What is your Bed rail to the ground height for a FW???

[carpetguy2]

Know the new campers and trucks are getting higher..But My wife and I found a FW instead of a tt..Dealer said they can raise the FW with 4" square tubing to accomadate my truck height..
My bed rail to the ground is 63".
Sand piper 345 ret is level is 56".
Any one have this height and have a issue?

[hoopers]

My previous trailer was about 4-5 inches. There were some times when my 5th to bed-rail clearances became very close on uneven surfaces. On just once occassion, the trailer did touch the bed-rails, and left a very small tweak. And I mean small, more like what hail damage (a single piece of hail) might look like on the rail. So something to think about.

I could have raised the hitch to gain more clearance, but decided I wanted a level trailer and told myself to be careful.

My current truck/trailer setup has much more clearance.

[Duck]

MFL wrote:
If the dealer said you only need four inches of bed clearance, I would not take their advise on any of the issues involving trailer lift!

I find myself occasionally when coming out of a drive way with a slope to the street where it was close to hitting with 6 " clearance.
Don

[machunt]

How can you increase the distance between the bed rails and 5ver

[netjam]

Bought a 2012 F-350 dually last summer. It is 54" top of box to ground (unloaded). I chose the Ford over the GM (57") and Dodge (58")because of the box height issue. All measurements were taken by me at the dealers lot. All were 3500 series duallies 4 X 4.

[carpetguy2]

Put the trailer in .Have 5 1/2 at tail gate and 6" @ the front.

[carpetguy2]

BigToe wrote:
carpetguy2...

63" is way too high for a bone stock truck.

Come on. Fess up. What non-factory modifications have been done to your truck?

Did you ditch the OEM "pizza cutter" tires and get larger 265's or 285's to "fill the wheel wells". Add an inch.

Did you install (or have installed) the "2 inch leveling blocks"? Add 2 inches.

There's 3 inches right there. Now we are down to 60".

Did you crank the torsion bars up, and is that why you plan to crank them back down?

To answer your question, my 4x4 dually is 57" high from ground at the tailgate.

Never said my truck was bone stock.Previous comment said I had a lift.

[BigToe]

carpetguy2...

63" is way too high for a bone stock truck.

Come on. Fess up. What non-factory modifications have been done to your truck?

Did you ditch the OEM "pizza cutter" tires and get larger 265's or 285's to "fill the wheel wells". Add an inch.

Did you install (or have installed) the "2 inch leveling blocks"? Add 2 inches.

There's 3 inches right there. Now we are down to 60".

Did you crank the torsion bars up, and is that why you plan to crank them back down?

To answer your question, my 4x4 dually is 57" high from ground at the tailgate.

[Retired_JSO]

carpetguy2 wrote:
Know the new campers and trucks are getting higher..But My wife and I found a FW instead of a tt..Dealer said they can raise the FW with 4" square tubing to accomadate my truck height..
My bed rail to the ground is 63".
Sand piper 345 ret is level is 56".
Any one have this height and have a issue?

You may be looking at a small or totally non existing problem. The height/level of the fifth wheel cannot be compared to the height of a unloaded truck. What you should be looking at is the hitch height/pin height to bed clearance. I suspect your truck will settle 3-4" with a loaded fifth-wheel is hooked up.

[carpetguy2]

Hope I can take out my 2" leveling blocks in the rear and crank down the front .I might be ok.Except my driveshaft.won't be aligned right again...
That will still be 61" or so .It might be close still

[joelabq]

I only had 5 inches of clearance with my old wildcat at one time, and it has the damage to prove it. It's going to work great as long as you never get on an un-level surface.

First time you back into a steep driveway like what I have at home or if you at backing up in a site that contorts from one side or the other... Ask me how I know 😉

[MFL]

If the dealer said you only need four inches of bed clearance, I would not take their advise on any of the issues involving trailer lift!

[Texas_Two_Stepp]

IMHO you need at least 6" bed rail/5er clearance. What you need to now is the height of the hitch plate in the back of the truck and the height of the pin plate on trailer when level and unhooked. This will give you some idea as to your clearance. Flipping the axles is the best choice, but in your case may not be enough. From what you post the dealer sounds a little squirrelly. I would talk to some one at a frame shop.

[filthy_beast]

My 2008 Silverado 2500HD measures 57" at the tailgate unloaded and I know that it squats 1.5 inches when hooked up to the fifth wheel. I have air bags to level it out and put it back at 57 inches. I have at least 6-8" of clearance between the rails and the fifth wheel. I wouldn't want any less and it will get pretty close at some gas stations I frequent.

[rhagfo]

carpetguy2 wrote:
The dealer said don't flip the axels.Due to wearing the tires out faster..
Aswell they said I need only 4" of clearance on bed rails..Just seem like the new fords sat as high as mine.maybe not..I do have a lift on it.So not sure if is possible to do like they said.

They just don't want to do it for you, this doesn't change the the alignment of the axles done correctly!
It would likely take a shop less than two hours, more like one hour with correct lifts and air tools.
It isn't really "flipping" the axles, but placing under the springs rather than over, would require new spring seats on the upper surface of the axle.