Bed Rail Height Concern
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Joined: Jan 2009
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From: Western MA
Chris, for 2017, the SRW 4X4 trucks come with 4" spacer blocks under the rear springs. The DRW 4X4's come with 3". I'm guessing the 2X4's come with 2"? These blocks are interchangeable between the trucks and only cost about $45 a piece plus new U-Bolts. For years, 250's came with 2" blocks and individuals and dealers would swap them for the 4" 350 blocks to counteract rear end sag while loaded. It would appear that the reverse will be necessary for some of us on the 2017's.
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Senior User
Joined: Jul 2016
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Rodney, My 15 DRW has 3" blocks so is the 1 1/2 raise in the height of bed floor coming from the new frame? Do they make a 1" block? What would changing the blocks do to the driveshaft angle? Seems like as simple as it is that it could open a big can of worms when towing near max weight,,currently I am 35.5K truck and RV..
Prolocutor
Joined: Jan 2009
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From: Western MA
Your 15 DRW has a 2" block. The 3" was just created for the 2017 model year DRW trucks and has never been used before. Driveshaft angle is not impacted and Ford actually had a TSB about this for years for guys complaining about sagging rear ends albeit to go up two inches and not down. I even asked engineer Dan (mediumdan here on FTE) and he said there would be no issue with swapping out for shorter blocks with regards to pinion angle on this gen truck.
As to the 1.5" increase, that is the frame thickness only. The extra inch on the blocks will net you a total of a 2.5" increase in height over your current setup. The bed rails are lower though and you may be able to compensate with hitch height adjustment without loosing valuable bed rail to RV clearance. Again, you won't know until your truck is delivered and you hook up and take measurements.
As to the 1.5" increase, that is the frame thickness only. The extra inch on the blocks will net you a total of a 2.5" increase in height over your current setup. The bed rails are lower though and you may be able to compensate with hitch height adjustment without loosing valuable bed rail to RV clearance. Again, you won't know until your truck is delivered and you hook up and take measurements.
Prolocutor
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From: Western MA
You know what it is, I think I passed that one over as I have so much bed rail clearance. I was more concerned about floor height which is about the same as my current truck somehow? I just looked up all Josh's pics and remeasured my truck to compare. They start on page 65 of his "We Own Work" thread if you want to look at different configurations...
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Thanks Rodney, i wish it was the other way. This is going to cause a change in tool boxes for the new trucks also...as soon as a dually arrives at a dealer close enough to go see I will go to verify all that it seems is a problem, thanks for mentioning changing the blocks.
Dan
Dan
Prolocutor
Joined: Jan 2009
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From: Western MA
The blocks are the easiest way to lower a truck Dan. I did my own on my 09 250 in about 45 minutes and had no idea what I was doing. Your not supposed to reuse the U-bolts even though you could going to a shorter block due to initial stretching while torquing. Anyways, I just wish there were more in the wild I could get my hands on so I could figure out my future plan of attack. Let me know how you make out!
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Laughing Gas
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From: Central New York
I posted some pics in the picture thread today but here is a row of 2016 trucks SRW next to the 2017. Almost no difference. Could not check bed height since 2017 was locked and electric release. Hope this helps.
Prolocutor
Joined: Jan 2009
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From: Western MA
The dip in the 2017 bumper may be telling. Perhaps the higher bed rail is because the bed floor remained at 2016 level hence 5th wheel hitch height may be at the same starting point? Josh's bed height measurement sure seemed to indicate so.
