Truck bed height

basdad, I think you indicated your existing tv is a 2 wheel drive. If not going to 4x4 on your new tv, maybe check the newer 2wheel drive bed heights. They may be noticeably lower than 4 wheel drive. ps I haven't measured any myself.

Ericosmith
That was what I was looking for, what year did they raise the bed height. I now know for the GM models it was the last of the 07 models. I will start a search for a lower mileage 07 or earlier truck. Thanks for your reply

GM raised their height in the later 2007 models. There were two models that year, one the old style and one the new.

Bazdad, Check in the tow vehicles thread. There is a fella IB516 I believe who changed from a diesel to a new 2500 Ram. The bed height looks high but I believe he said that whey you put weight on the hitch it settled right down. I have been drooling over the new Rams with the 6.4 Gas. Good Luck in your search.

I went from a 2006 F350 SRW 4x4 to a 2008 GMC 3500 DRW 4x4 and from 4" nose high to 2" nose low. Had to raise my hitch to its lighest setting and almost dead level now. GM's seem to sit lower the Ford or Ram so you may want to look at another one. That's just my opinion.

Wheels make a small difference, but the main problem is that all the manufacturers have taken to "rake" to make their trucks look more manly. The body is designed on the frame to run slightly nose down. Pure esthetics. Since they can't lower the front bumper without sacrificing ground clearance, they raise the rear.

Put a long carpenter's level on the bed rail and you can see it.

I'm not sure about Rams, but on GM products there is an easily installed link that lowers the rear of the bed 1.5 or 2 inches. Realize that you loose about half of that in wheel travel to the stops, but if you have the standard size wheels it should not be a problem.

A lot simpler (and cheaper) than raising the trailer suspension and unless it s parked right next to an unmodified example it is invisible.

A

TomHaycraft wrote:
I've started the search to upgrade to a 3/4 or 1 ton. I was in disbelief when measuring the bedrail heights, until on the Ford lot, I found much of it boils down to wheel size. The truck bed has the same dimensions, in general the suspension is the same. There were several "work trucks" that had the appearance of much lower bed rails, only thing different was 17" wheels, as compared to the 20" (or much higher profile tires) that accounted for the difference.

There is hope out there.

Don't think 20"wheels are very common on 3/4 ton trucks.

A 20" tire would only raise your bed 1.5 inches over a 17" tire, all else being the same.

I've started the search to upgrade to a 3/4 or 1 ton. I was in disbelief when measuring the bedrail heights, until on the Ford lot, I found much of it boils down to wheel size. The truck bed has the same dimensions, in general the suspension is the same. There were several "work trucks" that had the appearance of much lower bed rails, only thing different was 17" wheels, as compared to the 20" (or much higher profile tires) that accounted for the difference.

There is hope out there.

bazdad wrote:
I currently have a 04 GMC 2500 2wheel drive that tows a Newmar 5er. I want to replace my tow vehicle with later year and less miles. Upon looking and measuring a 2014 Dodge, I found the bed too high. I do not want to do a lot or raising the front of the trailer. What years did the bed height start raising on the Dodge and the GM trucks? This will let me know what years I will purchase. Thanks to all who reply.

I bought a 2015 Primetime 5th wheel and a 2015 GMC 2500HD at the same last Spring (2014) and the stock setup of the two put the 5th wheel about 4"-5" nose high. I added a 1.75" lift to the trailer and lowered the hitch in the bed as much as I could. I'm still a bit nose high but it is manageable.

The pin box and the hitch may be able to be adjusted enough. If not, you can put a lift on the trailer.