etn550

Hi,

You can see my truck spec in my sig. I'm looking at older 5th wheel or Bumper pull travel trailers. Say in the 27 - 30 ft range. The fivers in this size range have the pin forward of the trailer so I think the short box will be ok as far as turning. Problem is the older trailers are too low for my box height. I have about 1 inch clearance.

So is it worth blocking the axles up on the trailer or should I just look at bumper pull travel trailers. I'm not going to use it much and fuel mileage won't mean much and the truck will haul either with ease, I'm sure.

How much clearance from the top of the bed to the bottom of the forward section of the 5er is needed to be safe?

woodperson

I do not know anything about 5th wheels. I pull a 25' and a 32' travel trailer on an equalizing hitch. I like the setup and it seems to pull well. 5th wheel is supposed to be better, but the tag alongs work well. I like haveing the truck bed empty with a locked cover, and have no use for climbing the stairs to get in and out of a fifth wheel.

d zul

I have about 5" between the top of the bed and the bottom of my 5er. 1" is not much clearance wouldn't chance it. Each type of trailer has certian advantages and disadvantages. I would block the trailer up, but that is my personal oppinion because I favor 5th wheel campers. Get any less than 5" between truck and trailer chances are your going to rub when you get the rear end cocked up.

etn550

Good points. D Zul, do you think the blocked trailer will handle ok?

Northern Light

1" is very close, you´d dent your bed really quick. Maybe it would be possible to flip the axles of the fiver upside down. Works for some of the lifted truck owners with their newer fifth wheels. Maybe check rv.net? A TT would make your whole rig a bit longer compared to a fiver. But you wouldn´t loose the bed of your truck.

d zul

I'm not shure exactly how it would handel. I only know of one trailer being jacked up, the guy only pulled it couple times a year and said it handled the same. Before you do somithing like that talk to a dealer or manufacture about what you want to do, and see what they say. If it is a new camper it may affect the warranty. It is also going to affect the center of gravity by placing it higher allowing for more roll or sway. What year and man. of camper you looking at, and have you measured it compared to your truck? I had a 99 Terry 29' towed by my sig. truck and had no problem.

Or you could lower your truck by letting all the air out of your rear tires. Jusk kidding. There are many options, advantages, and disadvantages between both types of trailers. Weigh them all before buying a trailer and do something like raising the camper to find out it dont suit your needs.

w.tx iceman

I have never owned a camper,but after pulling a 6k bumper pull ice trailer and now pulling a gooseneck that weighs 15K my vote is for anything that hitches in the bed.

d zul

One other thing to keep in mind if you raise the camper you also raise the steps. My cougars steps are already so high I have to carry a block or step to put under the factory steps for the kids.

CODODGE2500MAN

I've got 2 friends with axles flipped. One is a 35ish and one is a 30ish. They both tow doubles and have pulled fine, up and down the mountains, on forest service roads and on sand. I have seen one time when it made things a little more difficult. But nothing less speed and more attention wouldn't fix (lasted a few minutes, but not long).

If this is not a new camper, I say go for it. You'll take a hit on buying something else vs making this one right. Check out rv forums to see, but that's my thought.

Good luck.

Boomer52

I pull Rv's out of Indiana and personally I would go with the 5th wheel as they pull so much easier, and the inside space is much better designed.(My opinion) The fifth wheel hitch I use (Curtis) has a height adjustment, to lower or raise the trailer to keep a safe distance from rubbing the truck bed. Another part you might check into is http://www.yourtrailerhitch.com/html...bed_truck.html This will slide the trailer back and raise it a few inches to get it off the bed rails. As posted before you can get on a RV forum and ask what other solutions are available.

Jim W

From what I read in your sig the truck is stock height correct? Other than a little taller tires you should be the same height as my truck. My truck is a 2008 3/4 ton Mega Cab, with LT 265/70R17E tires.
I pulled a 2006 Summit Ridge, 270FRKS with this truck for three years traded in the 2006 for a 2010 318SAB Cougar this year. My clearance with both campers is 5 to 6 inches between the truck bed rails and camper.
I have a 15K Reese manual slider hitch, this can be adjusted up or down along with the pin box which can also be adjusted, to provide additional clearance. The only thing to watch for is too make sure you are not pulling nose up. You want the camper to be level as possible.
I use to pull a tag along and will never go back to one, although some love them I do not. I feel that the 5er pulls better less tail waging and I can back the 5er better in to a tight space better.

st.rodder2

I agree with Jim W. You should have no problem pulling the 5'er. Sounds like you just need to adjust the hitch. On mine I set the pivot plate to the second set of holes from the top which gives me 6" of clearance. I also took one of the rear blocks out from under the rear axle which lowered the truck by 1 1/2". The truck now sits level when I hitch up my 5'er. I believe my pin weight is around 1300#.

billie

If you flip the axles, you have to add new perchs (likely, unless they are already there) for the springs. You can't just rotate tha axle tube 180* or you will reverse the camber and your tires will disappear in no time. Mine are flipped on my 5th and no noticeable difference in handling.

I agree the 5th pulls better but steals most of your box. Depends on what else you need to take with you on trips. Foldable chairs and other odds and ends fit around the pin and hitch but bikes are pretty much out of the question.

Mexstan

Don't forget that if you flip axles that now you have also flipped the brakes and they should be flipped back or else the lead shoe becomes the trailing shoe.

etn550

The reason there is no clearance is because I am looking at older 5th wheels that tend to be lower when truck beds were made lower. I'm not afraid of the mechanics of doing the axle flip. I would attach new perches to the top and move the springs from the bottom to the top. Brakes and camber stay put. I have bumper pulled 10k and goosenecked 20k. The bed mount hitches are real nice. Since i may not use the trailer a whole lot and it will be a smaller one, say 27ft I suspect the bumper pull might be easiest to do since no work required. But I too like the 5th wheel layouts. I wanted to see how a raised trialer pulls and from what is said it seems fine. So I guess I'll shop for a deal and keep looking at both types. The inch of clearance was with a tape measure. Probably would be 3 inches with the squat once loaded. Still too close for me. Especially in Tennessee where roads and campgrounds can have a lot of slope change, especially pulling off the road on the outside of a bank curve.