08 250 SB 7 in lift Looking for trailer, help wanted.

3627 Views 29 Replies 11 Participants Last post by krazyk, 4 mo ago

Crackerjackshot

Discussion Starter · Apr 7, 2022

Hello Everybody,

I'm hoping to get some guidance. I have an 08 250 with 7 inch lift and 37's. Recently I have decided I would like to buy a trailer and do some living around the country since I've moved fully remote in my job. At first I was looking for regular hitch trailers but while looking I've ran into multiple people saying how much better it is to pull a 5th wheel trailer. I am not very experienced towing other than when I need to haul a vehicle or just moving. The only reason I want 5th wheel would be for the easier towing and I was told those trailers are more likely to handle cold better (will probably end up up north at some point in the winter). Not looking for anything huge, smallest 5th wheel I can find basically. Was only looking at the 20 ft range for the regular hitch types.

I've been reading forum posts but am confused. Some people say they can tow with a setup similar to mine but I'm not sure how. I am willing to modify things, including dropping the truck down to a 4.5 inch lift since I can reuse some of the parts, but then I've heard of people modifying the trailer instead? I'm in the used market for trailers. What would be the best way of navigating this? Should I just go ahead and drop the truck first and then look? What is more cost effective? Dropping the truck or modifying the trailer? I see the benefit of dropping the truck anyways for gas mileage and power going over mountain passes, but that includes new tires too and it gets pricey fast. Or maybe you just have some resources or material to share so I can understand the dynamics. Thank you in advance and I hope everybody is having a great day.

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Crackerjackshot

Discussion Starter · #4 · Apr 7, 2022

Ok thanks. Another thing I guess I needed to clear was, am I still going to have to do any other kind of modifications if I tried to stay at a 4.5 inch lift and switching to 35's? Thats a pretty big difference but not sure its enough to be able to just hook up and go with one?

Also, would love opinions on if you think you'd be looking at doing this the same way as I am with getting a 5th wheel and forgetting getting one thats a regular hitch setup for both the towing and cold capabilities. Thanks!

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Crackerjackshot

Discussion Starter · #7 · Apr 7, 2022

thanks for the feedback. Anybody have any opinions about if 4.5 would be low enough?

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Crackerjackshot

Discussion Starter · #12 · Apr 8, 2022

BKB94 said:
You really need to look at campers and take some measurements. When looking at the campers see if the axles can be flipped to raise or if they are already flipped. Then measure the bottom of the z frame so you can figure bed rail clearances. If some off- road is going to happen you will need more bed to camper clearance. It’s all a numbers game.

Thank you. Bottom of the Z frame... we exactly from the measurement be taken? Near the hitch point to the back of the bed rail correct? Because that would be the way it is slopped if the truck is too high? Yeah I realize the numbers game and trying to figure out the numbers haha. I don't want to lower the truck or do modifications to a trailer and then realize I didn't do enough or something. I really would rather not go back down to stock though on the truck.

ZMANN said:
I have never heard that a bed pull is more cold capable than a bumper pull ?
Unless it is just because more high end trailers are 5er's ?

Yeah thats what was meant I think. The quality of build is usually just higher, nothing to do with how they actually hitch.

K9kodi said:
Yes a 5ver is way more stable and enjoyable to tow.
I would have no problem towing with a 7” lift.

Here’s what I would look at
1) how is the rear lift achieved. If it’s all block I would a traction bar set up like pmf or oru. The distance from wheel center to bottom of leaf spring is much greater when lifted creating more leverage, which means more axle wrap. Locking down that rear axle will keep your u joints happy and save your springs.

2) trailer, yes you can do an axle flip. Typically the axles ride on the top of the leaf springs, flipping the axle to the bottom of the leaf springs will net you lift in the amount essentially of the axle thickness. If I wanted to do it more stable, I would have a subframe built lowering the leaf spring mounting points.

3) if your not in love w the truck bed, you could go the route of a flatbed with a 5th wheel or gooseneck if you convert the trailer. It’s not usually the height of the pin block that is the issue as much as it is the bed sides.

4) if you wanna run steep mountain passes on 37s, I would consider re gearing the front and rear difs.

5) I would also consider air bags for the truck

Thank you for the feed back. It is a PMF so I already have the traction bar. I couldn't even drive it tuned without the lift without that thing it was so jarring. Is the axle flip that big a destabilization of the trailer? Not sure I'd be ready to ditch the bed. Does the gooseneck possibility eliminate or greatly help these considerations if I were to just accept the pain in the assness of it without going flatbed? Cause I'd have no issue also maybe doing some bed mount cameras. Since my truck is a bigger part of my life if I do this I will invest in some added features. And yeah I figure if you're changing diff gears then I might as well drop and go down to 35's. Will look into airbags.

The Bone said:
Now. You need at least 6" between the trailer and bed rails of the truck. You need to make sure the tires you buy have a good load rating for the weight of the trailer. You need to tow the trailer as level as possible. this helps keep the weight the same on all 4 trailer tires. I have the B&W hitch in my truck and live it. The goose neck hitch on most RV's void the frame warranty. Another thing I don't need help hooking mine up. I can see the hitch in the rear view mirror. It's a pain to line up that little ball in the bed of the truck. Put the truck back to stock height then put some air bags on it sell the lift kit and you can thank me later. DON'T forget the air compressor for the bags. I pull a 34' RV with my 15.

I'm not buying a trailer new so I don't think warranty is a consideration. Noted on your recommendation. I understand the argument for going back to stock but I know that my truck has already been places it could not have gone without the lift so I'd like to find a balance if I can.

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Crackerjackshot

Discussion Starter · #14 · Apr 8, 2022

BKB94 said:
Your issue is bed rail to camper gap if it’s off you raise the camper or lower the truck. The fact that you might be doing more Offroad than the normal camper means the bed gap needs to be increased so if you go down in a swale you don’t poke the end of the bed rails through the bottom of the camper. You were looking into smaller campers so figure 1500 to 2000 pound pin weight. Throw that weight in the back of your truck measure from ground to bed rail then if you know what camper you’re going to purchase with it level measure from the ground to the bottom of the top of the Z frame where the pin box mounts. That would be those upperBlue arrows on the camper. 6 inches is minimum for normal camping
View attachment 783323

Correct, been looking at just like 27 ft usually the dry weight is somewhere around 7600 or so. Whats the easiest 1500-2000 lbs to find? Does this not also depend on the height of the hitch inside the bed? I don't have a hitch yet back there and wouldn't know where to figure from... are they all the same height inside the bed? Or am I being stupid for some reason my brain is fuzzy today and I cannot decide if that matters or not.

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Crackerjackshot

Discussion Starter · #19 · Apr 8, 2022

BKB94 said:
Water it 8.3lbs a gallon. Put 4 55 gallon trash cans in the back and fill with water. That 1826lbs

Nice!

BKB94 said:
Here is my pin box and old hitch you can see the adjustments. View attachment 783325
View attachment 783324

Thank you! This is very helpful. Something else to consider is that right now my time frame to get something bought would be towards the end of the summer... haul off in it in October. Eventually I'm going up north and will do more offroad/looking at land/staying rural up there but if I leave in October I'll be heading south to Texas (in Denver) probably and I'll stay on flat highways without any mountains and I'll be there for at least 6 months without rent which would give me 6 months of rent I would have paid to then be able to adjust whatever I need to to the trailer or even truck to make things easier.

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Crackerjackshot

Discussion Starter · #23 · Apr 11, 2022

The Bone said:
I have a Keystone Montana now. She is a oldie 03 but she still tows great. I have been looking at Grand Design. Quality rig right there. I however don't like the Anderson because it's lightweight. Thats why I went with the B&W . I have had zero issues with it. I have hooked up about 200 time anbd locked every time. Don't need to do a test jerk. The handle locks the jaws closed. No spring loaded pin to look and see if it's locked. I have about 30,000 miles on my trailer so far. Headed to Texas next month. It's been too long since we had her out.

Too light? Is that a thing? I was kinda looking at lighter rather than heavier.

StinkyPeteJones said:
I get that but I watched a bunch of videos online before buying the andersen and it showed a down pressure test that showed it could stand something like 50k lbs of force or something like that (can't remember the numbers exactly). The only reason I switched to the demco recon goose hitch is cause Keystone said they wouldnt cover our warranty if we kept using the andersen. After all our problem with Keystone I just assume they had beef with andersen for whatever reason and not a legitimate concern with safety or anything. We'll be in Texas soon as well. Moving for work, cant wait to get out of Missouri... too damn cold for us.

Everybody going to Texas haha. My plan was to go ahead and put in electric/septic on a plot I have down there near my parents in east texas to have a place to run back to in the winter and then during the spring/summer head up north and travel/look for plots of land to buy.

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Crackerjackshot

Discussion Starter · #26 · Apr 11, 2022

The Bone said:
I have a Keystone Montana now. She is a oldie 03 but she still tows great. I have been looking at Grand Design. Quality rig right there. I however don't like the Anderson because it's lightweight. Thats why I went with the B&W . I have had zero issues with it. I have hooked up about 200 time anbd locked every time. Don't need to do a test jerk. The handle locks the jaws closed. No spring loaded pin to look and see if it's locked. I have about 30,000 miles on my trailer so far. Headed to Texas next month. It's been too long since we had her out.

Are you happy with your Keystone? I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to looking at brands/build quality or anything. The max I'll probably end up living in it would be about 2-3 years. After that I'm sure I'm going to be pushing really hard to get back to someplace more stable.

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