Anyone towing with a lifted truck?

[chlinthi]

Interested to know if anyone is towing an unmodified Jayco 5th wheel with a tow vehicle which is lifted?

I have a 31.5 FBHS 5th wheel and a 2011 F250 Diesel 4x4.
I'm due for new tires on the truck again and each time that comes around I ponder the idea of doing a 2 or 4" lift on my truck. But nearly everyone says never to do this when doing a 5th wheel unless I plan to somehow lift the height of the trailer the same amount as well.

So if you are towing with a lifted truck please share the details of the truck, amount of lift, tire size and whether you modified the height of the 5th wheel trailer at all or not.

Thanks for any pointers.

[Drifter1959]

I tow with a stock height truck. That being said, I still had to lift the 5er to get it level. I added taller spring hangers (I also added air suspension which didn't add lift) and taller tires to gain height. Your combination may need an axle flip, a suspension subframe or something else. Once you determine how much height you need to get it level, then let the fabrication begin.
For safe and comfortable towing, the 5er should be as level as possible. The higher in the front, the more chucking you will feel.
Camp On!

[schiguy]

I have always wondered about towing with a lifted truck. I understand that the suspension of the FW would have to be raised in order to tow level. Wouldn't raising to FW change the center of balance and be more prone to some sort of towing disaster such as flipping over around a corner? Just curious I guess.

[Bassdogs]

Answer a ?? with a ??. Why would you want to lift your truck? Other than raising the center of gravity potentially making it less stable the only other thing I can think of is for a reason I've never understood, some think it makes there truck "cooler".

My Silverado HD 4x4 sits plenty high and both of us have to pull ourselves up to get into the seat. Even carry one of those folding stools so some of DW's lady friends can get into the back seat.

[tularockstar]

We had a sub frame added to our 29.5 last year and towed it for about 5,000 miles round trip. And, we had zero issue with the center of gravity or balance. The RV frame shops do this all the time and it's pretty common now a days. Our trailer is now leveled with our truck and we couldn't be happier. Here are some pics:

Originally Posted by schiguy

I have always wondered about towing with a lifted truck. I understand that the suspension of the FW would have to be raised in order to tow level. Wouldn't raising to FW change the center of balance and be more prone to some sort of towing disaster such as flipping over around a corner? Just curious I guess.

[bigfoot]

Originally Posted by Bassdogs

Answer a ?? with a ??. Why would you want to lift your truck? Other than raising the center of gravity potentially making it less stable the only other thing I can think of is for a reason I've never understood, some think it makes there truck "cooler"...

I agree. And it can wreak havoc on the u-joints and suspension components. Seems like a good way to ruin a perfectly good truck.

To each his own, tho...

[chlinthi]

>> We had a sub frame added to our 29.5 last year

Cool!
I see that you are also in Chandler - do you mind telling me what shop you used to have them do that work on your Jayco 5th wheel?

[Shorty Cox]

I have to agree with Bassdogs & Bigfoot. Aren't todays trucks tall enough without adding a lift kit (that does not lift the axle higher off the ground)?

I'm 5'10", I was at a dealership standing on flat ground next to a new truck. The top of the bedside was shoulder high. I would have a difficult time setting a bag of groceries into the bed. I can't imagine the difficulty it would pose for my wife.

One has to ask oneself, Is the purpose of my truck to tow my RV from point A to point B? or look "cool" when I "circle the Sonic?"

Just my take on the matter.

Shorty

[tularockstar]

Hi, we took our rig to Straight Line Suspension in Mesa for the sub frame work. They did a great job for us.

Originally Posted by chlinthi

>> We had a sub frame added to our 29.5 last year

Cool!
I see that you are also in Chandler - do you mind telling me what shop you used to have them do that work on your Jayco 5th wheel?