Pin box ride height

[TheJeep]

I have been trying to decide on a hitch for our 5th wheel. I called Keystone to get try to get a few answers on some of the questions that I had. One thing I needed to know is what is the ride height of the 5th wheel plate (manufactures design) when attached to the TV. (What I am asking about is the flat plate that sits on the 5th wheel hitch.) Keystone said that it should be 60 1/8” from the ground to that plate when traveling down the road. Is that right??? I went out and measured it and at 60 1/8” the Montana is way up in the air.

Thanks

[illapah]

What measurement do you get yourself when parked on level ground and all level?

[TheJeep]

I have it parked next to the house. It is on a grade so I can't get a good measurement. I have never towed it. Rv dealer towed it to our house before we bought our truck. It just looks to high at 60 1/8. One thing I did notice is that the overall height is real close to what is in the specs on the Montana web page 12’9”.

[illapah]

Probably not going to be a problem when you hitch. I have seen nose hi 5ths at times but not the norm. I did take a visual on mine that looked pretty level.

[CamillaMichael]

Honestly do not know about other hitches, but our Reese hitch is adjustable...as it turns out, the place that installed the hitch set it at a position that puts our Montana "fairly" level. If it wasn't, we can adjust up or down to bring it close to level. I believe that is good enough when you consider that when you have your fifth wheel hitched to your truck, you are likely on the road...not too many roads that are perfectly level....

[exav8tr]

Jeep, the real question is whether or not your truck will support the trailer in a level position. The only way to know this is to 1: Load the Montana, 2: Hitch to truck 3: Make sure ENTIRE rig is on level surface, then 4: Measure front of frame to ground and rear of frame to ground. I was told by Morryde, the suspension experts, that this figure should be within an inch of each other to offer equal balance to all four wheels. Of course, having said this, every bump you hit on the road will cause a variance in loading over the weels, so the best we can hope for is an approximation. When I had my Independent suspension added at the MorRyde factory in Goshen, IN, they installed spacers on the new suspension to insure the rig was level.

[TheJeep]

The pin box on my Montana is the Mor/ryde 1716 and from the center of the king pin to the back of the pin box is 31 and 1/2 inches. My bed for my truck is only 62 inches wide. So I don't want to hit the side walls of my pick up truck bed. If the Montana normally rides that high or close to it it will save me buying a shorter pin box or triming some metal. My truck sits unloaded at 58 1/2 inches at the top of the truck bed. If I buy the Pullrite super 5th it can be adjusted almost the same height as my truck bed. I can also lower my pin box if I need too. I know that the truck springs will compress some, but will cross that bridge when I get past this point.

[lasater]

My 2010 Dodge 3500 DRW sits higher than my previous truck (F-350 DRW). When I transfered the hitch (B&W Turnover Ball Companion) I did not adjust the height. I ended up damaging my cargo box rails a bit and had to have them repaired. I adjusted the hitch up to give me plenty of clearance. My Monty rides a little nose-up now, but not enough that I can detect a difference in handling. Whatever brand of hitch you get, set it high or you will have to do some body repair.

Good luck in your search.

[BB_TX]

My bed rails are about 54 1/2" high at the rear wheels. And the top of my hitch plate is about 4" lower than that. That would make the bottom of the pin box plate a little over 50" off the ground when I am hooking up. It does drop some when I raise the legs, but it looks pretty level.
When I installed my 5th Airborne pin box, I had to lower my hitch 2 bolt holes because the new pin box sits lower than the stock one.
So 60" sounds awfully high to me.
Note that my F350 4x4 sits lower than some. I had the 4" spacer blocks on the rear axle changed to 2" blocks. The truck bed, stock, was pretty high and had quite a slope from front to back. Installing the 2" blocks reduced that quite a bit, although it is still slightly higher in the rear when not loaded. Loaded it settles to about level. I like the looks of it better now, and it is easier to get to stuff in the bed.

[TheJeep]

Thanks BB TX that is what I wanted to know.

[capn chris]

The Jeep - For what it's worth, when we get ready to hitch up, DW runs legs til the pin box plate is 52 1/2"-53" off the ground. This insures almost perfect hitch up w/very little adjustment. Obviously, when legs are raised and pinbox settles, she's lower than that, hitched.