2016 Ram 3500 Hitch Height issue

[minnow]

Needing to purchase a new hitch for my 2016 RAM 3500 long bed. The truck has the factory air suspension. I backed under the fifth wheel today to get some measurements. It appears that I have about 13 1/2 inches from the bed to the top of the king pin and about 5 1/2 inches of clearance from the bed rails to the bottom of the fifth wheel. Before buying the new truck, I had leveled the trailer front to rear so that I would have a rough idea on how much room I had as I knew the new truck would be considerably taller than the one I sold.
Looking at the choices of hitches and the only one I could find was a Curt that allowed height adjustments of 13 - 17" I'm wondering how much the truck will settle after the pin weight (1900 lbs) is placed on the hitch with the air suspension. If I could get another 3 inches in height, that would give me a whole lot more choices in hitches. Yet I don't want to be towing nose high either.
Any advice is appreciated.

[stro1965]

I have a Curt hitch and it's great. I have yet to hear of one of these "Chinese" hitches failing at the 4 bolt connection points. Mine fits my puck system, love a clean bed floor.

[cummins2014]

minnow wrote:

MSGTRETIREDCSP wrote:

minnow wrote:
Do you have the Air auto level option ?

No. I thought I might want it, but after looking at the truck, I decided I didn't need it. I did install air bags on my F-350. Not because I needed them, but because I wanted the truck to ride completely level. The suspension on this Ram is stiff enough that when the truck squats, it only squats to a level position.

With the Ram air suspension, there is no to little squat from what I've seen. The rear goes down and then right back up as the air suspension kicks in so that impacts the clearance between the rail and the fiver as well as the levelness of the truck and fiver. That's why I need to get a hitch that I can have some adjustment too. It appears I need a hitch that starts at around 13", which precludes looking at a B&W as they are too tall.

I tow with a 2014 Ram 3500 , no OEM air suspension, but do have airbags. I'm a little confused on this 13" . The top of my hitch sits right at 18" from the bottom of the bed. I have the MorRyde pin box on a Montana fifth wheel.

13" would put me pretty close to sitting on my bed rails . As is I'm about 5*1/2" on clearance . Apparently some pin boxes have a much further reach then others.

[Cummins12V98]

"Don't mean to hijack the thread but 12V98, how do you use the alt ride height ALL the time? Mine will go back to normal ride height after removing load when you start to drive it."

I hit the Alt ride button long ago when I hooked up and don't touch it and it stays on ALL the time. Yours should stay on under these conditions.

[IdaD]

dinwiddi wrote:
I have a Ram 3500 DRW without air suspension and have a high front end when hitched. I have also been exploring options. My B&W is higher than my old Husky hitch by a couple inches, so I can raise the pin box a inch or two and take care of a little, then put a correct track kit and gain 2 inches at the axles: or put those funds to replacing the spring hangers with longer ones. The last option is recommended by 2 RV dealers.

A couple of other options - if you have the space you can go to bigger tires, or if your springs are under your axles you can flip them to the top of the axles. I did the latter to level my fifth wheel up to my truck and it gave me nearly 6" of lift. It's a pretty good climb into the trailer now but it sits perfectly level and I have a lot better clearance going over rough terrain.

[Vette_Racer]

(I think you are overthinking this. I have the B&W RVK3600 set to lowest setting and use Alt ride mode ALL the time with ZERO issues. Just use the Transport mode when unhitching that should resolve all your issues.)

Don't mean to hijack the thread but 12V98, how do you use the alt ride height ALL the time? Mine will go back to normal ride height after removing load when you start to drive it.

As to the OP'S question, If your hitch was that low in the bed I can't see how you would have any rail clearance unless your pin is really low on the trailer, at 17 inches on the hitch I have about 6in of rail clearance.

[Cummins12V98]

minnow wrote:

MSGTRETIREDCSP wrote:

minnow wrote:
Do you have the Air auto level option ?

No. I thought I might want it, but after looking at the truck, I decided I didn't need it. I did install air bags on my F-350. Not because I needed them, but because I wanted the truck to ride completely level. The suspension on this Ram is stiff enough that when the truck squats, it only squats to a level position.

With the Ram air suspension, there is no to little squat from what I've seen. The rear goes down and then right back up as the air suspension kicks in so that impacts the clearance between the rail and the fiver as well as the levelness of the truck and fiver. That's why I need to get a hitch that I can have some adjustment too. It appears I need a hitch that starts at around 13", which precludes looking at a B&W as they are too tall.

I think you are overthinking this. I have the B&W RVK3600 set to lowest setting and use Alt ride mode ALL the time with ZERO issues. Just use the Transport mode when unhitching that should resolve all your issues.

[Cummins12V98]

minnow wrote:
Those of you with the Ram and air suspension, I think realize how pitiful the owners manual(s) are at telling is how to use the air suspension. Can anyone give me the details on what I need to do with the air suspension from backing underneath the fiver, after hooking up and then moving out onto the highway ?

Thanks !!

I leave mine in Alt ride ALL the time. I have not tried it but when unhitching you can place system in transport mode and it will drop down solid. The trans mode will keep the system from trying to adjust it's self when taking the load off the truck when removing RV. I just wait a moment for the system to adjust and then adjust the RV again then unlatch. Then after unhitching it will automatically go to normal ride height as soon as you start driving it. I don't do this because I LIKE the level ride of Alt mode. Only way Alt ride will activate is to have a small load in the bed.

Hope that helped!

[Cummins12V98]

spoon059 wrote:
Like Cummins said, if you put your truck in alternate ride height, it will drop it to level, rather than factory rake. That will buy you another couple inches.

Surprisingly the Alt ride ht compared to the standard ride ht with factory air is only 1" less. But compared to a naturally rear sprung truck the air rides much lower.

Alt ride in both pics.

[otrfun]

minnow wrote:

MSGTRETIREDCSP wrote:

minnow wrote:
Do you have the Air auto level option ?

No. I thought I might want it, but after looking at the truck, I decided I didn't need it. I did install air bags on my F-350. Not because I needed them, but because I wanted the truck to ride completely level. The suspension on this Ram is stiff enough that when the truck squats, it only squats to a level position.

With the Ram air suspension, there is no to little squat from what I've seen. The rear goes down and then right back up as the air suspension kicks in so that impacts the clearance between the rail and the fiver as well as the levelness of the truck and fiver. That's why I need to get a hitch that I can have some adjustment too. It appears I need a hitch that starts at around 13", which precludes looking at a B&W as they are too tall.

We have a '16 Ram 3500 SRW SB with no OEM or aftermarket air suspension. A 13" high hitch positions our 5th wheel about 6" above the bed rails and approx. 1 - 1 1/2" nose high (barely noticeable). King pin cannot be adjusted any lower. The axles came already flipped from the factory. The unit is already 13' 4" high, so not interested in making any suspension mods and risk making it even higher or potentially unstable in crosswinds. In our situation, an OEM air suspension would have aggravated our situation considerably---we need that rear sag--lol!

If you're confident you need a 13" hitch height (and you have a gooseneck capability), you may want to look at the Andersen Ultimate #3221 hitch which sits about 4" lower than the other Andersen hitches, including the popular Andersen Ultimate #3220. It's my understanding that Andersen sells various gooseneck adapters (for the bottom assembly) that will allow use of the Andersen Ultimate #3221, advertised for use in a "flatbed" truck, in a regular pickup truck with a gooseneck.

Do you have the OEM 5th Wheel Prep Package? If you use the OEM RAM or Reese "picture frame" adapter, it's approx. 1 3/4" to 2" high. A universal rail system is typically 3/4 - 1" high. Anyhow, depending on your setup, it could be important to note that the OEM Ram or Reese "picture frame" adapter will add approx. 1" to your hitch height vs. use of a universal rail.

As for rear-end sag/squat/drop, I can tell you our '16 Ram 3500 SRW SB suspension (with a payload rating of 3960 lbs.) drops about 3" - 3 1/2" with approx. 3000-3200 lbs. of payload (pin weight, hitch, and gear). Total suspension travel EMPTY is 5 1/2" (measured from the bottom of the rubber frame stop to the top of the axle tube).

[dinwiddi]

I have a Ram 3500 DRW without air suspension and have a high front end when hitched. I have also been exploring options. My B&W is higher than my old Husky hitch by a couple inches, so I can raise the pin box a inch or two and take care of a little, then put a correct track kit and gain 2 inches at the axles: or put those funds to replacing the spring hangers with longer ones. The last option is recommended by 2 RV dealers.

[minnow]

MSGTRETIREDCSP wrote:

minnow wrote:
Do you have the Air auto level option ?

No. I thought I might want it, but after looking at the truck, I decided I didn't need it. I did install air bags on my F-350. Not because I needed them, but because I wanted the truck to ride completely level. The suspension on this Ram is stiff enough that when the truck squats, it only squats to a level position.

With the Ram air suspension, there is no to little squat from what I've seen. The rear goes down and then right back up as the air suspension kicks in so that impacts the clearance between the rail and the fiver as well as the levelness of the truck and fiver. That's why I need to get a hitch that I can have some adjustment too. It appears I need a hitch that starts at around 13", which precludes looking at a B&W as they are too tall.

[MSGTRETIREDCSP]

minnow wrote:
Do you have the Air auto level option ?

No. I thought I might want it, but after looking at the truck, I decided I didn't need it. I did install air bags on my F-350. Not because I needed them, but because I wanted the truck to ride completely level. The suspension on this Ram is stiff enough that when the truck squats, it only squats to a level position.

[minnow]

Do you have the Air auto level option ?

[MSGTRETIREDCSP]

Well, I just purchased a Ram, 3500 DRW, long bed and I installed the B & W 3600 5th wheel hitch. The truck sat higher than my old truck that was an F-350.

I was a little concerned about the difference until I backed up to the trailer. I didn't measure the squat in the Ram, but I'm guessing it squatted 1 1/2 - 2" when I lowered the trailer down on the truck. I'm very satisfied with the way they match up.

When I installed the hitch, I installed it at the medium height, so I could lower it to the lowest level if I wanted, but I think the medium height will be just fine.

I think you'll be very satisfied with a B & W hitch for the Ram truck. It fit very well and man is it stout. I'm very happy with mine.