Leveling new 5th wheel..

Guess the biggest thing I'm worried about is that if I add a subframe, that it'll void the warranty.

lenr wrote:
We went through the same situation with our Puma 253FBS with a 2012 F-350 which sits taller than an F-250. As others have said, get it loaded, ready to travel—most of your personal possessions go between the axles and pin helping to push the pin down. I loaded the heaviest stuff I could find as far forward as possible. Hauling fresh water may also help if the tank is ahead of the axles. Get the pin height adjusted as far as it will go. Then, back the trailer wheels up on stacks of boards until level. Then you will know for sure how much bed clearance you have and how much lift on the trailer is necessary. I’m also guessing that the Jayco has 15” tires. Going to 235R85-16 gains about 1.7” but you need sufficient clearance above the tire to do that.

Our solution was the Correct Track system to gain 2” and 215R85-16 tires to gain another 1” which put us right at level. Without the Correct Track we did not have enough clearance for 16” tires. Search on “Correct Track doesn’t fit spring hanger” in RV.net for a review of my issues. I’m still quite satisfied with the results of the work, and it also allowed me to switch to LT tires which I wanted to do but couldn’t in a 15” size. If you’re going to do Correct Track you need to be very comfortable with safely jacking up a fifth wheel and removing the springs/axles. Also there is the drilling of 12 decent sized holes which isn’t much fun. I suggest drilling the holes about ¼” from the furthest possible position to reduce binding when putting the Correct Track brackets on the hangers. There are trailer stores that advertise installation of Correct Track.

Thanks for the info. Looks like I'll need more than that 2" based on my measurements above.

racer4 wrote:

rrwantr wrote:
I'm just really surprised that there's an issue with a stock 4 year old truck.

I'm not trying to be a smarta**, but I think the problem is a HT (Half Ton) 5er hitched to 3/4 Ton truck.

I just looked up the bed wall lift over height of a Ram 1500 and 2500. The 2010 2500 is 2.4 inches higher than a current (year of your trailer) 2014 1500. Comparing the 2014 2500 to the 2014 1500 is even worse, 3.4 inches or more with larger tires.

Like others have suggested, one solution is adding a sub-frame (additional piece of frame welded to the bottom of the frame above the axles) to lift the trailer higher.

I don't know much about the Correct Track mentioned above, but if that adds 2", that might get it close to level.

You need to do measurements to determine how much lift is needed.

I hope you can get this worked out and behind you and enjoy your new 5er. :)

Don't believe that's the issue. Here's why. HT means half ton towable (weight wise). Doesn't make sense to design so that at it's highest "level" height it would just fit a particular half ton truck. If the front has to be raised to get level on a HT, it's easier to raise the hitch through it's adjustability or raise the pin box (This one is maxed out on everything and doesn't fit a truck 2.4" higher than a current year half ton). Makes NO sense.
I measured and I have 6.5" of clearance at the tailgate and 7" at the front cap. The difference in measurements to the same point from front to rear is 6.75" That 6.75" is alot more than the 2.4" you reference.

Looks like I'll have to add a subframe if I want to get it level.

We went through the same situation with our Puma 253FBS with a 2012 F-350 which sits taller than an F-250. As others have said, get it loaded, ready to travel—most of your personal possessions go between the axles and pin helping to push the pin down. I loaded the heaviest stuff I could find as far forward as possible. Hauling fresh water may also help if the tank is ahead of the axles. Get the pin height adjusted as far as it will go. Then, back the trailer wheels up on stacks of boards until level. Then you will know for sure how much bed clearance you have and how much lift on the trailer is necessary. I’m also guessing that the Jayco has 15” tires. Going to 235R85-16 gains about 1.7” but you need sufficient clearance above the tire to do that.

Our solution was the Correct Track system to gain 2” and 215R85-16 tires to gain another 1” which put us right at level. Without the Correct Track we did not have enough clearance for 16” tires. Search on “Correct Track doesn’t fit spring hanger” in RV.net for a review of my issues. I’m still quite satisfied with the results of the work, and it also allowed me to switch to LT tires which I wanted to do but couldn’t in a 15” size. If you’re going to do Correct Track you need to be very comfortable with safely jacking up a fifth wheel and removing the springs/axles. Also there is the drilling of 12 decent sized holes which isn’t much fun. I suggest drilling the holes about ¼” from the furthest possible position to reduce binding when putting the Correct Track brackets on the hangers. There are trailer stores that advertise installation of Correct Track.

I use the same hitch same wheels on trailer and truck in the same truck but a 2011 3500, aim for 5 1/2 inches minimum bed rail to fiver, companion set to lowest level. I believe the holes in the pin box are 2 inches apart, mine has a pin box cover/shroud. Also is the trailer loaded ready to camp? It will come down quite a bit with the extra pin weight especially being a 2500.

rrwantr wrote:
I'm just really surprised that there's an issue with a stock 4 year old truck.

I'm not trying to be a smarta**, but I think the problem is a HT (Half Ton) 5er hitched to 3/4 Ton truck.

I just looked up the bed wall lift over height of a Ram 1500 and 2500. The 2010 2500 is 2.4 inches higher than a current (year of your trailer) 2014 1500. Comparing the 2014 2500 to the 2014 1500 is even worse, 3.4 inches or more with larger tires.

Like others have suggested, one solution is adding a sub-frame (additional piece of frame welded to the bottom of the frame above the axles) to lift the trailer higher.

I don't know much about the Correct Track mentioned above, but if that adds 2", that might get it close to level.

You need to do measurements to determine how much lift is needed.

I hope you can get this worked out and behind you and enjoy your new 5er. :)

rrwantr wrote:
I'm just really surprised that there's an issue with a stock 4 year old truck.

x2. That was the 1st thing I did was check my truck bed and the overhang on the 5'er before we bought it. It is our 1st 5'er and I was just curious. A quick check would've eliminated a lot of headaches.

I'm just really surprised that there's an issue with a stock 4 year old truck.

Maybe a taller tire on the camper?? If you have room that might be your best option to help get some of the load off those rear two tires. Maybe combination 1 inch block and taller tires on camper. Get the dealer to buy the shorter tires back from you, if you bought from a dealer they obviously didn't take the time to make sure what they sold you matched up to your set-up correctly.

Correct Track II RV alignment system will raise the trailer 2" and cost a heckuva lot less than any option involving a welder. The best part is the kit allows for a full alignment of your trailer axles which will help with tire wear and heat buildup.