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Old 04-01-2019, 03:00 PM   #1
Rabidd
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New Truck

I have been towing for the last 8 years with a 1998 Dodge 3500 dually. I purchased a new 2018 3500 Ram Dually. The new truck sets higher then the 98. Before I pull my hitch out of the 98 and put it in the 2018 what is the best way to get max height out of the front legs of the 5th wheel? I am going to hook up and before I unhitch I want to make sure I have the legs set up to go a lot higher then they are now all suggestion's welcome. Thanks
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Old 04-01-2019, 03:22 PM   #2
Fishsizzle
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rabidd View Post
I have been towing for the last 8 years with a 1998 Dodge 3500 dually. I purchased a new 2018 3500 Ram Dually. The new truck sets higher then the 98. Before I pull my hitch out of the 98 and put it in the 2018 what is the best way to get max height out of the front legs of the 5th wheel? I am going to hook up and before I unhitch I want to make sure I have the legs set up to go a lot higher then they are now all suggestion's welcome. Thanks

Pics of your set up (trailer legs) will help get the conversation started
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Old 04-01-2019, 06:33 PM   #3
OMW2SKI
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Congrats on the new truck!
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Old 04-01-2019, 07:51 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rabidd View Post
I have been towing for the last 8 years with a 1998 Dodge 3500 dually. I purchased a new 2018 3500 Ram Dually. The new truck sets higher then the 98. Before I pull my hitch out of the 98 and put it in the 2018 what is the best way to get max height out of the front legs of the 5th wheel? I am going to hook up and before I unhitch I want to make sure I have the legs set up to go a lot higher then they are now all suggestion's welcome. Thanks
First congratulations on the new truck.
Can we have a little more information? Trans and gear ratio.

Personally I would drop the inner legs, then start raising. You don't state how much difference there is in height. I only had one inch difference between our 2001 Ram 2500, and our 2016 Ram 3500 DRW, Aisin, 3.73's Crew cab long bed.
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Old 04-01-2019, 08:03 PM   #5
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Rabidd,
I have a 2018 SRW with a Curt 16K Slider Hitch.
You did not mention which hitch brand you have. I had to get the adapter rails to mount the hitch to the trucks bed.
This:
https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories...=2018201833875

This adapter raised my hitch approximately 2 inches. When I hooked up for the first time the truck bed was slightly lower than normal. Air bags fixed that.
I am sure with a dually you will not have the same issue. Depending on your hitch,you may need this type of adapter.
As for the trailer legs,initially I would say large wooden blocks would suffice for an extension to the legs, but lugging those around would get old really quick.
I am not aware of extensions or alternate legs that can be replaced for the existing ones. But someone on here will have some good info.
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Old 04-02-2019, 05:17 AM   #6
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Rabid, on your Raptor all you will do is make sure that the front legs are completely retracted before you start and then pull the pin extending the bottoms to the ground. At this point you will have all the travel in reserve to lift the nose as high as necessary. And congrat's on your new truck, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
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Old 04-02-2019, 06:33 AM   #7
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Congrats on the new truck.
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Old 04-02-2019, 10:20 AM   #8
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I am not able to do pictures right now storage is a hour away I wanted to make sure I had a good ideal what I was going to do before I went out to try and hook up. I am by myself most times when doing this. The truck has the factory 5th wheel kit and I have a Pullrite 20K 5th wheel hitch. I have put the Pullrite kit in the truck so yes an extra 2 inches there. The 2018 has a ground to top of bed of 59 inches and a bed to top of rail of 21.75 inches. The 1998 has a 56.50 ground to top of bed and a 19.75 bed to top of rail. Sounds the best way too go is as suggested by Laredo Tugger and notanlines thanks guys I appreciate the help.
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Old 04-02-2019, 01:32 PM   #9
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Congrat's on the new truck!

A couple of 4x4 scraps under the front landing gear will add extra lift while you are setting your hitch height. Just make sure to chock "fore and aft". Safety first>

Good Luck,
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Old 04-02-2019, 02:14 PM   #10
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As an add, I whole-heartedly concur with Pulltoy. A great idea!
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Old 04-02-2019, 06:42 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pull Toy View Post
Congrat's on the new truck!

A couple of 4x4 scraps under the front landing gear will add extra lift while you are setting your hitch height. Just make sure to chock "fore and aft". Safety first>

Good Luck,
Quote:
Originally Posted by notanlines View Post
As an add, I whole-heartedly concur with Pulltoy. A great idea!
Just a word of caution. If you do put your landing gear on 4x4 scraps to get the extra 3.5" of height. Do as Pull Toy warned and "make sure to chock fore and aft".....

If you happen to "bump the pin" and push the trailer backwards an inch or so, you could push the landing gear off the 4x4. If there's 2" of clearance between the trailer overhang and the top of your new truck's bed rails and it's 3.5" on the scrap 4x4's, well, that's a 1.5" dent on each side of your new truck bed.... If you use blocks under the landing gear, MAKE SURE YOU CHOCK BOTH SIDES OF THE TRAILER and don't bump the pin !!!!!!!
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Old 04-02-2019, 06:43 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rabidd View Post
I am not able to do pictures right now storage is a hour away I wanted to make sure I had a good ideal what I was going to do before I went out to try and hook up. I am by myself most times when doing this. The truck has the factory 5th wheel kit and I have a Pullrite 20K 5th wheel hitch. I have put the Pullrite kit in the truck so yes an extra 2 inches there. The 2018 has a ground to top of bed of 59 inches and a bed to top of rail of 21.75 inches. The 1998 has a 56.50 ground to top of bed and a 19.75 bed to top of rail. Sounds the best way too go is as suggested by Laredo Tugger and notanlines thanks guys I appreciate the help.
Well When we went from our 2001 Ram 2500 to the 2016 Ram 3500 DRW with pucks, I didn't need to change anything on the hitch, just placed in adapter. In fact I gained a 1/2" of 5er to bed rail. Sounds like your are going to end up, depending on difference in squat about 2" nose high.

You should really enjoy the new TV!!!
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Old 04-03-2019, 05:41 AM   #13
Rabidd
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Thanks for the info will do safety first. I will let you know how things go.
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Old 04-03-2019, 05:54 AM   #14
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Originally Posted by JRTJH View Post
Just a word of caution. If you do put your landing gear on 4x4 scraps to get the extra 3.5" of height. Do as Pull Toy warned and "make sure to chock fore and aft".....

If you happen to "bump the pin" and push the trailer backwards an inch or so, you could push the landing gear off the 4x4. If there's 2" of clearance between the trailer overhang and the top of your new truck's bed rails and it's 3.5" on the scrap 4x4's, well, that's a 1.5" dent on each side of your new truck bed.... If you use blocks under the landing gear, MAKE SURE YOU CHOCK BOTH SIDES OF THE TRAILER and don't bump the pin !!!!!!!
As an ADDED measure of safety, back the truck to within a few inches of where the hitch and the pin are getting ready to mate and stop. Get out of the truck and connect your 7 pin electrical plug. Then get back in the truck and manually activate the brake controller to full braking on the trailer, and then proceed to hitch. Between wheel chocking AND full brakes on the trailer, it shouldn't move a bit.
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Old 04-03-2019, 06:34 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rabidd View Post
I am not able to do pictures right now storage is a hour away I wanted to make sure I had a good ideal what I was going to do before I went out to try and hook up. I am by myself most times when doing this. The truck has the factory 5th wheel kit and I have a Pullrite 20K 5th wheel hitch. I have put the Pullrite kit in the truck so yes an extra 2 inches there. The 2018 has a ground to top of bed of 59 inches and a bed to top of rail of 21.75 inches. The 1998 has a 56.50 ground to top of bed and a 19.75 bed to top of rail. Sounds the best way too go is as suggested by Laredo Tugger and notanlines thanks guys I appreciate the help.
I have see a lot of worry about the extra height of the new TV, the cautions to take while lifting it. While caution and safety are important we are only talking 2-1/2" in height difference.

Rabidd, you have the 5er currently in storage, when the opportunity arises to go to the yard, just back up and rise the 5er to the correct height to hitch. I really don't thing 2-1/2" to 3" is going to make that much difference.
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Old 04-07-2019, 11:02 AM   #16
Phil Saran
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I use a set of 6" x 6" x 12" wood blocks under my front landing gear with
wheel chocks (set of 4) for my tires.

I like not extending my front landing gear all the way to the ground and it
seems to be more stable and do not need a tri-pod on the pin.
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Old 04-08-2019, 08:42 AM   #17
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If you have the hitch or the pin adjusted to level the trailer is that still an issue?
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Old 04-12-2019, 06:35 PM   #18
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Thanks for the info will do safety first. I will let you know how things go.
Well how did it go!
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Old 04-19-2019, 05:51 PM   #19
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Congrads on your new truck
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