Hitch adjustment question?

[0rion]

Hooked up new to me truck today and did a test tow up to the local school parking lot just to get a feel for the truck, practice backing with different turn radius, and check heights. I'm nose high by a little bit. Might need to adjust it before I tow. I use a 16k Reese slider and have one bolt holes left I can drop hitch down...looks like that would get me 1.5" on the hitch. Measured trailer to bed side....8" at front of trailer and 7" at tail lights on truck. In the fall I put the camper on some property during hunting season where I have a pretty nasty dip I have to back through....deep enough I have to put a couple 2x8's down so my jacks didn't hit with old truck. Not sure I want to get a whole lot closer to the bed side because it got pretty close to that on the old truck when I went through the dip.

I'm not a fan of surprises but it's looking like I may have one one way or the other this fall. Keep nose up and I'm dragging jacks....lower it and I'm close to sides of bed. No way to really know I guess until I try it. Would you guys consider this too nose high for towing this summer or should I lower that nose down and is 1.5" going to be enough or will I need to raise pin box also? 1.5" will put me ~5.5" from tail gate to trailer.

[Daycruiser]

Originally Posted by 0rion

Hooked up new to me truck today and did a test tow up to the local school parking lot just to get a feel for the truck, practice backing with different turn radius, and check heights. I'm nose high by a little bit. Might need to adjust it before I tow. I use a 16k Reese slider and have one bolt holes left I can drop hitch down...looks like that would get me 1.5" on the hitch. Measured trailer to bed side....8" at front of trailer and 7" at tail lights on truck. In the fall I put the camper on some property during hunting season where I have a pretty nasty dip I have to back through....deep enough I have to put a couple 2x8's down so my jacks didn't hit with old truck. Not sure I want to get a whole lot closer to the bed side because it got pretty close to that on the old truck when I went through the dip.

I'm not a fan of surprises but it's looking like I may have one one way or the other this fall. Keep nose up and I'm dragging jacks....lower it and I'm close to sides of bed. No way to really know I guess until I try it. Would you guys consider this too nose high for towing this summer or should I lower that nose down and is 1.5" going to be enough or will I need to raise pin box also? 1.5" will put me ~5.5" from tail gate to trailer.

I think you need to look into raising the trailer up. Not sure what axle config you have, if you can just do a flip then I think you'll be good. Otherwise you may need some additional modifications to get the trailer up higher to better match the truck. With the clearance you've say you have now you don't want to lower your hitch or change the Pin Box, you'll just exacerbate the issue.

[0rion]

Springs are already on top of the axle so I'm assuming I'd then be looking at lifting it with a spacer block and longer u bolts. Not sure I'm a huge fan of moving the center of gravity up higher like that but may have no other option. I'll figure something out one way or the other. Would take a couple inches of blocks to level it I believe.

[0rion]

After some quick reading looks like I'd have to replace spring hangers to get height.....ugh. Nothing is ever easy.

[mobilemike]

Is that a scissor jack hanging from the rear? It seams really low and in an odd place.

I would find a way to relocate the rear jacks to up under the frame where they will be as high as the rear bumper when retracted. Or make then removable. I would leave the nose height where it is

[CecilD]

You may want to check out Lippert Correct Track. It has a side effect of raising the trailer some.

[0rion]

Originally Posted by mobilemike

Is that a scissor jack hanging from the rear? It seams really low and in an odd place.

I would find a way to relocate the rear jacks to up under the frame where they will be as high as the rear bumper when retracted. Or make then removable. I would leave the nose height where it is

Yeah....scissor jacks back there and they are low. I ruined one 2 years ago putting it into my fall spot...hence the 2x8's I put down now through that dip. I couldn't think of a decent way to make them removable. I thought of cutting down some angle iron and making a bracket to slide them in and out of but that was about it. I may revisit that and look at doing that. They're just on there with self tapping screws which is what the factory did and you know how those are....after you take them out they never get the same bite when you put them back. I could weld some nuts over the holes I guess and go to a proper bolt.

[Old-Biscuit]

Lowering hitch/raising pin box is going to cause you whacking the top of bed rail...not good


Blocks between axle tube and leaf springs.........NOT the way you want to lift trailer.


Cutting spring hangers off.....welding in steel box channel in the height needed (2x3, 2x4 etc) with lateral bracing then welding spring hangers back on IS the proper method for lifting trailer


***Spring hangers with adjustment holes.....why frame mfgs don't do more of those is big question.
Mine have 3 holes for adjusting location of leaf springs. Each hole add/subtracts 1 1/2" in height. I just had to relocate my spring packs to level 5vr and have 7" bed rail clearance




LCI Correct track is a means of 'aligning' trailer axles...added benefit it adds 2" in height
That is something you should check out FIRST


Otherwise.......lift trailer via subframe




LCI Correct Track (bolt on ---weld on available also)







Trailer Subframe Lift with lateral bracing