Anyone towing 5ver with lifted truck?

[pbohart]

Hi everyone.

I am looking at upgrading my RV and I would like to look at 5th wheels.

That said, my tow vehicle is a 2010 Chevy 2500 HD Diesel with a 6 inch Zone Control lift kit and 35 inch Nitto tires.

The RV dealer stated in a text that the 5th wheel over bed height is 58 inches (seemed really low to me) - my truck bed rail sits at 65 inches.

Just wondering if anyone here is pulling with a lifted truck, and if so, what did you do to make it work?

Thanks!

[ford_truck_guy]

2" is not lifted... it is "slightly modified"... especially now the the manufacturers are selling trucks complete with 2" lifts...

pumping air bags up to 80 psi to "level out" is pretty high

[ifd22]

I had to lift my fifth wheel 4” to tow it level behind my stock Ram 2500. It towed fine nose high, except for the departure angle on the trailer. I drug the back end several times before I lifted the camper.

[Lightning55]

Lynnmor wrote:
If anyone answers saying they did use a lifted truck, you don't want to take their advice about anything.

I tow a FW with a GMC 2500HD Denali Duramax that is lifted about 2 inches. I have air bags that I pump up to about 80 lbs and it levels both the truck and trailer. Originally I was worried that the trailer would be nose high but it wasn't. Perfect set up.

[MFL]

Andersen makes a low height hitch for flat bed trucks (about 12"s), but seriously doubt OP will be changing truck bed. Just needs to change truck, or style trailer! Most major issues can be resolved with major $$$$. Yup, easiest fix!

Jerry

[ford_truck_guy]

^^ That will still give him a fiver that is EXTREMLY NOSE HIGH... and IF they raise the trailer with a sub-frame that could cause 2 additional issues:
1-passing the MAX allowed height of 13'6"
2- if raised that much, the center of gravity will be raised that much, and could cause horrible steering conditions or worse.

** I KNOW..I KNOW... I am sounding old with those remarks ! ! :B

[time2roll]

pbohart wrote:
The RV dealer stated in a text that the 5th wheel over bed height is 58 inches (seemed really low to me) - my truck bed rail sits at 65 inches.

Easy. Just replace the bed with a flatbed or stakebed with removable sides. Then you just have the handling issues.

[Edd505]

My stock F350 FX with stock 20" rims I can only get 5" bed rail clearance, I have to watch for holes or steep drives.

[rhagfo]

KD4UPL wrote:
One thing some people do is move the trailer axles below the leaf springs to gain extra height on the trailer. Obviously this requires a trailer with leaf springs instead of torsion axles. It also requires a trailer that has the axles over the leafs form the factory. Even doing this you will only gain 3 or 4 inches. If it's already a tall trailer this may put you past the legal height limit of 13' 6".
You could possible swap the regular truck bed for a FW hauler bed that wouldn't have the high sides. The advantage of this is you would gain additional storage in all the compartments on the bed. The downside is it probably won't lower the hitch much so you will still have a height problem, just not a bed side problem.
Do you know the details of the new springs (assuming the lift involves new springs)? I know one poster already assumed that it would be stiff; I wouldn't make that assumption. A good quality lift often actually has softer spring rates to improve ride and axle articulation as most lifted trucks aren't used for hauling heavy loads. If this is the case with your you may actually have less rear spring capacity then you did with the factory springs.
All in all I doubt it's worth the trouble to tow a FW with a truck lifted that much.

I would say about 90% or more newer 5er have the axles mounted under the springs already.

[TXiceman]

Are you prepared to lift the 5er with a sub-frame and remount the whole trailer suspension system so that you will have the trailer level when towing? Additionally, lifting the trailer will raise the center of gravity and make the whole rig less stable.

Best suggestion is to stick with a travel trailer and a dropped hitch. Or you could put the truck back to stock height.

Ken

[JIMNLIN]

check out our Toy hauler forum. Those guys/gals are more apt to use a lifted truck . I'm sure some may even have a 2500 GM Dmax and can give real world experiences with maybe the same lift kit.

[Cummins12V98]

ford truck guy wrote:
yea,, I had the big tires,,,, lifted truck.... had a blast..... traded all that in for my fiver....

lifted trucks and towing a fiver do not work... ever.... no matter what some may say

Hey now, I see plenty of 250/2500's with their headlights pointed at the sky bouncing along Hwy 10 to and from the Desert every weekend. So it must be ok.

[dieseltruckdriv]

That's how I know I am getting old. If I see a lifted diesel today, all I see is a ruined pickup. When I was younger, I would have had one.

[ford_truck_guy]

yea,, I had the big tires,,,, lifted truck.... had a blast..... traded all that in for my fiver....

lifted trucks and towing a fiver do not work... ever.... no matter what some may say

[KD4UPL]

One thing some people do is move the trailer axles below the leaf springs to gain extra height on the trailer. Obviously this requires a trailer with leaf springs instead of torsion axles. It also requires a trailer that has the axles over the leafs form the factory. Even doing this you will only gain 3 or 4 inches. If it's already a tall trailer this may put you past the legal height limit of 13' 6".
You could possible swap the regular truck bed for a FW hauler bed that wouldn't have the high sides. The advantage of this is you would gain additional storage in all the compartments on the bed. The downside is it probably won't lower the hitch much so you will still have a height problem, just not a bed side problem.
Do you know the details of the new springs (assuming the lift involves new springs)? I know one poster already assumed that it would be stiff; I wouldn't make that assumption. A good quality lift often actually has softer spring rates to improve ride and axle articulation as most lifted trucks aren't used for hauling heavy loads. If this is the case with your you may actually have less rear spring capacity then you did with the factory springs.
All in all I doubt it's worth the trouble to tow a FW with a truck lifted that much.