5th wheel RV not level when attached to a 4x4 Ford truck - any suggestions?

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dfar

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Jan 24, 2015
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I have a Ford F250 Super duty 2 wheel drive truck and I want to buy a  Ford 4x4.
Some measurements:
32' 2004 5th Wheel RV
Bed floor to the ground,
4x2 = 33.5"
4x4 = 38.25"
4x2 bed rails to 5th wheel = 8"
4x4 bed rails to 5th wheel ( lowering the hitch by 3 " maximum )= 5"  (experts recommend 6")
Question
At 5" the RV, at the hitch, would still be 2" higher then when it was attached to the 4x2.
Does it matter that it is 2 " higher in the front?
Is there anything I can do to level the RV using a 4x4?

 
It will place additional weight on the rear axle and tires.  Lippert sells a kit  that is suppose to give 2 inches in height.
 
2" really won't hurt anything. If it is an issue you can raise the trailer by installing the axles under the springs but now that first step is a pain if you have short legs or mobility issues.
 
Utclmjmpr said:
Ball height adjusters are sold at many auto parts stores,, NAPA is a good one..>>>Dan
Click to expand...

Dan, it's a 5th wheel and not a tag-along/bumper pull unless you're talking about the Anderson Ultimate hitch for a 5th wheel.
 
The problem is though that if he does have a way to lower it then he may have issues hitting the side rails on his truck.  :-\ ??? :mad: :mad:
 
You might want to measure it when hooked up. The suspension will "squat" some when the pin weight is placed on it.
 
While having the FW level while towing is ideal, it is not an absolute requirement.  Towing pin high is quite common.  This WILL shift more weight to the rear axle, and increase rear tire wear.  But tires usually age out before they wear out.

Leveling is done by relocating the axles further below the bottom of the camper, thus lifting the camper.  Step 1 is placing the axles under the springs, a very common practice.  Step 2 is adding blocks to further lower the axles.  Not sure if blocks go between spring mounts and frame or between springs and axles.
 
Lift blocks are not offered as a  option from trailer mfg or axle makers.
John from Dexter axle says they don't recommend blocks .
  For raising the trailer a steel square tube assy sub frame is the safest method of raising a heavy multi axle trailer.

Read the wear patterns on your tires for overloading especially the aft tires on a multi axle trailer when the trailer is nose high.
 
I would get it hooked to the truck before doing anything else. It may not really be a problem.
 
my 17 ford dually squats almost 6 inches with the 5er attached - which is NORMAL - trucks are built with a front to rear rake so when you load them they are level
the 2 inches front front to rear wont make a big difference as others have said - i just replaced all 4 tires on my 5er as they have been coast to coast twice and had about another 15- 20,000 miles put on them - they went from good to bad in a very short time period and i got really lucky they didn't blow on me - but im really careful about speeds and tire pressure which makes me wonder how i misses them going bald as fast as they did ( my screwup ) anyways my 5er sits about 2 inches high front to rear and tire ware between front to rear was minimal and in 4 years i rotated them 2 times.
 
2" front to back..  Basically does not matter. in fact 4" side to side is still within spec for the fridge (I think it is 5.5 but do not quote me on that.. So I dropped to 4 to be safe).

Now if you are stopped overnight.. and sleeping in it.. You might want to lay a 2xtire width by long enough under the tires to make that 2" 1/2 inch (a 2x whatever is only 1 1/2 inches thick a 1" is 3/4 finished. Rough cut is really 2 inches.)
 
When we purchased our older Glendale Titanium about 3 years ago, our then new F350 4x4 was about 3" higher than normal height, so the dealer flipped the axle to the underside of the springs to compensate.  Box side rail height was the concern, otherwise we could have shortened the hitch on the front of the trailer.  They also added one more step on the at the bottom to the fold outs on the trailer.  Makes the getting in the trailer a bit higher but I guess that's the price we pay.
 
I went through this issues this past summer when I moved from my RAM to the F250.  I ended up having to put the axles above the springs on my trailer. It gave me about 4"-5" of lift and helped quite a bit but I still have issues with the height.  The clearance between my bed rails and the bottom of my 5th wheel isn't high enough for my liking.  It seems the bed is deeper on the newer Fords than on my RAM.  I may have to buy a new pin box to correct it.  If I go with a different pin box i'm going to do the Gooseneck conversion. 
 
Warboar
What is the distance between the bedrails on the 5th wheel?
 
Metalman Rver
You say that your new F350 was higher by 3 inches. My questions is:
Is it higher by 3 inches from your previous 4x4 or
is it higher by 3 inches from a two wheel drive or
has it been lifted by 3inches from stock?
Thanks
Dennis
 
you can replace the springs with something that will raise or lower the rig as needed. Find a local spring shop and have a custom set made. They won't be as expensive as you might think.
 
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