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Old 06-20-2014, 04:32 PM   #1
woodtic
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2014 Ram hitching questions

This new truck is tall in the back end. The bed rails are taller than the trailer overhang when level. Don't have the hitch mounting rails yet. They should be here (so they tell me) tomorrow or Monday. I have a Reese R16 hitch from my last truck.

So I'm wondering how will the trailer sit when hitched? Will the rear of the truck squat much? How much minimun clearance should I have between the rails and the Montana? Anything I can do to lower the truck? Any tips or observations would be apreciated.
 
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Old 06-20-2014, 04:56 PM   #2
gjetzen
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I'm not sure that this will help you any but her it goes. I had a 2003 Dodge 3500 quad cab 8' bed DRW. Now I have a 2013 Ram 2500 crew cab 8' bed. Same Montana. Pin weight is just shy of 2600lbs 2592 I do believe. Both trucks have the same main rear spring pack, however the 3500 had a secondary spring pack. When loaded both trucks have 7" between the bed rail and the overhang of the trailer. I have a 16k Reese #30047 no hitch adjustment was made. The attitude of the trailer stayed the same between the two trucks. The 2500 rides better all the way around. The 3500 rode better empty. When loaded the secondary spring pack was just starting to engage. sitting still you could just see daylight between the secondary main leaf and the jounce plate, however when you hit a bump with the trailer in tow and the secondaries engaged you knew it. Look at my signature and you should be able to tell how the truck trailer sits when loaded. It looked the same for the 3500
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Old 06-20-2014, 05:51 PM   #3
woodtic
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Looks like your trailer sits fairly level when hitched in those pictures. I have quite a bit more pin weight than you do (3100 max). Maybe it'll be fine but it just looks like my trailer would be quite high in the front. Don't like the idea of towing with the front more than an inch or two higher than level if I can avoid it.

Another question-
How do you get the plugs out of the bed on the factory fifth whell prep? Mine are in tight. Do they unscrew all the way, or just a 1/4 turn then lift? Will a hammer help?
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Old 06-21-2014, 01:38 AM   #4
gjetzen
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I tend to run light, always have. With the old truck I weighed the combo several times. I keep the trailer loaded all the time with the same stuff and the same amount, it may vary by 100lbs depending on where we go. when I go to Florida I run a little heavier, but not by much. I don't know were Keystone got their figures but they claim 14600 max with 10360 empty and a pin of 2300. Well the pin is pretty close empty at 2330 but the axles weighed in at 8601 so that would give me 10961 empty, so I guess that is the difference between base model empty and as delivered with options empty. This model is a rear kitchen which I think helps when loading because most of the stuff that I pack goes to the rear very little weight wise goes up front. When I weigh the combo loaded this is what happens, the heaviest axle weight I've had to date is 9640 with a corresponding pin weight of 2592. Any way the point I was trying to make is that I'm real close to both my truck cargo capacity and GCWR, once I get the DW and a full tank of fuel. so that's how the truck sits being close to max.

To answer your other question when I purchased my truck nothing was available from Dodge over-the-counter. If you wanted the factory 5th wheel set-up you had to order the truck that way. I have a Pull-rite frame kit on my truck and the local Keystone dealer did the frame kit and rail install, so I don't know how they actually come out. Being an auto mechanic for 40 years (now retired) I do know that a hammer especially a BDH and a screw driver will fix most anything but not all LOL.
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Old 06-21-2014, 03:23 AM   #5
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I have a 2014 Ram 3500 4x2 DRW with the factory fifth wheel prep kit. So I ordered the Reese RAM adaptor and their R20. I wondered which of the 4 holes in the Reese frame to bolt on the plate assembly. I just put it exactly as the drawing showed in the installation instructions. I think that's the 2nd or 3rd hole. I figured I could change when I picked up the trailer. The dealer helped me hitch up and we looked it over. Every thing settled down perfectly level. The normally high bed of the RAM is now level when towing and the trailer looks right with about 6-8 inches of clearance above the truck rail.
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Old 06-21-2014, 04:25 AM   #6
gjetzen
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I was just thinking with as heavy of a trailer as you say you have, does your R16 hitch have enough capacity?
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Old 06-21-2014, 06:17 AM   #7
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I use a Reese 20K head on ours because the forces involved in an accident can be huge and I don't want the Monty coming to visit from the rear. In that situation I'll have all I need in front of me.
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Old 06-21-2014, 07:37 AM   #8
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I have the Pullrite Super 5th 20.5k hitch in my Ram dually 4x4. Kingpin on my coach is pushing 3500 lbs. Once hitched and ready to roll, the truck settles down about 5" which makes it ride almost level (1/2 inch nose low actually). The biggest thing I noticed both on my 2011 Ram 3500 SRW and now the 2012 Ram DRW is they both ride tall empty, but tend to squat level when loaded.
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Old 06-22-2014, 04:32 AM   #9
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I installed the Ram picture frame adapter yesterday. Took a while to get all the mounts adjusted for a nice snug fit. Put my reese r16 into the frame and it fit tight, but not too tight. There is no play now in the mounting what so ever. I likey... Hitched up the trailer. Truck didn't squat much but, appears that the bed rails are very level. Monty is nose high. Didn't measure it, but I'm guessing 6" higher in the front than the rear from the ground. Clearance from the bed rails is 5 3/4" at the rear and 6 1/4" at the front of the cap. The trailer is loaded for travel.

I still have a warrany problem with my suspention (looks to me like the springs on OD side have lost their arch) that needs to be corrected. Once that is taken care of, I'll be getting new tires installed which are a little taller than the Marathons. After all that is done my Monty should ride a little higher. maybe I'll only have 3"-4" differance front to rear after its all over. I think I'll be OK with that. I had 13'2" vetical hight with my last truck. Guessing I've added about 4" to that amount with the new truck

Now that I've hitched up and checked clearances I'm going to get a low profile tonneau cover.

gjetsen: I understand what your questioning about the hitch. GWR on my trailer is 15,500. Unloaded according to the sticker 12,650. I've never weighed it, so I'm just guessing. If I had all the holding tanks full, it would probably be real close to the GWR and max pin weight. The R16 is a nice hitch and it should be up to the task, it's not a cheap 16k hitch. Don't remember for sure but I think it's rated for about 4000# pin weight.
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