Lift and 5th Wheel Towing
 

We just bought an 09 350 CC PSD longbed and are looking at various 5th wheels that are under 9k loaded weight with a twin axle around 30' in length.

Having never owned a 5th wheel can the truck be lifted and tow one? I was thinking of a 4" lift max or at the least a leveling kit for the front.

Thanks

Some trailers can be towed with a lifted truck. The problem is the trailer needs to be level while being towed. Nose high will transfer weight to the rear trailer axle, nose down transfers to the front trailer axle.

Some trailers can be easily setup to be towed level with moderately lifted trucks. Others will require trailer suspension changes, or lowering of the towing vehicle.

A leveling kit normally will not effect the height of the fifth wheel hitch. Larger tires will effect hitch height. Remember you will need approx. 6" clearance between your bed rails and the trailer overhang. More if your going to be traveling off road or over forest service roads.

Good luck

well the way I did it was; raised front of truck 4in. raised rear 2in to level rig. Trailer came with skimpy 13 in tires so I swapped them out for 15inand flipped shackle to bring me level all the way around. :)

remember, weight wants to be as low as it can be...

Wait until you get the trailer before you decide to do the lift. As far as a leveling kit, well the wt, of the trailer will level the truck..
I had to take off my 315/75r 16's and put on the original 265/75R 16's and lift my trailer 2.5" to get the trailer to ride more level and have at least 6" of clearance.

I think you will have a difficult time finding a 30ft 5-W with a slide that will weight less than 9K fully loaded. I think that by the time you get hooked up your truck will be close to level. I think you will be towing tail down if you try to lift the front. Good luck finding a camper, there should be lots of deals out there. (If you can wait until after the first of the year you will not have to pay 2009 taxes.) Good luck

The trailers we are looking at are the Rockwood Ultra Lite models, the heaviest shows a 7k dry weight. Thanks for the inputs.

Heartland, Sundance XLT is a Ultra Lite 30'er @ 7200 dry weight. I raised my 5th wheel 3" to match the truck so everything is level. My truck came with the PlowPackage so it 3" taller than stock, top of my pin hitch is 4'-2".

How did you lift the trailer? blocks and longer u bolts?

The trailer springs on my Everest 364Q are 1 and 3/4" wide. So i cut 4" x 5/8" flat cold rolled steel at an angle to make pieces that were 3" on one end and 2 and 3/4" on the other side. I then welded 3 pieces toghther welding the joints on the ends so the top and bottom are smooth.
Next I drilled a 1/2" hole in the center 3/4" deep on the top and bottom. Then I cut a
1/2" round bar to l 1/8"lengths and welded in the top hole, for centering the axle on the spring.
The u bolts I had custom made at a suspension shop in Yakima Wa. I took them a u bolt off the trailer and had them make the same type with 4" added to the length.
The shorter side of the block (2 and 3/4" ) is installed towards the front of the trailer.
If your trailer axles are on the top of the spring you can move them to the bottom. I tried lift blocks from tuff country but they were 2 1/2" wide and hollow inside and 5" long with the same taper. So out of frustration of looking and not finding narrow enough blocks I just built my own.So far every thing is working great.
When installing the blocks I did one wheel at a time, by raising the frame next to the spring shackle with a hydralic jack.

I made pinned blocks from 1 1/2" angle iron and plate, and also bought taller wheels/E tires. I've made and installed a few of these setups for my RV buddies.

my advice is stay away from Rockwood Ultra Lites.......i know first hand what can happen to their chassis.....chassis are not big enough to carry the weight of the trailer especially with a slide.....I-beam become weak around the tire area and may crack and bulge. it happen to mine....my insurance company wrote it off......lucky me!...i now tow 37' Crossroad Kingston almost 11K with 3 slides with my 05 F-250......without any problems....

I would avoid anything more than a leveling kit if you plan on towing anything more than an 18ft boat or other small trailer. I have an 8" lift on my truck with 37" tires and it towed my 18ft boat fine a few years ago. Now I have a 27 foot boat and it is a whole different story. I am going to go to 35" tires, probably a 4" lift, and probably replace ball joints and other steering components. The truck now has 82k miles so steeing and such may need to be refreshed.
I just didn't feel as comfortable or secure pulling that big boat. The front end was bouncy and wandering a little.