Bed Rail Height Issue

[RVn4lvnlife]

I bought an F350 Fx4 and the bed rail height comes out to 58.5" unburdened, with a B&W 20K companion. Will any of the older brands work with this and if not, what newer brands will work? I have looked and looked but can't find a straight answer.

[Durb]

To answer your question, not all older trailers will tow level with your truck. Better measure the trailer's overhang before you buy and cross the trailer in my profile off your list. Assuming 2'' of squat and 6" of bedrail clearance my 2008 trailer will tow 4 1/2" nose high behind your truck.

58.5" less 2" of squat plus 6" of clearance means you need 62 1/2" of fiver overhang to tow level. Model noted above would tow 2 1/2" nose high. Correct Track would probably pick that up.

[john_bet]

goducks10 wrote:

RVn4lvnlife wrote:
I bought an F350 Fx4 and the bed rail height comes out to 58.5" unburdened, with a B&W 20K companion. Will any of the older brands work with this and if not, what newer brands will work? I have looked and looked but can't find a straight answer.

It's virtually impossible to get the overhang height unless you know which 5th wheel you want and can call the dealership or if someone has the same exact model you're looking for.
FWIW my 2018 Ram 2500 is 57-3/4 at the axle/bed location and 58-1/2" at the tailgate. My 5th is a 2013 mid profile and works great. You need to remember that the bed will drop 2" or so and when it does that puts the bed about level. so for me I measure at the rear axle center on the bed rail. I have 6+" of clearance and the 5th wheel is 1/2" nose high.
My suggestion would be to hit some dealer lots and measure the overhangs of models you like.

i measured a bunch of them at the Indy show two years ago and they were at 60". My 2018 Grand design 337 RLS is 60" also.

[john_bet]

My brand new 2 month old Ram 3500 2wd CC LB with Cummins sits at 58" at tailgate straight from the factory. It also has the optional air assist rear suppension and I was just barely able to make it work under my 2018 Grand design 337RLS at 5 !/2" of bed rail clearance and a level RV. When I loaded 2400# of bagged concrete mix between the tail gate and the axle it only lowered the tail gate height by 2" after I pushed the alt. ride height button. Yes these trucks are tall. My old 25002wd was only 52" at the tail gate and the same 5th only lowered the height by 2" loaded for a trip and it had no bags.

[Cummins12V98]

Op does NOT say what year his truck is. INFORMATION is required to answer any question properly!!!

[billmac]

I have a 2015 F350 SRW 4X4 and a 2005 Cardinal Fifth wheel. In order to level the trailer and get 7" of clearance on the bed rails, I had the trailer raised 4 inches. A trailer repair shop replaced my spring hangers and added steel braces for the longer hangers. I am a regular customer of the trailer shop and they charged me $300 for the job.

[goducks10]

RVn4lvnlife wrote:
I bought an F350 Fx4 and the bed rail height comes out to 58.5" unburdened, with a B&W 20K companion. Will any of the older brands work with this and if not, what newer brands will work? I have looked and looked but can't find a straight answer.

It's virtually impossible to get the overhang height unless you know which 5th wheel you want and can call the dealership or if someone has the same exact model you're looking for.
FWIW my 2018 Ram 2500 is 57-3/4 at the axle/bed location and 58-1/2" at the tailgate. My 5th is a 2013 mid profile and works great. You need to remember that the bed will drop 2" or so and when it does that puts the bed about level. so for me I measure at the rear axle center on the bed rail. I have 6+" of clearance and the 5th wheel is 1/2" nose high.
My suggestion would be to hit some dealer lots and measure the overhangs of models you like.

[Eaglescout94]

Rvn4, I’m going through a similar issue right now. My 2000 F350 4x4 is almost 60” to the tailgate. I have an older 5th wheel, 1997, that I’m assuming was designed for a half ton. I have to add a subframe to lift it and might still put a shorter block between my trucks springs and axle. I don’t know what year your truck is but it seems in the earlier years of super duties they were stupid tall.

[laknox]

RVn4lvnlife wrote:
I bought an F350 Fx4 and the bed rail height comes out to 58.5" unburdened, with a B&W 20K companion. Will any of the older brands work with this and if not, what newer brands will work? I have looked and looked but can't find a straight answer.

Check to see if you have lift blocks in your rear suspension. Many have 4" blocks and replace with 2" block to help with towing FWs.

Lyle

[MFL]

Not sure if I'm understanding your question, but if you mean older FWs, or newer FWs, I'd say many of the older designed FWs would not tow level behind the new tall trucks. The larger FWs would work best, even in the newer models. The so called 1/2 ton towables would likely not be the best fit.

Jerry