New to Fifth Wheels, Couple Questions

[2012Oudoorsman]

So I just upgraded from a TT to my new FW. Its a 2018 Open Range Roamer 374 BHS. We are very excited about the upgrade but i have a couple questions that i've yet to find the answer to.

I had the dealer switch out the Pin box for a Trail Air one. I'm very happy i did that as you could see how much it worked and i'm hoping it will help prevent any chance of the fifth wheel flex or other issues.

However on my way home my tonneau cover rails made contact with the molding holding on the front cap. Nothing bad at all but just the smallest of cuts. Obviously i want to adjust something so this doesn't happen again. I had about 6.5" of clearance which i thought was really good however i guess its not. Do you need additional clearance when you have an air pin box because it wont always stay at the set clearance? If so whats the additional clearance? I'd like to keep the tonneau cover but i may end up taking it off or purchasing a tri fold so its not on the bed rails when traveling.

Second, i'm thinking harder and harder about just getting the new tonneau cover as i really don't think i want to raise my hitch and make my FW any taller. I'm not looking to keep things safe really just looking to keep them somewhat dry. I found a $250 one which has decent reviews but i have zero experience with a fabric tri fold. Does anyone have one of these and travel with it folded up? Any issuses? I am not looking for a $1000 hard cover tri fold or roll up. I purchased my last tonneau cover thinking only of what i would need it for at the time and didn't think that we may be getting a FW and the additional height it adds to the bed rails. Any other considerations i'm not thinking about.

A lot of people like pics so if you haven't seen it in the sticky here it is





And the day I traded the TT in

[Trail-Mate]

See My Signature Picture. Been running Extang tri-fold on my Truck. I have an 8 foot bed, I have never had the 5th wheel touch the cover even in a jackknife situation I was in once.

[ford_truck_guy]

DReisinger wrote:
I used a Roll and Lock for years. A little pricy but looks great and works very good.

X2 . .

although my new truck has the jack rabbit, which is almost the same, just not as good of quality.. Love, and miss the Roll-N- Lock

[mtofell1]

The picture is a bit dark where the clearance is and it's hard to see exactly where the trailer ends and the truck starts...... But, that sure looks like less than 6". In addition to the basic side to side I've found my biggest problems over years have come about at the back corners of the truck bed while backing into a downward sloped site.

I need to put my slider hitch (6.5' bed) back because of this when parking beside my house. I have plenty of clearance on the sides but as the trailer drops and my truck's wheels jump up the driveway apron it's very close. Sliding the hitch back helps me maintain a few inches.

[rhagfo]

I just put a TruXsport roll up tonneau cover on my bed. Great fit and when rolled back I have full access to my under rail tool box.

[shadows4]

I have a tonno pro. It will be 5 years old in November. Best $250 I have spent. Works as advertised and still looks good.

[tunatundra]

I have a tonno pro tri-fold made with vinyl over alum. Great cover but when folded up it sets a little more 3 inches higher than by rails. Due to my fords bed length the tri-fold sections are fairly long and by adding a fuel tank in the bed the filler neck was under the torno cover so no good. I just replaced with a Tuxedo roll up which is so much easier to open and a lot more practical for my application. I will sell my tri-fold cheap. F250. Rusty

[DReisinger]

I used a Roll and Lock for years. A little pricy but looks great and works very good.

[High5er]

Nice looking Rig. Those newer Rams tend to sit very high in the tail :M The separation height in your photo looks pretty good to me. My guess is that Trail-air pin box is possibly under-inflated? Also turning a sharper corner on a steep hill is something you will need to be careful to avoid as the truck tail tends to get very close to the overhang. 6 inches works in most cases unless you are one of those off-road boondockers 😉 Good luck!! 🙂

[1jeep]

I have the tono pro tri fold, so far I like it. I can fold it up so it covers the front third of the bed keeping those items sort of out of the element.

[2012Oudoorsman]

I should be able to check the clearance again possibly today or tomorrow. I checked the pressure in the bag last night and it was 45 psi. I know it's supposed to be set specific to the trailer by the indicator but in doing some googling it looked as if 80psi was the pressure that others had with a similar tongue weight. I could have easily lost pressure over the last week too.

So it doesn't sound that there is any recommendations for additio am clearance with air hitches just the usual 5.5" min and 7" optimal.

[laknox]

I have right at 8" clearance, and have needed all of it on more than 1 occasion. Yes, I do boondock, but even getting in and out of gas stations, or around town, can have some funky places that can twist your rig enough to rub the bed. I do tow a bit nose-high, but feel that's a small trade-off for the damage to truck and/or FW if I damage them due to insufficient clearance.

Lyle

[Road_Phantom]

from the picture it looks less than the 6 1/2 inches you mentioned. 7 is the recommended distance from rail to trailer

[Lantley]

5.5 is borderline. I occasionally had issue at 5.5" I went a couple of years at 5.5-6.0" Under the wrong conditions I would have contact.
Eventually I raised the rear of the trailer 2" which allowed me to raise the front 2" and gain more?adequate clearance.
When all is well 5.5-6.0 was OK. However when there are tight turns and dips in the roads,driveways,downhill campsites, I had issues.

[2012Oudoorsman]

The 6.5" was a quick measurement I took before leaving the dealers garage. Once we got out I did notice that after the first few bumps the hitch settled a little lower, maybe 1/4 to 3/8" below the line. I didn't really think too much about it as I thought I had decent clearance. Didn't think about the bag having more play at the time. Also this molding stuck down about 3/4" from where I took my measurement and I only clipped about the bottom 1/4". I'm pretty sure I knew where I happened and it was a really sharp down hill turn into a gas station. I'll remeasure everything this week once the rain let's off. I know I'll need to add air now that the camper is about loaded. I'm saying at worst my clearance shortened to 6" and I only clipped the bottom 1/4" My clearance at the moulding was 5.5" and less with the compression of the bag. Hopefully with adding more air I'll be fine but maybe not. The only thing I can adjust right now it my hitch in the truck. The pin box doesn't line up properly if it's dropped another hole, dealer tried when installing it.

As for the tonneau cover I was looking at, it was a tonno pro tri fold. I shouldn't have to worry if I switch as there are no bed rails with this tri fold. They're part of the tonneau and when it's folded up they go with it. That would add about an inch of clearance.

I ended up having to back up my entire road and had a pretty sharp turn to get in it. I could have done it better but it was my first time backing up a fw, they're quite a difference from a tt. It didn't look like it would hit my bed, however it would hit the clamps holding the tonneau cover rails on. I'll keep watching it as I don't need any other damage to anything even this minor.