Towing first 5th wheel with a 2026 2500

[Carleshicks]

I bought a new 26 Ram 2500 Laramie mega cab this year as well as our first 5th wheel trailer a, 26 Jayco eagle sle 28 bhu . I bought a BW companion slider and I am going to pick up the RV next week and wondered if there is any way to make sure that my hitch is set at the correct height so I do not need to adjust it at the dealer? Currently I am in the highest setting and centered over the axle. I feel like that is probably too high.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

Wont know without giving us some info on what your hitch hight is but looking at the trailer it looks like the pin box may need to go down so for your pickup it may be best to have your hitch at the highest setting.

 

[wrvond]

A slider hitch is going to put the hitch plate quite a bit higher than normal. You are very likely going to need it at the lowest setting, however, if you really want to avoid adjusting it at the dealers lot, it's better to be high than to be low so that you maintain bed rail clearance.
I personally would have no qualms at all about adjusting a hitch in the dealers lot.

 

[Carleshicks]

A slider hitch is going to put the hitch plate quite a bit higher than normal. You are very likely going to need it at the lowest setting, however, if you really want to avoid adjusting it at the dealers lot, it's better to be high than to be low so that you maintain bed rail clearance.
I personally would have no qualms at all about adjusting a hitch in the dealers lot.

That was my thought also. I figured if I had to tow it home nose high that’s better than being to close to the bed rails. I hopefully can swing by the dealer early and pull some measurements but they are over an hour away. I may just be over scrutinizing this.

 

[whitexc]

Call the salesman that was uber happy to take your money…..ask him to level the camper and take a measurement to the bottom of the plate at the king pin. That’s your starting point.

Set a board on the capture plate of your hitch going out the tailgate, level the board and measure the closest point you can to ground level. Compare. Adjust as you see fit. The issue is how the pin weight will impact the truck/hitch height.

Do you have air ride? Or traditional leafs?

Good luck. Enjoy camping. Your work hasn’t even begun!


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[Carleshicks]

Call the salesman that was uber happy to take your money…..ask him to level the camper and take a measurement to the bottom of the plate at the king pin. That’s your starting point.

Set a board on the capture plate of your hitch going out the tailgate, level the board and measure the closest point you can to ground level. Compare. Adjust as you see fit. The issue is how the pin weight will impact the truck/hitch height.

Do you have air ride? Or traditional leafs?

Good luck. Enjoy camping. Your work hasn’t even begun!


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I agree with your last statement. It seems overwhelming.

That is a good idea. I will call the salesman and have him do that. As far as how it will squat under the weight that is another matter I agree. It is a 2500 so it has coil springs with no airbags.
I am also concerned about bed rail clearance so I will have him measure to the bottom of the underside also.
By chance, does anyone on here have the same RV?

 

[whitexc]

Join a Jayco 5er FB page and get to know the peeps. Ask around there. You will get more info.


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[wrvond]

<snip>
By chance, does anyone on here have the same RV?

I do not, but it looks like one of your standard 1/2 ton towables.
You are definitely over thinking this. It's hard not to do that.

At one point I switched from a slider hitch to a non-slider. I figured I'd need to compensate for the lack of slider rails so I set the hitch plate at its highest point. When I hooked up it was definitely too high. Took a ratchet, an open end wrench and about ten minutes to adjust it correctly.
If you want to hedge your bets and not adjust on site, set it to the middle setting. You might be off one direction or the other but it won't be extremely off.

 

[Mike M]

I do not, but it looks like one of your standard 1/2 ton towables.
You are definitely over thinking this. It's hard not to do that.

At one point I switched from a slider hitch to a non-slider. I figured I'd need to compensate for the lack of slider rails so I set the hitch plate at its highest point. When I hooked up it was definitely too high. Took a ratchet, an open end wrench and about ten minutes to adjust it correctly.
If you want to hedge your bets and not adjust on site, set it to the middle setting. You might be off one direction or the other but it won't be extremely off.

I have a 23 2500 with coils and no air. I am using the 24,000 lb companion slider with my Alliance 5th wheel. The trailer is a 10,500 lb unit. I had to drop the plate to the lowest setting and raise the pin box to the highest setting and still have a nose high attitude with 8 inches of bedrail clearance. The plate on the slider is a pain to adjust due to the need to pull slider assembly off of the plate tower to access the bolts to adjust the height. I wouldn't plan on taking it apart at the dealer unless you have some help. Those damn things are heavy.

The pickup squatted a good bit with the stock setup but I added a set of Sumo Spring which leveled it out and it pulls and rides great.

 

[Carleshicks]

Thank you.
I stopped by the dealer yesterday and pulled some measurements. Looks like I will need to do the same thing, lower hitch to lowest holes and move pin box up to its highest.
That should leave me with 7” of bed rail clearance. The trailer will probably be 5” to 6” nose high out of level but that is not taking into account the trucks suspension squatting, so that will help some.