Tremor with a fifth wheel RV

[Pittsburgh]

Thought you guys might like to see an F250 Tremor doing what it does best - towing. A 40' 5th wheel in the Winter, Pittsburgh to Myrtle Beach and back over the new year holiday. Much of this trip is through the hills of West Virginia and Northern Virginia where we hit snow, sleet, and other travel challenges. It was worth it when we got to the beach. The truck (and Dyna Tracs) did great. I have a gooseneck hitch and fifth wheel to gooseneck adapter on the RV.

 

[Jrod250]

How much bed rail clearance do you have between the 5er and top of the bed

 

[legmar]

Cool. Any airbags? Or is the truck stock?

 

[Pittsburgh]

How much bed rail clearance do you have between the 5er and top of the bed

I only have about 7 inches of clearance between the bed rail and RV. You might notice that the Tremor tailgate is about 1.5" higher than the rails, which reduces that gap even more at the tailgate. I am going to raise the suspension on the RV by two inches. Luckily, that is an easy job to drop the leaf springs lower on the RV. The hangers are adjustable. Then I will raise the gooseneck an inch or so. That will increase the overall between the bed rails and tailgate.

 

[Pittsburgh]

Cool. Any airbags? Or is the truck stock?

All stock Legmar.

 

[Bruno]

I’m looking to possibly get a 5th wheel to tow behind my 250. What’s the dry and GVWR on that thing?

 

[Pittsburgh]

GVWR 15,800#

 

[Jrod250]

7 inches is enough. 6 is the recommended. Im slightly nervous because I’m going from a 2019 Chevy 3500 to the tremor. I tow a 2017 grand design momentum 350 which is a pretty heigh sitting 5er so I’m not to to concerned. Just slightly

 

[PapaRaptor]

7 inches is enough. 6 is the recommended. Im slightly nervous because I’m going from a 2019 Chevy 3500 to the tremor. I tow a 2017 grand design momentum 350 which is a pretty heigh sitting 5er so I’m not to to concerned. Just slightly

You will be fine, I went from a 2015 Silverado 3500 to the Tremor with my Open Range ( 14,700 ) 38' unit. I had the 5th wheel parked flat cement area at my house. I had to air down the rear tires on the Tremor first time to hook it up. The Tremor is so much higher than the 3500. got it under aired up the tires and ever since it has been good to go. There are adjustments on the hitch to raise it our lower it. There are also adjustments on the pin box. Thankfully only minor adjustments on my hitch were needed. Also went from a Reese to a Curt Brand hitch. With the Tremor I could get a larger 5th wheel now. Probably won't.

 

[SVTCALI]

Here is my 5th wheel set up.

2021 Forest River Arctic Wolf 298LB
Hitch Weight: 1620 lb
UVW: 9048 lb
Length: 34'
GVWR: 11820 lb

Hitch: B&W Companion Slider mounted to factory pucks. I haven't needed to use the slider yet.

I also helped tow a Montana out of a fire evacuation zone this past summer when California had its crazy fire season. I don't remember the specs on it but it was much heavier than my trailer. It was fully loaded since the family had been living in it.

The Tremor did amazing towing both. I am planning on some airbags and looking into raising the trailer a couple of inches once I get 37's on the truck.

 

[Jrod250]

I remember seeing your post about that. I’m switching from a pullrite auto slider to the Anderson ultimate connection and I did see another member on here with my exact setup. Truck,trailer and hitch and it looked great. I reached out to him to see if anything special had to be done, but never heard back. I’m guessing he’s not very active on here.

 

[Ford_Fan]

I have a Grand Design Solitude that is 40ft with GVWR of 16.5K and hitch weight of 2600lbs. My Tremor is a 6.7 Platinum 350 with a payload rating of about 3200lbs. This, I think will be your limiting factor with the Tremor. If you care about the numbers, being legal, etc, etc.

That said - you should double check the clearance of the pin box to the bed rails. My Solitude came with the standard Lippert 1621HD to which I attached the Andersen Ultimate Hitch conversion (kingpin to ball) and had the standard 3220 Andersen Hitch which gave about 6-7" of clearance between the fiver and the bed rail. I had the pin box make contact with the bed rails of my truck. Now the Retrax rails sit just about 1" higher than the rails but this is a known problem according to Andersen and not just with their hitch. They told me Reese with the Goosebox and others have the same problem. Andersen has solved it with the release of a "tall" hitch that sits 2.5" higher, model 3217. I plan to give that a try in the next few weeks.

Oh - and the contact between the pinbox and my truck happened doing a u-turn in a cul-de-sac that was off camber. So I think if it can happen there it's likely to happen elsewhere.

 

[Jrod250]

I see in the photo that the coupler block is forward. Did you try to spin it around? That should give you the clearance that you need.
I went with the 7.3 to gain payload capacity. From what I see on here the way I spec’d my truck I should be in the upper 3700s for payload capacity.

 

[Jrod250]

I just called Anderson and asked what applications they have seen that require the 3217 and they said the reason in particular was for the new Chevy and Gmc trucks because they have a deeper bed. A few days ago I actually inquired here about the bed depth of our trucks specially because if the 3217. Anderson’s website says for trucks with a depth of 21.5 or higher. The Ford (without a bed cover) is just under that measurement.

 

[Ford_Fan]

I see in the photo that the coupler block is forward. Did you try to spin it around? That should give you the clearance that you need.
I went with the 7.3 to gain payload capacity. From what I see on here the way I spec’d my truck I should be in the upper 3700s for payload capacity.

I did not. I was even more concerned with contact on the cab of the truck (short bed). When I discussed it with Andersen they agreed and stated this is exactly why they came up with the taller version.

I just called Anderson and asked what applications they have seen that require the 3217 and they said the reason in particular was for the new Chevy and Gmc trucks because they have a deeper bed. A few days ago I actually inquired here about the bed depth of our trucks specially because if the 3217. Anderson’s website says for trucks with a depth of 21.5 or higher. The Ford (without a bed cover) is just under that measurement.

Well - it's close. I believe Ford specs it at 21.1 inches per their site but add the Retrax rails and it's past that height. Even without the Retrax rails Andersen suggested for all "new" trucks owners go with their taller hitch. Frankly I don't see why not. The standard one is maxed out at the highest setting. The tall one in the lowest setting is equivalent to the tall in the lowest. So it gives flexibility. I just wish I knew all this before I bought the standard (3220). So I have one for sale. Used once!

 

[Jrod250]

Just keep in mind that your cover may not close with the raised one installed. That was listed as a “con” on Anderson’s website

 

[Ford_Fan]

Just keep in mind that your cover may not close with the raised one installed. That was listed as a “con” on Anderson’s website

It won't without lowering the ball or removing it but will once that's done.

 

[Hunter8433]

7 inches is enough. 6 is the recommended. Im slightly nervous because I’m going from a 2019 Chevy 3500 to the tremor. I tow a 2017 grand design momentum 350 which is a pretty heigh sitting 5er so I’m not to to concerned. Just slightly

I am currently debating which F350 package to select. I also own a 17 350M. Did you make the switch?

 

[Jrod250]

I am currently debating which F350 package to select. I also own a 17 350M. Did you make the switch?

I have standard height one and I have plenty of clearance
I have the coupler block spun around backwards and I plenty of clearance to the cab (I could even turn sharper in the photo) and clearance on the bed sides with my tonneau cover.

 

[TXfarmtremor]

Pulled my 41' Gateway Bunkhouse to Pensacola from central TX for spring break. 7.3 ran good, truck felt great.