Getting a new 376FL; tips for F350 and Reece hitch?

[Nard Dog]

We just found the camper of our dreams, the 376FL. I have to drive two hours to go pick it up and so I have a little bit of anxiety making sure that it will pull good enough to get it home. I have a 2011 F350 4WD cab short bed diesel. It has 16K Reese standard hitch.

I know this camper has issues with the rear drop frame being low. I am willing to deal with all of these because this is literally the only camper I am remotely interested in buying. I have four kids and we have to have a special camper for that! We are trading in a Keystone Laredo 32RS which has an amazing front bunk house with four bunks. But we’ve outgrown it.

To add to my anxiety is my history with my pickup. I first started out pulling the Laredo with a 2004 F250. Everything pulled perfectly level. Then when I picked up the 2011 F350 it started pulling noticeably nose high. My first time out with it I tore off one of the rear leveling jacks. I fixed that by getting some extra long jacks and mounting them to a convenient spot up higher on the frame. No more problems. it wasn’t that big of a deal it was really only something that bothered me a aesthetically. I never had any issues with how it pulled or tires or anything else.

Fast forward to the impending pick up. I probably/maybe could have worked on adjusting the hitch and pin on my Laredo/2011 setup, but never bothered. Now I am wondering if there is something I can do ahead of time to adjust my hitch lower right now.

Does anyone have experience pulling a big Montana, with a stock 2011 F350 and Reece hitch that could advise on how set up the hitch? Or can I call the dealer and have them set the pin box to a certain height? I know its a shot in the dark that anyone has my model setup like that. But even experience with any late model HCs would be interesting.

I do have plans to get the skid wheels on it ASAP. And I’ll monkey around with getting it as balanced as possible over the winter. But I have to get it 100 miles and in my driveway first.

[Nard Dog]

I’ll add that my 2004 was a 2WD so noticeably lower. I just threw my hitch in and never adjusted anything. Mostly because I don’t understand what the difference is between lowering the hitch and raising the pin and why to do one over the other.

[bshgto]

I had an `06 with a High Country then a Montana. It was a little nose high but nothing you don`t see going down the road. I raised the Montana with blocks under the springs but was still a little up. If your worried just drive the 2 hours out there and put the camper on your truck and see how it fits before you pick it up. A little time and fuel but the piece of mine is worth it. The short bed and no slider is what I would worry about. I bought the Pullrite model , it worked with no worries about hitting the cab.
You don`t need more stress when picking up a new unit. Good luck with that.

[Nard Dog]

Oh I’m definitely also worried about the hitch without a slider! I should probably just make that happen.

[BB_TX]

Ultimately there is no difference whether you lower the hitch or raise the pin box. They both lower the front of the trailer, and raise the rear to a lesser degree. Lowering the hitch, if possible, is generally easier.

But lowering the front of the trailer does move it closer to the bed rails. So you have to be aware of how much clearance you have. 6” is normally considered the minimum clearance to avoid the bottom of the trailer hitting the top of the rails on uneven surfaces. But you can’t know that clearance until you hook up to that particular trailer.