Installing A 5th Wheel Hitch In A Lifted 2000 Ford F-250 Super Duty  

Question:

Expert Reply:

There isn't any additional hardware to purchase to install your 5th wheel but you may need to lift the trailer to reach the minimum height clearance. The issue you're going to have with a lifted truck is the clearance between the nose of the fifth wheel and the bedrails of your truck. I've had some cases where the only option was too remove the lift to be able to tow the fifth wheel. To properly tow your 5th wheel you'll need to have 6" of clearance from the nose of your 5th wheel and 16"-24" of clearance from the rear bumper to the body of your 5th wheel (see diagram below).

First you'll want to determine the height your hitch head needs to be at to have your 5th wheel ride level as you tow.

To determine the height your hitch head will need to be set at you'll need to measure the height from the ground to the floor of your 2000 Ford F-250's bed and subtract it from the height from the ground to the king pin plate while the camper is level. The difference between those numbers is what your hitch height needs to be to ride level but you'll also want to ensure you have that 6" clearance between the truck and trailer.

For example if your bed height was 40" and the king pin plate was 55" (once leveled) you would need to set your hitch at 15". If you had a negative number, due to the lift, then you can either remove the lift or raise the height of your trailer.

If you have double-eye leaf springs, you can use an over-under kit that moves the spring stack to the top of the axle. These will give you a couple of inches of height gain depending on the axle diameter. Kit # K71-384-00 works for 2-3/8-inch diameter axles and part # K71-385-00 fits 3-inch diameter axles. Each kit will give you a trailer height increase of roughly the axle diameter.

expert reply by: Kevin C

0

5th wheel clearance
(click to enlarge)

Pin Box/Truck Bed Heights
(click to enlarge)