Trailer to Bedrail Clearance with 2017 Ford 350 Super Duty 4x4

Published 11/30/2017

Products Featured in This Question

Stromberg Carlson 4000 Series 5th Wheel Louvered Tailgate with Lock for Ford Trucks

(932)

$508.20

Dexter Trailer Springs Over-Under Conversion Kit

(852)

$89.14

Dexter Trailer Springs Over-Under Conversion Kit

(852)

$99.00

Question:

Im getting some feedback from blogs and FB about how I might have trouble using a 5th wheel trailer due to the rail height on my Super Duty. My tailgate, with back up camera, is 61inch from the ground. The tailgate open to ground is about 36.9. The box is 21inch deep. The rails to ground are 59, the tailgate being 2 inches higher for camera, I suppose. Im being told that I wont be able to maintain the necessary 5 to 6inch clearance from trailer to tailgate/rails. I bought the Q24 from you folks but was ill for quite a while and I never mounted the hitch. Now Im a bit nervous, as a newbie, about finding a trailer that will have clearance. Can you enlighten me?

asked by: Steve

Helpful Expert Reply:

Pickups are getting taller (at the bed rails) and tire sizes are increasing. Both of these truck attributes, along with lift kits, can make it difficult to maintain safe trailer-to-truck clearances for 5th wheel towing.

We do have a specialized replacement 5th wheel tailgate designed to improve pin box clearance at the tailgate, Stromberg Carlson's composite plastic louvered model # VG-15-4000 which fits your F-350, but this does not address the matter of bedrail clearance (or your OEM camera). The linked diagram shows the recommended minimum clearances for 5th wheel towing.

The most common fix to improve/increase bed rail clearance is a trailer axle over-under kit. These are sometimes called an "axle flip" kit. We offer two such products, kit # K71-384-00 for 2-3/8-inch diameter axles and kit # K71-385-00 for 3-inch diameter axles. Each kit will raise the trailer by the sum of the axle diameter plus the height of the leaf spring stack. So for example, if you installed two of kit # K71-385-00 on a tandem axle trailer with 3-inch tall leaf springs you would pick up 6-inches total height.

When using an over-under kit it may be necessary to adjust the height position of the pin box on the trailer's mounting wings; keeping the hitched trailer level remains a priority for good handling.