Deeper Pickup Box

[mtidsew]

Has anyone towed their Montana with one of the newer pickups with the deeper pickup box? We're looking at a 2015 Silverado 3500 HD. According to the dealer, most of the pickup manufacturers are adding depth so they can say they have the most load space. But, that gives us less clearance between the box rail and the 5th wheel, which is a problem if on uneven ground. There are a couple of fixes, but neither sounds good. For one, they add spacers on the axles to raise the RV. The other is to raise the hitch in the box, which gives more rail clearance, but lowers the rear of the trailer, thus making it more susceptible to dragging. Has anyone run into problems towing their Montana with a deeper pickup box?

[1retired06]

Hmm, do you know how much deeper those new beds are?

[Jolu]

I tow my 3150RL with a 2015 Silverado 4X4. I had an 08 Silverado also. Both beds were about 2" deeper than the previous models. I had to nip the pin box for the 08 to clear the side rails. The pinbox was the 1716 for the previous 2955 Monty. I have the shorter pinbox 1116 on the 2010 3150.
For the 2015 I did raise the hitch to the top holes. I do have plenty of clearance above the bed rails and the rig does not sit with to much nose height. With the 08 I did have less clearance. It would have been better if I had raised the hitch. Hope this helps. Joe

[twindman]

I had same problem. Went from 2004 Silverado to a 2012. The bed is 1 1/2 inches higher and the rails are 1 1/2 inches deeper. So I had to raise my hitch in the bed by 3 inches. I have about 7 1/2 to 8 inches of clearance. That is too much, but without the raise I am at 4 1/2 inches. I need about a 1 1/2 inch or 2 inch raise.
Anyway, I sit nose high by about 2-3 inches at the front. I just bought a new Mountaineer, so in the next 2 weeks I will get it weighed and see if the weight is much different from the front to back axle on the fiver. I am hoping only a hundred or so pounds, but we will see.

[Charli]

The height problem on the newer trucks is two fold. They tend to be higher off the ground plus a higher bed rail for a deeper box. Had a 2008 Ram 2500 and I'm sure the step up into he cab of my 2011 F350 is a couple of inches higher. On the Dodge I could barely reach over the side of the box and get something off the bed floor so I bought a nice collapsible 1 step stool. I've traded that in for a 2 step for the Ford. Even the new Mountaineer with the Pinbox set as low as possible the trailer rides a couple of inches higher in the front. I have enough but not excessive clearance over the top of the box so the only solution is to raise the suspension for a level ride. For the time being I'll leave it as is but the truck mfgs need to stop this incessant oneupmanship when it comes to bigger with each redesign. Pretty soon we'll all be driving Kenworths.

[busterwms]

We have a 2011 Silverado 3500 and had to raise the hitch. The nose is a little high on our 3402, but so far, all is good. Got some good rubs before I raised the hitch.

[DmaxDually]

I have a 2012 Silverado 3500HD dually with an 8ft bed and the Reese Elite removable 5th wheel hitch with the underbed mount rails. I tow a 2012 3750FL. My pin box was set to the middle & upper most row of holes when I got it. The aft corners of the mounting plate that the pin box bolts to would contact my bed rails at anything greater than a 45 deg angle. I had to unbolted the pin box and I moved it down to middle and lowest set of holes. Now I can go 90+ deg angle and clear the rails. It does ride with a slight nose up but it's no problem at all.

[maximo]

Looks like new Chev and Dodge have made some changes in the truck bed depths. I am now pulling with a 2002 F250 using a B & W Companion Hitch. In a couple of weeks I am receiving my new 2015 F250, does anyone know if Ford has changed the beds on their new trucks? I was planing on using my B & W hitch in the new truck.

[JandC]

quote:Originally posted by maximo


Looks like new Chev and Dodge have made some changes in the truck bed depths. I am now pulling with a 2002 F250 using a B & W Companion Hitch. In a couple of weeks I am receiving my new 2015 F250, does anyone know if Ford has changed the beds on their new trucks? I was planing on using my B & W hitch in the new truck.

My 2012 F350 is 19.5" deep on the bed. I would suspect that the F250 would be the same. My Reese slider hitch was originally set in the top holes and I actually had to lower it one set of holes. Now I have around 7 - 8" of clearance.

[jcurtis934]

A custom bed from Classic Chassis solves all these problems...course you have to pony up a wad of cash to get one. Wish I had one...don't have the cash. John

[maximo]

My daughter came by today and I took a tape measure to her 2013 F250 truck bed and it was 20 inches deep. My 2002 F250 bed measured just the same, 20 inches deep.

[GregN]

Frank

I was also worried about the height of the new truck. I put in a new B & W Companion Hitch, as the new truck had the mounting frame under the bed. I knew the hitch could be adjusted, but because the bed sat higher, because the new truck is 4X4. So all said and done. The hitch is on it's lowest setting. I just raise the trailer higher for hitch up and no problem. By the time the trailer sits down all the way, the truck and trailer are level. I did find that getting to the safety pin for the jaws was another problem. It was in a different position than the old one, could not reach it. So I got one of those grabber arms at Harbor Freight, now I can get the pin. The only other problem I ran across was, that I could not see the hitch, in the bed. I had installed a bed box that rests on the bed rails, not in the bed of the truck as the old one did. Got some of those tennis balls on a rod with a magnet, attach one on the king pin the other on the hitch and it works great.