Towing with an F350

[BB_TX]

Those of you with an F350 4x4, did you have a problem with bed height? My '07 is really high in the back, much higher than my previous F250. Was looking at new Cardinals on Saturday. The bottom of the front part of the trailer appeared to be about the same height as the top of my bed rails.

[Wadcutter]

The F-350 has 4" blocks over the rear axle which raises the bed the 4". Ford has a Tech Service Bulletin about replacing the 4" blocks with 2" just for pulling 5ers. It use to be a free, one time swap but I don't know if it's still no cost. Ford considers it a 3 hr job but any mechanic worthy of calling himself a mechanic could do it in about an hr.

[BB_TX]

Thanks for the info. I did a search for Ford TSB and F350 and found (on thedieselstop.com) that TSB 07-7-2 addresses the problem. It involves replacing the 4" spacers on the rear axles with 2" spacers as you said. Now I will just have to see if I can get it for free since I specifically discussed the reason for buying the truck was to pull a 5'er.

[Wadcutter]

For the prices they're asking for new trucks if I were a dealer to make the deal I'd toss in a hour's labor, 2 blocks, a pair of shocks, and some U bolts, and sell you the truck. Good luck.

[roger5438]

I have a '06 F350 4x4 w/18 inch single wheels. Rv is an '05 Cardinal 30WBLE. Use a Pullright hitch set to the lowest adjustment & Trailair pinbox. RV sets very nearly level with about 7.5" of clearance between bed and RV. I also added Trailair Center Point suspension, but believe it didn't add any height to RV. The truck settles down onto the overload springs well when connected to RV. Makes a good 3" or more drop if I remember correctly. Haven't towed since last Sept so going by memory. roger

[markj]

My 06 F350 PSD had 4", I put 2" in it & installed air bags. Now I blow the bags up just enough to lift the trailer off the overload springs--works good. when i'm done towing, I reduce the pressure in the bags for a lower & better ride.

My cardinal is slightly high in the front, but not bad.

[Diesel Dave 04]

My camper sets level With the stock 2 inch blocks and it is on the helpers.
the truck is a tad low in the rear. that is with over 2300 pin weight.

[bigbunkhouse]

I had an F250 with a 4 in lift and 35 in tires that I towed with but The 5er was WAY up in front and the truck only squatted 7/8 in so after 2 times hitting the top of the bed into the trailer, we decided to ..............................................

put ladder racks on it and buy a 2wd 4dr dually f350 to tow with and it sits gosh darn perfect!

A friend who does market research for Ford and used to for GMC says in order to keep people happy with a cushy ride and still get high payload they jack the snot out of the rears with nice sqishy springs and big blocks. Then add thick overloads and let them squat 3 inches in the "soft" range before they become an actual truck!
Personally i think if it has 8 or more lugs per wheel you don't buy it to ride like a caddy and if your rake changes that much you should have self leveling head lights!!!

My point?!? A truck should be a truck! 18 wheelers dont squat 5 inches when loaded! Too bad the big three cannot offer air in the rear to keep ride height constant while maintaining comfort. But wouldn't we all miss the rear end of our empty Trucks skipping around corners when there are bumpy roads?!?!?!?!?

[Olbird]

I have factory a F350 4x4 off road package with factory 20" wheels and did installed the same set-up as (markj ) and as he noted it works well for me also.

[jamespatrick4]

That seems to be a common problem with not only Ford but also Dodge. I have talked to Ford owners at CGs and they generally swap the 4" for 2" blocks. You Ford owners are fortunate in that Ford at least recognizes there is a problem for those pulling fivers. Dodge still has its head in the sand about the issue, though there is a fix (swapping the shims from upper to lower position) but the dealers refuse to do it. Like Wadcutter mentioned, for what we pay for these trucks, the dealers should do the fix for free. The service writer at the dealer where I bought my 3500 Dodge dually suggested that I just lower the air pressure in my rear tires to help level the fiver. Brilliant suggestion! And if I didn't drive the darn thing, it wouldn't use so much fuel! Apparently he had other bright ideas because he no longer works there.

[Donpop]

BB TX

I have an 08 Ford F350 SRW CC LB. When we traded our 2002 for a 2008 34QS the new trailer set almost perfectly level, however I only had about 5" bed clearance and that was out of my comfort level. I did the spacer job going from the 4" to the 2" and raised my hitch head 2" so I now have plenty of room. Here are the part numbers and prices that I paid in Oct 2007. You need four U-bolts #N811667-S436 at $15.20 ea(Your can not used your present U-bolts and cut them off as the thread is not long enough). You need one Left spacer #7C3Z-5598-L $16.33 and one right #7C3Z-5598K $16.33. You DO NOT have to change your shocks. Total Cost $93.46 plus local tax. By the way, with the help of a grandson, we installed the new parts in less than 2 hrs and that included taking off my air bags so we could get to the U-bolt nuts. You need some blocks and a couple of jacks. Jack up the truck frame until tires are approx 1" off ground. Loosen old U-bolts, remove 4" spacer, install 2" spacer, raise axle up and install new U-bolts. Done. Hope this helps.

Don

[Donpop]

Just a note for clarification. ONLY the F350 with single rear wheels come with the 4" spacers as standard equipment. F350 Duallies still come with 2" spacers.

Don

[PhilM]

My SRW F-350 with the two inch block sits about 1 1/2" lower than my F-350 Dually. I dont know why, but the SRW truck does not seem as stable once I installed the 2" blocks