Towing and Lift Kits

[philipw6]

I know this is an F-150 forum but hope someone can help me out. I'm looking at a 2012 SuperDuty F-250 that I want to lift 4" to 6" but I'm concerned about ride height when towing my 40' fifth wheel. I love the look but too much money to spend just to find out I'll have to modify my trailer suspension. Any feedback is appreciated

[pizzaman711]

It'll make the rear squat unless you go with an airbag setup. Also a drop hitch wouldn't hurt either.

[philipw6]

I'm more concerned with clearance.

[Galaxy]

Don't really know what you're asking here...you have a math problem, not a truck/lift/trailer/suspension problem. You need to measure the clearance you have now and see if you mathematically have the room for a lift. How much clearance you have now minus how much clearance you want in the end should equal how much lift you can add to the truck. Don't forget to factor in the increased ride height from taller diameter tires.

[06yz250f]

You want to run a 35" tire with that set up and you will be fine. I'd really recommend air bags just to prevent squat.

Stick with a 4" lift, much more height and you will probably be looking into altering yours to work.

That's what i was told when i was about to lift my superduty after talking to multiple people

[AirLiftCompany]

You may need to consider air bags as others have mentioned just depending on the spring rates of the lift kit you install. The biggest concern you will have is bed rail height and hitting the tailgate. When you run your numbers you will need to consider things such as going over rail road tracks or even just large bumps where the trailer will dip back while the truck will tip forward.

It's hard to say exactly what size lift you can run without knowing exactly how much bed rail clearance you currently have.

[Galaxy]

You guys keep talking about air bags fixing squat, but with the 5th wheel, I don't think that's what he's asking about. He's concerned about bed to trailer clearance as I mentioned in my post. But please correct me if I'm wrong on my assumption philip.

[06yz250f]

galaxy, here's how i took what he wants.

- still be able to hook up the trailer w/ out modifications to the trailer
- trailer still be close to parallel to the ground

Everyone i talked to in my research said 4" and 35's is pretty close to max before you might start having issues and needing to modify the trailer

[HighOn22's]

Going with a lift will not have any factor on making the truck squat more in the rear so adding air bags to a lifted truck is the same as adding to a factory height truck. All you're doing to the rear is inserting a larger block to increase the height.

And a drop hitch is for a bumper pull, not a 5th wheel.

I'm not to sure whats the max height you can go and still be able to tow a 5th wheel. You're lifting the rear 4-5" from stock after you install 35" tires depending which 35's you decide to run.

Here is a 4.5" ICON lift I recently installed.

Factory 20's and 35" Mickey Thompson ATZ


Same wheels as above on the side of my truck. 7" ICON on 37's


35x12.5R20 Toyo Open Country's

[HighOn22's]

^^^^ When comparing the height difference between the 2 trucks look at the distance between roof and top of door way. Do not try to compare top of beds. The slope I was standing on ddn't show correct heights.

[AirLiftCompany]

Assuming you just lift it with blocks then it won't squat anymore than normal. I was under the impression that most of th SD guys prefer not to use blocks especially if it is anything over 2" of lift.

Just trying to explain where I was coming from. My suggestion is once you have installed the lift re-examine the sag you get. The most important thing is not to let any sag you are getting play into your decision on clearances. Having excessive sag can be more dangerous than limited clearances.

[philipw6]

Thanks HighOn22's your pics are what I'm looking for. I know how to fix the squat alright and I just wasn't sure what height I could go to without having height problems on 5er. My truck is comparable to the one you pictured. As it sits presently it's just as stock as you can get from the factory for a SD. Is the truck in the pics your personal truck? I know everybody has an opinion and I had hoped to talk to someone who had actually modified their truck like the one in your pics and was still pulling their 5er. Thanks. again.