2011 f250 & cardinal 3150 trail-air 5th wheel

[ricklaplante]

hope someone can help me out i have read as much as i can on the subject of the trail-air 5th wheel hitch on this forum and i am a little confused yet.
i have a 2011 f250 sd diesel and the trailer i am going to pull is a 2010 3150 cardinal.
the problem is i am not sure the hitch will not hit the side rails from what i have been reading there is a problem with this set up.
now i am not sure if i will have the same problem because i just bought the truck and have not had the time to check it out with the bird.
my truck is a long box don't know if that maters or not but i am concerned with the side rails and if there is a problem is there a fix for it?
this is my first post so i may be running a little long for one question but i hop some one can help me out
thank you for the help
rick

[snoking]

Sometimes it is more the PIN box mounts that hang down out of the frame that hit the side rails. I took the sawsall to back corners and cut mine off at the same angle as mine pin box. Lost the lowest hole on the back on both sides, but I do not thing that is an issue.

Chris

[Olbird]

Rick,

Forest River has corrected the problem of the Pin Box frame support hitting the truck bed rails on newer trucks.
They now cut the support at the factory on a angle just as everyone with the problem has done, it does not hurt the frame or create any problems, look at this post on the same issue.

viewtopic.php?f=23&t=5929&p=59417&hilit ... box#p59417

However I see you purchased a F250 to pull your 3150 Cardinal, have you checked the GVWR for 3/4 ton truck, your 3150 Cardinal is a very large trailer and may be a little large for the F250.

I know it will tow it but I think you are going to be at or over the trucks max load rating.

[bop11]

Welcome to the club Rick. I see you are from Gods area code (906).

I have the same trailer as you and my truck is a 2008 Chevy 2500. My pin box is the stock one with the rubber in it (no air) and it has just scrubbed a little of the Rino lining off the lip of my box. I'm pretty sure it can be repaired. I'm going to cut some of it off after I get back from the Memphis rally.

One other issue with the 3150 is the ladder. If you haven't cut off the bottom 2 rungs you might want to put it on your to-do list. Check this out and find out why.

viewtopic.php?f=54&t=5747&p=55293&hilit=ladder#p55293

[bfast54]

Rick............... Welcome to the Club.. ,...sounds like a nice set -up, you may indeed need to trim the corners of the "pin-box"....also, make sure you have 5-7 inches between the bed rails, and underside of the overhang

Hey, I know you are way up in God's country....but...we are having a rally "Close" to you .......................... (OK, in Ind). weekend after next.....Check "Midwest Rallies for info" .
I am putting it on.... if you made it, you could se how the rig was built....factory tour....etc.........

[ricklaplante]

thank you all for the response and the heads up on the ladder. i will look into cutting the back of the pinbox but if i do decide to replace the trail-air with a different type of pinbox witch one should i look into ?

[bop11]

If I were to get one today I would go with the Trail-Air. From everything I have read they take out the bounce as well as the jerking. I am also considering the Hensley air hitch. If you watch for a sale they are only $300-$400 more.

Check to see if you have drug your ladder by feeling underneath the front bend and see if it's scrapped. After I saw the post Travelers put up I checked mine and sure enough I had drug it pretty good.

[ricklaplante]

the ladder looks ok so far but will take a closer look the bird has not traveled to far from home to the storage had a friend move it. then went out and bought a truck but did not know there would be a problem.
now for the pin box do i have to drop it ? or can it be cut where it is ?

[Rob & Cathy]

I wouldn't worry about it until you actually get it hooked up and check it out. I'll bet you'll find there is no problem to fix.

Rob

[Mike Clay]

Like Rob says wait to see if you do have a problem but you cut it where it is if necessary. Make sure you cut on an angle!! I thought I had a better pic of mine will do some more searching for you also I think John has a pic after cutting his pin box

[ricklaplante]

i think you are right i will hold up until i hook up may not even be a problem just thought with everybody else saying there i problem i just took it i had the same one.
i guess a person should not cry until they are hurt LOL
thank you for the help and i will let you know as soon as i find out if the problem is there or not
looks like we are headed into winter again here, the rain looks like it is turning to snow.
again thank you

[Rob & Cathy]

No problem, let us know how it goes.

Rob

[watkinsk]

Well, guess I am the odd duck out. I have a 2010 3150 pulled by a Dodge 3500 with a short bed and a Reese Slider 16K. the Trail Air hitch that came on my 3150 was just too long for the short bed so I went with the Mor/Ryde and don't regret it. I tried to estimate what would happen if I cut the corner of the Trail Air hitch pin but it just looked too close....maybe because of the short bed or maybe because the Dodge is about 1 inch narrower in the bed than the GM and Ford. The Mor/Ryde is Very smooth. The More/Ryde is not only shorter but it has greater height clearance so there is no risk of a bump on the sides of the bed. I got mine from Tweety's for about $530 with shipping included last year at this time.

There is a minor down side to the Mor/Ryde. Because it is slightly shorter, it moved the 3150 nose about 3 inches closer to the cab. This takes a touch of maneuvering room off the rig when I turn---without the slider engaged. With the slider engaged there is absolutely no problems in going to a 90 degree turn.

The people at Mor/Ryde are great to work with.

BTW, for a 3/4 ton truck I would definitely put some air bags on the rear end...about $200 as I recall. Also, consider moving to a synthetic fluid in the rear differential to help keep the heat down.
Keith

P.S My 3 times used Trail Air is for sale if anyone is interested!

[ricklaplante]

thank you for the information

[Travelers]

Rick,
Trailaire offers the pin box in a variety of length. That may be one option.

You can measure from the center of the pin to the rear edge of the frame (diagonal).


That dimension needs to be 1/2 of the width of your inside dimension of the truck's box. The pic shows mine at 29". If its greater than half the distance then you need to cut the frame or shorten the pin box length (New pin box). It was far easier and cheaper to cut my frame flush to the rear of the pin box. George (olbird) posted the link that detailed my work.

Also, keep in mind that both Mike and I have tonneau covers that have their own frame that mounts to the inside of the box. Our box width is much shorter than a box without the frame for a tonneau cover.