5er Clearance to F-350 Truck Bed Rails - Montana Owners Club

mtnhntr · 09-19-2006, 05:39 PM

We just towed our new to us 2005 Montana 2955RL home after purchasing it from a private party. It was the first time I had ever towed a 5th wheel and it went well. However, the clearance between the 5th wheel overhang and my stock 2000 Ford F-350 4x4 bed rails is less than 4" at the tailgate and about 5" at the hitch. The attitude of the 5er is a little nose high and the truck still has a fair amount of rake. The truck settled 1.25" after hitching up. The 5er was empty so I will probably have more tongue weight when off camping, but I would like to have at least 6" clearance minimum according to everything I have read. I notice that some of the MOC members have a similar rig that I do and in their pictures their outfit looks level to me and with enough clearance. I would appreciate hearing from those members how they attained an acceptable clearance - or from anyone who has a suggetion that might help.
Thanks, Ken

bsmeaton · 09-19-2006, 05:46 PM

Wow Ken, I don't understand. Other than the original hitch height adjustment at install, I just backed my 01 F350 up to the Montana and drove away level. My 06 F350 did the same with the old hitch. Can you post a picture?

Are you talking actual add on bed rails on top?

Bluegill · 09-19-2006, 05:49 PM

Not real sure here but, Is your 5th wheel hitch adjustable in height?
Mine has 4 different height settings.
And I may be all wet here...(meaning...i may be way off target)

Just a thought.

I'm gunna watch this thread so I can learn something.

Blue

Wrenchtraveller · 09-19-2006, 06:22 PM

My 05 F350 with 18" wheels is a little taller than my 2000 F350 was and I still have about 7 inches clearance. Click on my sig. pic twice to blow it up and you will see my rig is fairly level and I have the same model as Montana as you do. My hitch is adjustable for height but it worked good on the same setting I have used for my last 3 trucks.

Fordzilla · 09-19-2006, 06:22 PM

You may be able to get Ford to install the shorter 2" blocks from a F250 in the rear of the F350 instead of the factory 4". I wouldn't feel to comfortable towing with less than 6-8 inches.

JH Sechelt · 09-19-2006, 07:16 PM

Like Ron said, I changed the 4" blocks on the top of the rear axle with 2" ones.
That lowered the back of my F350 by 2". I have 5 - 6 inches of clearance.
haven't had a problem so far.

J&D

mtnhntr · 09-19-2006, 08:53 PM

Wow! Thanks for the rapid response everyone. I can't post a picture now, as I just got the beast home and it is sitting in my driveway unhitched -I am changing out the one battery with two 6v ones and just learning about operating the things in it. My truck does have the stock bed rail covers on it and the distance is to them. The party I bought the 5er from had a two wheel drive 2005 Chevy 2500. I got their hitch and didn't make any changes to it when I picked up the 5er. In the next several days, I will hitch up and add some weight to the truck bed to simulate what the hitch weight would be after I loaded up for camping and see where I am. I do have lots of room to adjust the hitch height up, but that will just make the 5er even more nose high. I also have air bags for when I had a slide-in camper, but reduced them to 5psi -I will deflate them totally, and may remove them altogether. My unhitched height to the top of the tailgate is 58" and if I remember right, the distance to the bottom of the 5er overhang when level is about 61". To stay level, I would need to drop the truck to at least 55". Replacing the 4" blocks with 2" ones as JHSechelt did will be a last resort. I already asked my Ford dealer about that and he gave me a blank stare. I will check other dealers. Wrenchtraveller - the picture of your truck looks level. Mine when hitched up still has a rake to it - I am still an inch or so away from the overloads. Does your truck have the 4' blocks?

bsmeaton · 09-19-2006, 09:10 PM

J&D,
Everytime I see your picture it looks like your ripping down the highway

Wrenchtraveller · 09-20-2006, 02:26 AM

Yes, I have 4 inch blocks on the 05. I had to swap out the blocks on my 2000 F350 because the 95 Kit Companion fiver I had was too low. I got a Suspension Shop to do it for me.

I really feel that the heavy pin weight of the Montanas just level out a Ford with 4 " blocks and every F350 with 2" blocks I have seen has a slight squat to it with a Montana on tow and then they need air bags to level out the truck. I am keeping my 4" blocks. When you are fully loaded you may fine your truck will come down more and that will help you out.

JH Sechelt · 09-20-2006, 01:58 PM

That's a good one Brad.... Actually We're sitting at a Ferry Terminal ripping My hair out.... can't say that any more, not enough hair left. The semi beside me is pulling a 54' trailer, thought that it made our unit look a little smaller but that didn't make our Ferry toll any cheaper.
Plus it's almost time to dig a new picture out of the Arcives.... keeps it more interesting.

Take Care
J&D

mtnhntr · 09-23-2006, 05:38 PM

Ok, Here is what I ended up with. I raised the hitch one notch (gained about an inch), deflated the air bags completely, and ended up with 6" clearance at the hitch and 5" at the tailgate. I added 10psi to the air bags and lost about 1/4" at the tailgate. I measured the trailer from the ground to the frame front and rear and it sits a little less than 3" nose high. Doesn't look to bad as the 5er has lots of ground clearance all around. I do have two more adjustments up on the hitch, but I don't want to get the 5er too nose high. Am I going to be OK with set-up?
Ken

Wrenchtraveller · 09-24-2006, 02:49 AM

If the trailer handles well, you are probably fine. My truck handles my unit so well, I would not bother with airbags. I had to put them on my 2000 F350 to handle my slide in camper. That truck had no overloads. Then I got the 04 F350 with overloads and that truck handled the camper much better than the 2000 with airbags. Air bags are made to share the weight with your springs.
If you put too much air pressure in airbags, you take too much weight off your springs and you end up with a mushy ride that is more evident hauling a Camper than pulling a trailer.
IMO, good overload springs work better than airbags for some applications.

With 5 inches at the rear your are fine for most situations but the one that can bite you is this example :

When you are backing a Fiver up a fairly steep hill and the pad you are backing the trailer on is level, you can contact the back corners of the box. Ask me how I know?. I did this 20 years ago with my 1981 F250 and a Wilderness Fiver I just sold and was delivering to the new owner.
That truck had a full 6" of space but in this unique situation it was not enough.

I now have the 05 Long box but I still use the same slider hitch I used on my 2000 and 2004 Short boxes so if I ever have to make a similar move, I can slide my hitch back and lessen the chance of rail damage.

One more comment , even though my unit looks fairly level, my Monty is about 2" high in the front but my truck sits level. I prefer this to a level Monty and a truck that squats and points it's lights at the moon. Take care and good luck.

c5racer · 09-24-2006, 12:15 PM

When you're running nose high, you're putting more weight on the Monty's rear tires.

bsmeaton · 09-24-2006, 04:45 PM

I believe high on the nose drastically reduces the pin weight as well. You might get a little yaw or buck on the hitch. Not sure if 3" is bad, but towing will tell.

Brad

Wrenchtraveller · 09-25-2006, 03:14 AM

My scaled weights. Pin weight 2600 pounds and my Montana axles weigh 9700. Total 12300 for the Monty. This is with fresh water full and puts me just a tad over the Monty's GVWR

This puts my trucks Gross weight at 11080 , still 120 pounds under it's GVWR.

I do travel heavy as the truck has a 50 gal aux tank as well as my tools.

My combined weight is 11080 plus 9700 = 20780 and the unit handles very well

mtnhntr · 09-27-2006, 06:18 PM

We are out on our maiden voyage now and have pulled the 5er about 300 miles , stayed overnite 3 nites, and havn't had any problems with towing or setting up camp. I have noticed a little bucking when going over what I would call frost heaves type of roadway, but other than that it pulls flawlessly.
Ken

sreigle · 10-05-2006, 05:16 PM

Ken, when those trucks with the four inch blocks were new Ford changed them to the 2 inchers for free for fifthwheel haulers who complained to the dealer. They probably won't do that any more but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

"Conventional wisdom" as I always heard it was 5 1/2 inches should be the minimum acceptable. With our 2003 3295RK I had 8 1/2 inches of clearance. With the 2007 3400RL we have 7 inches clearance. I'm barely comfortable with that. I got spoiled by that bigger clearance.

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