New to RVing and to this forum, hope I'm doing this right. Have searched archives and sent multiple personal messages. Bought 2016 Ram 3500 4x4 SRW Cummins AISIN, tow puck option. Put $ down on Primetime Crusader 315RST 5er at RV show, waiting to take delivery. Looking closer now at Ram bed height, box rail height, distance from ground to underside of RV nose, to underside of pinbox tow plate and wondering if I'll have issues achieving level tow of RV and TV and maintain 6" clearance btw RV and pickup. TV has auto level air suspension in rear. GVWR of RV is about 12300, expect pin weight loaded to be in 2200 to 2300# range.Assuming 2" squat of TV, appears to me RV will still be nose up by 3 or 4 inches. Manufacturer says this is not OK, nor is adding lift kit to RV suspension.Anyone else have something similar, can provide info on how much squat to expect when hook up to RV, if/how they achieved level TV and RV, maintained 6" clearance without getting crosswires with RV manufacturer?ThanksMarv

Well #1 Ram air ride has about 0" of squat, Cummins12V98 run it on a 3500 DRW and about 4,500# of pin and states 1/2" difference.Need to get both home, and level the trailer and measure from bottom of the 5er to the ground and to the top rail of the TV.Then look at your options.First it to get to 6" of rail clearance. this is adjusting the hitch and pin box to get the 6", try to have the hitch head in the TV as high as possible.You may be better off than you think, or you may need to go down the sub-frame route.

You may be able to make an adjustment with your hitch. Not sure what kind of hitch you will use but you may be able to move the hitch head location. Also many times the pin box can be adjusted., We have a Ram 3500 dually but only 2 wheel drive. We were able to adjust our B&W Companion puck system hitch head to make the RV tow more level. These new pick ups are darned tall!

762namwobvram2043 wrote:Manufacturer says this is not OK, nor is adding lift kit to RV suspension.Gee thanks. That's not very helpful of them.

Thanks for replies. I like the B&W BWRVK3600 hitch but lowest it will go is 17". Reese 30160 will go down to 15.75" and appears this will leave 6" clearance so may go with it. But if no squat we'll still have RV nose up about 6". Primetime says with RV level, nose to ground is 59.375". My ruler shows top of tail gate at 58". This leaves only 1.375" inch clearance btw tailgate/bed rails and RV nose with RV and TV level. Looks like best we can do is nose up about 4.5 inches unless we eat into the 6" clearance. Did I miss something????Thanks again Marv

762namwobvram2043 wrote:Thanks for replies. I like the B&W BWRVK3600 hitch but lowest it will go is 17". Reese 30160 will go down to 15.75" and appears this will leave 6" clearance so may go with it. But if no squat we'll still have RV nose up about 6". Primetime says with RV level, nose to ground is 59.375". My ruler shows top of tail gate at 58". This leaves only 1.375" inch clearance btw tailgate/bed rails and RV nose with RV and TV level. Looks like best we can do is nose up about 4.5 inches unless we eat into the 6" clearance. Did I miss something????Thanks again MarvMarv, when you actually see your FW, make sure there are no suspension adjustments. Often times there may be extra holes in the spring hangars to drop the springs down. If the axles haven't been flipped (springs on top of axles), you can gain 3+ inches by doing so. If there are no holes and axles are already flipped, the only option you have is to add a sub-frame to provide the needed lift. Also, I believe that the RAMs may have a lift block that might be removed to lower the truck, but I could be wrong on that.Lyle

Achieving level tow with Ram 3500 | Good Sam Community

29 Replies

garyp4951
Explorer III
Apr 01, 2016
Great looking truck, and 5er. I just installed Correct Track on mine, and now I know why the dealer charges $500 labor.
Durb
Explorer
Mar 31, 2016
It looks like you are in good shape but here is some food for thought. My trailer came with a non adjustable pin box and TorFlex axles with no adjustments and I was nose high. I ended up with a trailer saver TS3 as it is 14" instead of the Patriot's 16" (Hensley can configure it to 13" if you wish). I have to admit I am only 5 1/2" rail to trailer but I only travel paved roads and have had had no problems yet. Should I need more clearance I can air up the hitch to give me an extra 2+ inches of on a temporary basis. If your funds are unlimited you can have the TS3 with on board air and adjust the ride height from the cab. I have air from my PacBrake so adjusting rail clearance is not an issue. This is an expensive solution but one side benefit is a real nice ride.
762namwobvram20
Explorer
Mar 31, 2016
Let's see if this works to post photo of our rig.
DirtyOil
Explorer
Mar 31, 2016
762namwobvram2043 wrote:
Towed rig home Tuesday, just beat DC rush hour traffic. Ended up nose up by about 3 inches. Have about 6.5" clearance between tail gate and RV. Got Reese 30160 hitch as it offered lowest adjustment. Had to flip hitch handle over to keep it below bed cover, otherwise wouldn't be able to close Retrax over top of hitch. Searching forum now to see if others have dealt with hitch handle situation. With handle flipped it is awkward to reach, apply enough force to unhitch.

Tried to load photo of rig but file is too large, need figure out how to get file size small enough.

Thanks again for all the input.

go here ... very easy to use select picture and drop it into the box...https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/201045551/Forums/PhotoUpload/RV.NET-Photo-Upload.html
GBuilders
Explorer
Mar 31, 2016
These new trucks do sit higher then before. My 07 ram 3500 DRW would squat about 1.5-2" with my Eagle but the new 2014 same truck doesn't squat at all. Much stronger suspension in the new Rams. I bought the B&W 3600 for the puck system and man it's the best hitch I have ever had and the head sits just a inch from bed rails but the Eagle ride pretty good. I did raise my axles though.
minnow
Explorer
Mar 31, 2016
762namwobvram2043 wrote:
... Had to flip hitch handle over to keep it below bed cover, otherwise wouldn't be able to close Retrax over top of hitch. Searching forum now to see if others have dealt with hitch handle situation. With handle flipped it is awkward to reach, apply enough force to unhitch.

Have similar situation. The handle is held in with a cotter pin. When I want to fully deploy my Fold-A-Cover over the hitch, I remove the cotter pin, swivel the handle so it faces downward, replace the pin. When I got to hitch up, I fold the cover up, remove pin, put handle back in upright position and then hitch up.
SkiSmuggs
Explorer
Mar 31, 2016
I had a similar problem with my fiver after trading my F150 SB for an F350 SB with 14" longer bed. The fiver had a Reese Sidewinder pin box that couldn't be raised without locking out the Sidewinder function. After a rear axle bearing failed (4 or 5" nose high), I locked out the Sidewinder and raised it 2" which helped. No problems turning with longer bed but a rough ride. I had previously swapped from MorRyde CRE3000 equalizers to EZ Flex which lowered the fiver, so I stopped at MorRyde (called ahead for appointment), installed CRE3000 equalizers to raise it and the MorRyde pin box which was higher than the Sidewinder. The fiver is now level and rides good.
As I said in another post, I am now replacing the sloppy Reese 16K hitch with an Andersen Ultimate for the lighter weight and to eliminate the clank when I start and stop.
762namwobvram20
Explorer
Mar 31, 2016
Towed rig home Tuesday, just beat DC rush hour traffic. Ended up nose up by about 3 inches. Have about 6.5" clearance between tail gate and RV. Got Reese 30160 hitch as it offered lowest adjustment. Had to flip hitch handle over to keep it below bed cover, otherwise wouldn't be able to close Retrax over top of hitch. Searching forum now to see if others have dealt with hitch handle situation. With handle flipped it is awkward to reach, apply enough force to unhitch.

Tried to load photo of rig but file is too large, need figure out how to get file size small enough.

Thanks again for all the input.
Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Mar 19, 2016
762namwobvram2043 wrote:
Thanks for all the responses and good input. I'm more confident that we'll be able to get reasonably close to level and maintain 6" clearance. I posted personal message on Forest River forum and got more info on Correct Track which appears will provide about 2" of lift on the RV if necessary. Don't know if PrimeTime will have issues with it. Another entry here that the auto level air suspension will lower the bed about 2 inches suggests that these two can get nose down significantly. Scheduled to take delivery 3/29, will post results after that.

Thanks again.
Marv

GREAT call on the rear air ride! Don't short change yourself with anything other than the B&W 3600.
Coach-man
Explorer
Mar 19, 2016
Your primary concern is the clearance between the top of the bed and the bottom of the 5th wheel. That can be fixed by adjusting your hitch, and or pin box. Then as stated, with air ride you can adjust the rear TV height. If that does not level the trailer, consider larger tires/wheels if you have clearance. The final as stated would be a sub frame assembly. If the dealer is not helpful contact the manufacturer, and ask them how to fix the problem. If still no solution, look at purchasing another 5th wheel from a different dealer.