bed height for 5th wheel

[rconcerto]

i just posted a question, but i put it in the wrong category. i need some advice. i have a 1999 f350 dually, i plan on hauling a gooseneck horse trailer this spring. i need to have a fifth wheel installed but noticed that the truck sits quite high. is this going to pose a problem? how do i know if its too high? can i measure the height of the bed? i was told that ford for some reason made the 99 higher in the rear end, is this true? so what do i do now, how much clearance should i have? i dont wan tthe trailer to ride at angle. any help or advice
melissa

[pdt1081]

I think the location of the plate in the bed of the truck is more important than the actual heighth of the bed. My uncle has an older Chevy and his trailer would hit the tailgate on extreme hills (like entering a banked race track). My dad's Ford has extra springs (plus it's 4x4) in it adding at least 6 inches of heighth over the Chevy. There's a lot more clearance over the tailgate because the plate sits closer to the top of the bedrails in his Ford. They both use older hitches that I don't think are available anymore. My dad's go over the wheelwells with a removable plate in between them, while my uncle has rails (run front to back not side to side like the new ones) inside the wheelwells with the plate between them.

[RoperChick]

Hi Melissa,

If your truck is stock (4x2 or 4x4), you shouldn't have a problem. The gooseneck coupler on most horse trailers is adjustable, so you should be able to adjust it to the height you need.

Our SRW truck is a couple inches taller than our dually, we don't need to adjust the trailer coupler for either truck, it rides level.

[LMJD]

[ QUOTE ]
I think the location of the plate in the bed of the truck is more important than the actual heighth of the bed.

[/ QUOTE ]
That doesn't enter in to the problem at all. You smash the bed edges when going over a rise while turning.
On your '99 (late body style), Ford had a service bulletin to help correct this problem. I don't know if it applies to duallies too, but it was replacing the 4" blocks with 2" that are located under the rear springs. It also depends on the brand of gooseneck, my Charmac is REAL bad, my truck is lower than yours, but I only have about 5" between the trailer subframe and my bed edges at most, I've had some close calls. And you can only adjust your gooseneck tube so high before your trailer is angled way high in front. Why don't you back your new truck under your trailer (both on level ground), lower your landing gear so the trailer sits about level, then see how much clearance you have? 6" is about minimum from bed edge/tailgate to your trailer.
And you're right, the later trucks are WAY higher, but your gooseneck overhang design will determine what you can get by with. Most Titans and one other I can't recall have about 12" which is more than enough.

[GreyHorse]

If it's an older trailer there will be a problem, it will hit the bed/tailgate...... my old horse trailer did. You can let the coupler out as far as it will go but the trailer then sits on the rear axle much more than the front and you still have to be careful where you go. If it's a newer trailer there shouldn't be a problem. Options for fixing it if you have a problem are having the axles "flipped over" on the trailer, it then rides higher and is harder for the horses to get in (my feeling is that they don't need to be getting hauled around if they can't manage to get in a trailer that's 2 feet high)or a flatbed on the truck (probably the better option in my opinion unless you need to haul a lot of stuff in the back).