5th wheel pin weight - How much has it lowered your bed height/ground clearance?

[nursoph]

I've got a 3500 that I'll be using to tow a 5th wheel later this year. Right now I'm in the market for mudflaps. I'm looking at the x-long Duraflaps that will sit about 14" below the fender in the rear (leaving me 6" from flap to ground), which is fine and dandy. However, i'm concerned about when I hook up a 5th wheel, how much that 6" will be decreased.

Those of you who drive a 2500 or 3500 that tow a gooseneck or 5th wheel - about how much have you noticed the rear lowering? I know it depends on the weight of the trailer, but i'm looking for some ballpark numbers. I'd hate to buy these x-long flaps that end up being 2" off the ground after hooking up the camper.

Edited July 22, 2019 by nursoph

[Kyleorsini]

Imo if your dropping the ass end 6 inches when hooked up your overweight and would be in dually territory. my 1500 with a 8500gvwr camper is level or maybe a inch squat. Apples to oranges comparison here I know

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[carsonj493]

On 7/22/2019 at 1:19 PM, nursoph said:

I've got a 3500 that I'll be using to tow a 5th wheel later this year. Right now I'm in the market for mudflaps. I'm looking at the x-long Duraflaps that will sit about 14" below the fender in the rear (leaving me 6" from flap to ground), which is fine and dandy. However, i'm concerned about when I hook up a 5th wheel, how much that 6" will be decreased.

Those of you who drive a 2500 or 3500 that tow a gooseneck or 5th wheel - about how much have you noticed the rear lowering? I know it depends on the weight of the trailer, but i'm looking for some ballpark numbers. I'd hate to buy these x-long flaps that end up being 2" off the ground after hooking up the camper.

Is your truck leveled or does it have the factory rake? How heavy is the 5th wheel? What’s the tongue weight? If your truck is stock (not leveled), then I would venture to say your truck will squat a couple inches to the point it sits level. However if your truck is leveled already, then adding a fifth wheel will shift more weight towards the back causing a little more squat than if it’s not leveled. So in short I would say based on my last truck (2004 Chevy 3500 DRW), you will squat 2-3 inches.

 

Your asking this in the 2014-2018 1500 light duty portion of the forums, you should go ask in the 20015-2019 2500/3500HD section as they would be able to answer your question based on real world experience. 

[L86 All Terrain]

We use a utility knife to trim our mud flaps on the trucks and trailers. You're not going to squat 6". Maybe 3-4". My 2500 never squats more than 3" with a bumper pull flat deck up to 10k lbs.