Can hydraulic jacks be lowered if suspension height is raised?

[bertschb]

I'm planning to add 1" to 2" of height to my Solitude 310GK-R when I have the MORryde IS suspension added. I'm doing this because my truck will likely sit too high resulting in a nose high attitude for the RV. Does anybody know if this 1" to 2" change in RV height will result in "out of stroke" errors? If this change in height is enough to start throwing errors, is it easy to lower the jacks? I know it's pretty easy to lower the electric jacks but I'm not sure if there is enough (or any) slack in the hydraulic lines that would allow the hydraulic jacks to be dropped an inch or two.

I know I can just put blocks under all the jacks but I'd prefer not to.

Thoughts?

[d2reid]

First off be sensitive about your new suspension raising the overall height of the trailer above 13' 6". I didn't know this when I did an upgrade and ended up with 13' 8". It wasn't horrible, but it did make me much more aware of height restrictions.

The hydraulic leveling system on our Momentum has several holes in the individual jacks that would allow us to raise and/or lower the jack height. One of the factors you need to watch when you adjust them is ground clearance while traveling. You get them too low and they will catch hard things and scrape, not good for leveling jacks. They are pretty strong up/down, but not very strong going horizontally.

[Cate&Rob]

d2reid Great "first hand" advice Dallas .

Rob

[bertschb]

First off be sensitive about your new suspension raising the overall height of the trailer above 13' 6".

Oh, I'm very aware of that, trust me! I'm more paranoid about tree branches than just about anything else when towing. My last two setups just barely had enough bed rail clearance and I want to remedy that this time. The new trucks are just too danged tall for 5th wheels. Ford did lower the beds in their 2020 Superduty but the Tremor is around the same height as the prior model years.

[Txfivver]

Oh, I'm very aware of that, trust me! I'm more paranoid about tree branches than just about anything else when towing. My last two setups just barely had enough bed rail clearance and I want to remedy that this time. The new trucks are just too danged tall for 5th wheels. Ford did lower the beds in their 2020 Superduty but the Tremor is around the same height as the prior model years.

Brian I had not heard that about the 2020's having a lower bed height, did you read that somewhere? I am a little worried about my F450 having a higher bed height the 350 so this would be good news. Sorry for the hijack.

[bertschb]

Brian I had not heard that about the 2020's having a lower bed height, did you read that somewhere?

Once I heard the first rumblings about the 2020's having a lower bed rail height I started searching in earnest for the truth. I spent days looking everywhere I could think of. Youtube, Ford documents, forums, etc. I also had a friend measure a new 2020 Superduty Tremor at a car lot.

If I average all the sources, the 2020 F-250 and F-350 (non-Tremor) has a bed rail height that is about 1.5" lower than the prior generation. They did this by using a smaller lift block. The Tremor is basically the same height as the 2019 and uses what appears to be the same lift block as the 2019. The numbers were all over the place but I actually saw a Youtube video where a Ford employee said they lowered the bed height because they recognized it was a problem for 5th wheel owners. He just didn't say how much they actually lowered it. Sorry I don't have the link(s). I think it may have been a Big Truck Big Rv Youtube video where he was interviewing a Ford engineer and discussing the changes for 2020. They were mainly talking about the powertrain changes for 2020. BTW, I seem to recall the bed rail height of the 2019 F-350 DRW and F-450 was lower than the SRW's. Not positive about that though.

It's all very frustrating because bed rail height is a BIG deal to us 5th wheel folks and yet Ford doesn't seem to make that information readily available.

Here's one article that might help a tiny bit:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/articles...s-ride-height/

-Brian

[Txfivver]

Great videos Brian, thanks. I like the new auto fold mirrors, that's a big improvement. I guess I'll have my bed height answer the first time I hitch up the Solitude but as long as they didn't raise the bed height I should be okay.

[d2reid]

I totally freaked out when I was shopping for a F450. I had parked my 13 Chevy next to a new F450 and the F450 bed rail was a good 2" higher. I only had 5" clearance on the Chevy to begin with, so if I lost 2" it would be really close. I found a dealer with a F450 that would let me set my 5th wheel down on it and measure the clearance. It was 5", same as the Chevy. Squat happens. The F450 sets down about 4" when I put the 5th wheel on it. I have a very slight forward tilt on the 5th wheel when hitched. I have thought about raising the hitch height, adding airbags, but haven't had enough issue with it to make the change.