2011 Dodge 3500 Dually Bed Rail Height

[Dixiedawg]

Need help from the Dodge owners towing Montanas. We are currently considering buying a used 2011 Dodge 3500 dually to replace our SRW 2009 Dodge. Since weighing our vehicle at last years rally we have been considering acquiring a dually. Yes, we are slightly over the specs for pin weight on our current TV.
Today I measured my bed rails, not hitched up, at the rear end and they were 57" and the 2011 dually measured 59". With the longer wheel base of the dually you'd think just the opposite. Ideally I would like to be about two inches lower with the fiver when hooked up to my current TV, but to maintain an 8" clearance between the bed rail and fiver I do not feel comfortable with the hitch any lower. I currently have Firestone Air Bags installed on the 2009 Dodge, but only keep 18 PSI in them when towing. The 2011 is stock and does not have air bags.
I do not plan to put airbags on 2011, assuming I buy it. My concern is about the rail height being 2" higher than the 09. If all things are equal and the dually raises the rv another 2" when hitched, then I will not pursue the purchase any further. We prefer to have the fiver level when towing and with our current rig it looks level but I know it should be another 2" lower.
Can the Dodge owner's offer any guidance, or am I just worried about nothing?

[steelpony5555]

In the past year I went from a Dodge 2500 to a 3500 dually 2wd. Yes I remember measuring the 2 and there was a 2-3 inch difference. I had to drop the head on the hitch one set of bolt holes. If I left it where it was the trailer was a tad nose high. But now I have more room between the top of the bed rails to the bottom of the trailer. Don't know how that happened but I do have more room and the trailer is level. I just have the Reese hitch. My 2500 did not squat down as much as the 3500 does. Not sure if it was the Super Springs I had on it or not, or if it was because the rearend sat up higher on it. Anyways there are lots of Dodge 3500's pullin Montana's so you should not have a problem.-----Oh the picture in my sig is before I dropped the hitch down a notch...oh and I have 10 inchs between the trailer and the bed rail now.

[DQDick]

We have a 2500HD SRW 4X4, but I asked the dealer today and he said the bed rails are the same on mine and the 3500. Anyway we have air bags on ours and the trailer level and still have around 8" between the rig and the rails.

[mobil]

The bed rails at the tailgate is 59 1/2" on ours. Being a 4x4, it sits a little higher than a 2wd. We added Firestone Ride Rite air bags and inflate to 15lb prior to hitchup. They're not really needed as this truck did very well without them. There is a spacer at the bottom of the spring stack that some folks have relocated to the top of the spring stack (enabling the reuse of the same center bolt in the springs), thus lowering the back of the truck around an inch or so. This is what we planned on doing with ours and added the air bags to be able to adjust the height (we haven't got around to that yet). Our Montana rides slightly nose high. Not sure of the exact clearance measurement at the bed rails, but I can let you know next week when we hitch up, but there hasn't been any clearance issues. We set the B&W Companion as low and to the rear as possible. For a dually, this truck rides very nice unloaded, even better when loaded. I think the springs are a little soft unloaded to give a good ride. It squats several inches when loaded. I think Ram has it dialed in pretty good. We are very pleased with this truck and love the exhaust brake.

[kerry]

I have a 2011 Dodge dually. I moved the spacers on the bottom of the springs to the top, got almost 2"s lower on the bed rails.

[Dixiedawg]

Thank you for the input, your responses were very much appreciated. The MOC site is just terrific for getting input for rv questions and concerns. What a valuable resource!!!!
When the dust settled we ended up trading our 2009 for a 2012 RAM 3500, 4X2, DRW. The 4X2 DRW is 3.2 inches lower than the 4X4 DRW. That will allow me to adjust the height of the fiver either lower or higher as I see fit.
We had two issues with the used 2011: first, DW was not overly excited about the color and how it would look in front of her Montana (and of course I completed agreed with her); and second I talked with the original owner and he told me he installed a chip to increase the power which would void the 100,000 mile drive train warranty. It only had 10,000 miles on it, and I doubt that the original owner even realized he had voided the warranty.
The salesman wasn't concerned, but when I asked the diesel technician who had removed the chip if the computer would still show that a chip was previously installed, he just smiled and didn't say a word. Sometimes silence in golden. Bottom line DW got to pick out the color and we now have a DRW. No more concerns about adjusting the height of the fiver and meeting the towing specs.

[DQDick]

The diesel mechanic at our Dodge dealer says the computer tells him almost all of what has been done to the truck which works both to the good and the bad, but if it came to an expensive warranty issue you can bet having had a chip in there would be a deal breaker. Sounds like you made a good decision. Good luck with the new truck.