Height of new F350

[roddiemacdonald]

Presently own a 2013 F250 and am upgrading to a 2019 F350. I tow a 5th wheel and my concern is, the box of the new F350's and even the F250's appear to be 8" to a foot higher off the ground then the model I presently have. My truck and trailer ride perfectly level now. So I'm assuming the new model will cause the 5th wheel trailer to ride higher in the front which of course is not desirable. I have a PullRite Superglide hitch which can not be adjusted or lowered in height, so that's not an option.

Are there any F250/350 owners out there of the new designed models years 17, 18 or 19 that can alleviate my concerns?

[swampdonkey772]

Originally Posted by roddiemacdonald

Presently own a 2013 F250 and am upgrading to a 2019 F350. I tow a 5th wheel and my concern is, the box of the new F350's and even the F250's appear to be 8" to a foot higher off the ground then the model I presently have. My truck and trailer ride perfectly level now. So I'm assuming the new model will cause the 5th wheel trailer to ride higher in the front which of course is not desirable. I have a PullRite Superglide hitch which can not be adjusted or lowered in height, so that's not an option.

Are there any F250/350 owners out there of the new designed models years 17, 18 or 19 that can alleviate my concerns?

Right here. I have a 18 F250. Before had an 04 F250. Extremely different in height. I have had no problem with it here is a pic of my setup. My truck is stock heighth with my hitch adjusted all the way down.

[5picker]

Well... you just might have some issues if you have no adjustability in your hitch.

My 2017 F-250 SD sits a bit higher than my 2010 truck did.
While the new truck squats more towards level when the 5th wheel is attached, without being able to adjust my hitch to a lower position would have caused a nose high situation from how it was previously.

Do you have any adjustment in your pin box?

[donanddona]

I have a 15 / 250 2wd. Camping last week my neighbor measured his 17/F-350 4wd and he told me he was going to trade his 350/4wd for a 250 due to the truck box sidewall clearance? seams the 5r he was looking at would not clear his box while connected. News to me.... Be sure first....

Additionally, the "All aluminum" truck's measurements are different then previous models. New sizes will mean widths are different. From tailgates to hitch installs.

[acadianbob]

Originally Posted by donanddona

Camping last week my neighbor measured his 17/F-350 4wd and he told me he was going to trade his 350/4wd for a 250 due to the truck box sidewall clearance?

He better measure first. If you look at the specs from Ford, there is no difference in height between a 250 and a 350. Bed height is the same on my 250 and my buddy's 350. Rail height will also, therefore, be the same.

[walaby]

8 inches to a foot bed height difference seems like a lot to me.


I had a 2014 Ram 2500, and just bought a 2017 Ram 3500 (brand new). Bed height difference was only 1.5"


Granted, it's a Ram, so maybe Ford made more significant changes. Having said that, a co-worker did just buy a 2019 Ford 250 4WD Diesel and that truck sits an inch or two higher than my Ram 3500.



Mike

[Daycruiser]

The side bed rails on a Ram are shorter than on the F350 by about 2 inches. i would not have been able to tow my 5er with the Ford and still have adequate rail clearance even with the frame lift on my RV. The Ram 3500 I have worked out perfectly.

[roddiemacdonald]

Originally Posted by swampdonkey772

Right here. I have a 18 F250. Before had an 04 F250. Extremely different in height. I have had no problem with it here is a pic of my setup. My truck is stock heighth with my hitch adjusted all the way down. Attachment 191421

Wondering if you get a chance if it's no problem, how high is the top plate of your hitch off the bed? Maybe mine is low enough

[roddiemacdonald]

Originally Posted by 5picker

Well... you just might have some issues if you have no adjustability in your hitch.

My 2017 F-250 SD sits a bit higher than my 2010 truck did.
While the new truck squats more towards level when the 5th wheel is attached, without being able to adjust my hitch to a lower position would have caused a nose high situation from how it was previously.

Do you have any adjustment in your pin box?

I'm not sure about the Pin box, good thought, I'll have to go to the storage location and take a look.

[koller1509]

Do the engineers not think about what people use these trucks for???

[tomkatb]

During the shopping exercise last year I discovered that fivers vari in height to the bottom of the front area from 58”. To 64” or so. More expensive fivers were taller.

Most tow vehicles bed rail heights were 58” to 60” for stock trucks. Duallys were lower. Some older fivers are even lower.

The only fifth wheels I saw with adjustable heights was KZ.

I contacted my first choice manufacturer and they told me any adjustment of their fiver voided the warranty.

One trailer dealer said, “it’s no big deal. All the fivers we sell go out of here nose high”.

My CC Hathaway is level.

Measure and plan ahead. I think it is a good idea to be level.

[Rdeejr]

I have an 2018 F250 and it’s 3” higher than my friends 2017 F250.

I purchased wheel to wheel nerf bars and they’re too high so I’m going to put the stock Ford steps back on due to the height.

[Kaadk]

I'm running a 2018 F250, with the Demco Autoslide (similar to your Pullright) that has no height adjustability. I've raised the pin in the pinbox as high as it can go, and I'm still slightly nose high. Like that, I've only got about 5.5" of clearance to the bed rails. I've been fortunate enough to not have hit yet, however, the pinbox is doing a number on the rails of my tonneau cover if I turn too tightly. I'm out of options for now with adjustability, so I've towed with it like that for this year, but at some point, I'm going to have to have the fiver raised to level it out.

[Bama Rambler]

I'm not bashing any other mfg. but the main reason I bought the truck I have now is because they offer a lowering kit for it so I could tow the 5er level.

I don't know if Ford offers a lowering kit for the latest models, but it's worth checking out.

[Photo Lab]

I believe the difference in bed height is largely a matter of the truck being 4x4 or 2 wheel drive. You can see very accurate dimension charts in the sales brochures for any make truck...or look in the owner's manual, which usually has a lot more information than anybody actually needs!

[rlh1957]

Maybe it varies from truck to truck. Just traded from 2017 F250 to 2019 F350 and they were the same height and width. Haven't hitched up a trailer or fifth wheel to see if it squats less under load.
I expect it to go down slightly less on the F350... but Air Bags will correct any squat.

[Kaadk]

My Surveyor only makes my F250 (with Camper package) squat 1". I actually wish I had "more" squat to compensate for my nose high issues.

[swampdonkey772]

Originally Posted by roddiemacdonald

Wondering if you get a chance if it's no problem, how high is the top plate of your hitch off the bed? Maybe mine is low enough

When i get near a tape measure ill let you know. Give me an hour

[hicksie]

My primary concern would be how the truck height will impact the total height of the rig so as to keep it at or just under 13' 6" or 4.15 meters. So that you will be legal height and able to go under overpasses and bridges safely. I had to back put of a deal on an F250. Crew Cab because the truck bed was too high (the previous owner had 20" wheels and added an extra leaf to the springs) and would have put me right at 13' 6" with no margin for extra pavement layers which may have reduces overpass clearance.

[roddiemacdonald]

Originally Posted by Photo Lab

I believe the difference in bed height is largely a matter of the truck being 4x4 or 2 wheel drive. You can see very accurate dimension charts in the sales brochures for any make truck...or look in the owner's manual, which usually has a lot more information than anybody actually needs!

I have a 4x4 Liriat now and when I put it beside the 2019 same model, there is a significant height difference.

Thanks all, looks like I’m going to have to do some measuring and check some things out.

May have to bite the bullet and go chev or dodge after all these years.