on my truck and that app that I spoke of as well. The only good thing that came out of it was I was able to keep the chrome rails on the truck.

As for GM. I'm sure those tails will be going up as well. Enjoy your new ride :)

I'm curious about your height sensor. Can you please post details? TIA...

Lyle

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5er overhang vs. 2017 truck height

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