Anyone towing with a lifted dually?

IronJ

IronJ

Well-known member
Ok so I'm tired of rocking the west texas farmer look on my 2015 f350 drw...

I need to facelift this girl...and she needs shoes more fitting her fat bottom! Lol..

I got a 2012 f250srw with 3" lift on 35x12.5x20 ...trailer sits a lil high on her ...BUT the stock ride height is 3" higher than an equal dually....

Anyway I wanna lift the dually 4" and run like a 295/65/20 all around.....

Lift will be a bds 4 link with Fox shocks all around and it has airlift bags as welll...


Any of you out there running lifted duallys to tow and if so what are you running , what do you tow and how do you like it?
.

Thanks in advance

Jeremy (Iron j)

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IronJ

IronJ

Well-known member
I'm quite familiar with that hitch as I actually contacted them a while back.... (I opted for the f350 dually instead lol)....

Towing lifted isn't really an issue, the only REAL issue comes to the height and it's relations to a LEVELED trailer.

A 4x4 dually F350 is actually CONSIDERABLY shorter than a similar 4x4 f350..

Anyway , my question was geared more towards tow quality and such...

The guys at bds have assured me the ride would be IMPROVED with the 4 link setup and fox shocks using the airlift system to level (if necessary).....

My 250 is lifted and tows more than fine....but the unloaded ride is way harsh compared to the dually

I know a lot of people on here will probably say "why mess with it" ...well...because I want to....lol



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Shortest Straw

Shortest Straw

Caught In A Mosh
IMO, generally speaking, lifted pickups and 5th wheels do not play well together. The back of your pickup is already high and if you adjust your hitch or kingpin box to get adequate clearance your trailer will be high in front and low in back taking weight off of the front axle and putting all that weight on the rear axle. This set up is not an ideal condition. Many trailer tires are already prone to blowouts which generally cause damage to the RV. You should also consider that you may cause some clearance issues as well as I am guessing if you lift your pickup, you will need to adjust for bed rail clearance as well which will increase your over all height which is, I am guessing, already around 13' 5".

I will be honest here as well and tell you that I think lifting a pickup is a ridiculous waste of cash unless you are building a monster truck or a mud bogger. I grew up on a huge cattle ranch and never once remember saying " I sure wish I had a lift on this". I understand the because I want to, but I think your killer nice rig will suffer for it.
 
avvidclif

avvidclif

Well-known member
IronJ said:
A 4x4 dually F350 is actually CONSIDERABLY shorter than a similar 4x4 f350..
Click to expand...

I question the validity of that statement. Ford spec's don't reflect that since a dually only comes with a long bed and an SRW can be a short bed.
 
DW_Gray

DW_Gray

Well-known member
Safety should be first and foremost.

Here is a video of a 6 inch lifted truck and a 8 inch lifted Road Warrior. Notice the trailer height compared to the house and garage door.


This is safest way to do it right.

LAYOUT_03_lifted-truck-w.jpg
 
Bones

Bones

Well-known member
I don't think your biggest issue will be the lift but your final height when your done. The max height you are allowed to travel without a permit is 13'6". Most bridges are at 14 feet. Hook up with you truck and camper get to level ground and measure from the highest point on your trailer to the ground. Typically that will be your air conditioner. My guess is you may be around 13'3". That's not a lot of wiggle room. Then after all that check your distance between the bed side to top/bottom of your kingpin area for clearance. If you can't get enough you may need to add a hauler bed to clear after you give your truck the lift you want. Bds suspension looks really nice but also check out kelderman air suspension
 
IronJ

IronJ

Well-known member
avvidclif said:
I question the validity of that statement. Ford spec's don't reflect that since a dually only comes with a long bed and an SRW can be a short bed.
Click to expand...

what exactly is there to question?? I did not just fantasize these facts?? ford fleet lists the specifications based on cab and axle configuration with no relevance to bed length?. so the 350 is listed as either a srw or drw ...the respective tailgate heights are 37.7 and 35.6 for a 4 x 4 vehicle? on my particular trucks the heights are 41.4 and 34.5...so even a 4 inch lift STILL keeps me shorter...the fleet specs do have a disclaimer that height is without options....so a more optioned truck would prob be lower...mines a platinum with every box checked....aka a lil fat bottom fatty!

but I digress...

not that it matters, but I came to the very specific choices in my lift based on numerous conversations with my truck builder as well as the lift manufacturers. Every component we are using will be rated above the part is replaces. this will be my 9th lifted truck and I have towed with every one.....so its nothing new...the rims, tires, shocks, rear leafs, and 4 link system are way more than capable for the trucks ratings...

my main concern as ghettomedic mentioned , was trailer ride height....

in this aspect I was lucky in that the owner of the shop also has an f350 and is also towing a 5th wheel...although it was a cyclone.....good enough for our discussion.....

with the same system and slightly LARGER tires, he is towing level with the box on lowest position. now I agree that that puts the pin box a lil close for comfort to the bed rails...but I will not be lowering mine as my wheel tire combo is not 35+ inches....and to boot I normally swap my stock tires/wheels back on to tow anyway and they are even shorter I also realize that this is merely a waste of cash on a perfectly fine vehicle....I wont even get into how much I have wasted on other "cool" ideas....lol...I mean come on? we buy 100k trailers and stick 25k toys in the back to use 5x a year???? my lift vanity pales in comparison

I do appreciate each and every reply as that is what makes this forum such a great place....and I knew that many would think I was foolish for even wanting to mess with a nearly brand new truck...if it does not work out, I will be the first to come on here and say "wow that was a dumb idea".....lol....and as my truck builder has said.."if you don't like it we will take it off no charge and credit you"...he is THAT confident that I will like the tow better.....we shall see...
 
Bones

Bones

Well-known member
IronJ said:
what exactly is there to question?? I did not just fantasize these facts?? ford fleet lists the specifications based on cab and axle configuration with no relevance to bed length?. so the 350 is listed as either a srw or drw ...the respective tailgate heights are 37.7 and 35.6 for a 4 x 4 vehicle? on my particular trucks the heights are 41.4 and 34.5...so even a 4 inch lift STILL keeps me shorter...the fleet specs do have a disclaimer that height is without options....so a more optioned truck would prob be lower...mines a platinum with every box checked....aka a lil fat bottom fatty!

but I digress...

not that it matters, but I came to the very specific choices in my lift based on numerous conversations with my truck builder as well as the lift manufacturers. Every component we are using will be rated above the part is replaces. this will be my 9th lifted truck and I have towed with every one.....so its nothing new...the rims, tires, shocks, rear leafs, and 4 link system are way more than capable for the trucks ratings...

my main concern as ghettomedic mentioned , was trailer ride height....

in this aspect I was lucky in that the owner of the shop also has an f350 and is also towing a 5th wheel...although it was a cyclone.....good enough for our discussion.....

with the same system and slightly LARGER tires, he is towing level with the box on lowest position. now I agree that that puts the pin box a lil close for comfort to the bed rails...but I will not be lowering mine as my wheel tire combo is not 35+ inches....and to boot I normally swap my stock tires/wheels back on to tow anyway and they are even shorter I also realize that this is merely a waste of cash on a perfectly fine vehicle....I wont even get into how much I have wasted on other "cool" ideas....lol...I mean come on? we buy 100k trailers and stick 25k toys in the back to use 5x a year???? my lift vanity pales in comparison

I do appreciate each and every reply as that is what makes this forum such a great place....and I knew that many would think I was foolish for even wanting to mess with a nearly brand new truck...if it does not work out, I will be the first to come on here and say "wow that was a dumb idea".....lol....and as my truck builder has said.."if you don't like it we will take it off no charge and credit you"...he is THAT confident that I will like the tow better.....we shall see...
Click to expand...
My 2500 sat higher than my dually but not by much once loaded. it was the different spring rates causing the difference. I wouldn't mind putting on wider tires with a more aggressive look too them. Make sure you post some pictures of the set up when it is done. I'm sure it will look good.
 
IronJ

IronJ

Well-known member
First off I would like to correct my previous rant about ford not indicating bed length....they in fact DO ...(as wheelbase)..my comment was based on the comparison of a similar dually to non dually...

None the less its a moot point as the short bed 4x4 is the TALLEST OF THEM ALL!!!...

Since my vehicles are bagged, I get nearly zero squat when loaded the spring rates for a srw are listed at 7000 and a drw at 9650 so I can only assume a srw would squat more when loaded comparably?.also I'm not sure what size block is used on the drw vs srw...the bds lift we are using replaces the entire spring pack on rear and the coils in front ..

She goes under the 22nd and should be done by the 27th...I'll be sure to post a pic, ..

Putting wider rims tires is not a big deal if you select the parts correctly...the 35x12.5 nitto trail tire on my other truck looks sweet and is an LT tire and rated for 3200lbs...they ARE louder and they WILL net you a 1-2 mpg loss (hence why I don't tow with them ) of course there are many other options that would look awesome and wouldn't hurt mileage as bad...to each thier own, just do what ya like...

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Shortest Straw

Shortest Straw

Caught In A Mosh
I will be interested in seeing this project completed. We have a few years difference between our rigs. In order to be able to tow our rig flat as it is supposed to be, I ended up taking the 4 inch blocks out of mine and put in some 2 inch. I did put in some airbags as well which makes it ride very nice.

"I also realize that this is merely a waste of cash on a perfectly fine vehicle....I wont even get into how much I have wasted on other "cool" ideas....lol...I mean come on? we buy 100k trailers and stick 25k toys in the back to use 5x a year???? my lift vanity pales in comparison"

That comment is funny I don't care who you are!!
 
Bones

Bones

Well-known member
Ghettomedic said:
I will be interested in seeing this project completed. We have a few years difference between our rigs. In order to be able to tow our rig flat as it is supposed to be, I ended up taking the 4 inch blocks out of mine and put in some 2 inch. I did put in some airbags as well which makes it ride very nice.

"I also realize that this is merely a waste of cash on a perfectly fine vehicle....I wont even get into how much I have wasted on other "cool" ideas....lol...I mean come on? we buy 100k trailers and stick 25k toys in the back to use 5x a year???? my lift vanity pales in comparison"

That comment is funny I don't care who you are!!
Click to expand...
I think your cracking yourself up. Ha. :cool:
 
IronJ

IronJ

Well-known member
It's all fun and games until the wife sees what you spent!! Lol..
But honestly mine (wife) is the coolest...first thing she said when I brought truck home was "you gonna fix it or what"??..lol..

I've been in discussions with my builder's, and I think I may just purchase ANOTHER set of wheels/tires more suited to towing and in a 33" overall size. ....maybe even a 19.5 f450 type wheel??...we will figure something out!!..

So looks like I may have a set of 6 17" tires /wheels up for grabs soon...lol...it is what it is...

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TravelTiger

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
IronJ said:
It's all fun and games until the wife sees what you spent!! Lol..
But honestly mine (wife) is the coolest...first thing she said when I brought truck home was "you gonna fix it or what"??..lol..

I've been in discussions with my builder's, and I think I may just purchase ANOTHER set of wheels/tires more suited to towing and in a 33" overall size. ....maybe even a 19.5 f450 type wheel??...we will figure something out!!..

So looks like I may have a set of 6 17" tires /wheels up for grabs soon...lol...it is what it is...

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Click to expand...

Sounds like you need to come to the rally in Quanah and show it off!


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IronJ

IronJ

Well-known member
TravelTiger said:
Sounds like you need to come to the rally in Quanah and show it off!


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Click to expand...
What is the date of that rally again??. I do recall mentioning it to my wife at some point a few months back? ...

I've however slept since then and don't recall the conclusion or if there was one??haha

I had intended to meet with the others in lubbock, but ended up out of town for a convention and my wife ended up getting called in as well..


Unfortunately (FORTUNATELY! !!) Her career and my businesses that allow us to enjoy these luxuries, also demand a big portion of our time...so comitting 100% to things is sometimes hard as well....it is what it is..

But at some point along the way, we would love to meet everyone on this Forum whom we have interacted with "online"...at the end of the day we are all in it for the same reason. ..

Thanks everyone! ! ...

As for the truck she goes in next Monday. ..hopefully have her back by end of week...I am having them install a new titan fuel tank as well so hope they have it all done by then ...I will only have it back a few days and then it's going to have tvs put in the rear headrests as well as a lockpic module for the factory radio.....the ONLY thing my daughter cares about on those long trips! ! Lol


At this point that freightliner m2 I was jokingly considering don't sound as bad as it did at first...lol

J


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TravelTiger

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
IronJ said:
What is the date of that rally again??. I do recall mentioning it to my wife at some point a few months back? ...

I've however slept since then and don't recall the conclusion or if there was one??haha

I had intended to meet with the others in lubbock, but ended up out of town for a convention and my wife ended up getting called in as well..


Unfortunately (FORTUNATELY! !!) Her career and my businesses that allow us to enjoy these luxuries, also demand a big portion of our time...so comitting 100% to things is sometimes hard as well....it is what it is..

But at some point along the way, we would love to meet everyone on this Forum whom we have interacted with "online"...at the end of the day we are all in it for the same reason. ..

Thanks everyone! ! ...
Click to expand...

J,

The rally is March 11-13.


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- - - Updated - - -

Here's a link to the Rally.

https://heartlandowners.org/showthr...ah-3-11-2016-to-3-13-2016?p=451198#post451198
 
IronJ

IronJ

Well-known member
So update....picked her up today. ..haven't towed yet, but ride is 5x smoother than stock...and still about 2" shorter than the srw, so I think it be perfect....will hook up this weekend and take measures...

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Bones

Bones

Well-known member
IronJ said:
So update....picked her up today. ..haven't towed yet, but ride is 5x smoother than stock...and still about 2" shorter than the srw, so I think it be perfect....will hook up this weekend and take measures...

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Click to expand...
Pictures? How does she look?
 
IronJ

IronJ

Well-known member
She look ok...lol
05571c6d7c9f6b56bbec344c600eb457.jpg


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