Dodge receiver height unhitched & Hensley hitch drop needed

[switz]

I called a friend to measure the height of the receiver socket in a new unsold 2012 Dodge Big Horn 2500, Crew Cab, Short Bed, Cummins, 4x4 with regular Michelin street tires. The feedback was 21.5" to the bottom of the socket or 23.5" to the top of the socket. The Hensley's socket when attached to an Airstream is 12' off the ground at the bottom or 14" at the top. The difference is 9.5" and the longest Hensley drop is currently 8".

The pickup bed in the pictures is obviously higher in the back since the only weight support option is to lower from the weight and compress the springs (no load leveling suspension). The unhitched trailer tongue weight is currently 1,175 pounds and the Dodge hitch assembly is rated 1,200 pounds.

Does anyone have a setup like this and did the suspension compress and lower the rear end of the truck to the point the Airstream was nearly level rather than nose high?

Also, did you have the Dodge hitch welded to reinforce it for the load?

[SteveH]

I don't have a Hensley, but a ProPride, and I'm in the process of trading for just the truck you have mentioned.

I found that Dodge, or Ram as they now wish to be called, adds 1 1/2" of RAISING blocks between the rear leaf springs and the axle housing. This produces a space of almost 15" between the top of the rear tire and the fender. Totally unnecessary in my opinion.

So, I'm having the dealership remove the 1 1/2" of blocks before I take delivery of the truck. This will get the receiver to a height that can be reached by the standard ProPride adjustable drawbar.

If you don't want to go this route, Sean at ProPride does make a drawbar that will accomodate the height of the Ram 2500, and adapt to the Hensley hitch.

[crisen]

These dimensions, 21.5 and 23.5 sound a little high to me, I don't have the measurements in front of me for my 3500 but with around 400 pounds of "stuff" in the truck bed, full fuel, luggage etc mine measures well under 22" at the top of the socket. My dimensions were taken on a cement floor so I think they are pretty close. Oh, and my hitch is a drawtite so considerably lighter than what you are looking at.

[ctdair]

I have a 2010 2500 megacab 4x4 cummins.I would call that comparable to what your looking at and only use a 6 inch drop Hensley stinger. I don't have all the measurements for heights handy but you are considering the uncompressed spring height of the truck. If a stinger had the drop to accommodate the hook up based on your measurements as soon as the rear springs compressed the trailer would then be too low. The weight transfer bars do not have the leverage needed to pull the truck suspension back to its uncompressed state.
So you need to use less drop and the trailer will be nose high on the jack when first hooked to the truck. As You lower the jack the suspension compresses and if the drop is right it should be level to a little low. Then the weight bars have a chance to correct the nose low but not very much. Hope that makes sense.The heavier the tongue weight of the trailer the more the compression will be. I have a 30 slide so it is 1000lb plus tongue weight.

[overlander63]

I used a 4" drop stinger for my '02 Dodge 1500 4x2, which was the same drop used on my friend's 2006 Dodge 2500 4x4. It's also the same drop as my F250 4x2.

[slowmover]

Originally Posted by switz

I called a friend to measure the height of the receiver socket in a new unsold 2012 Dodge Big Horn 2500, Crew Cab, Short Bed, Cummins, 4x4 with regular Michelin street tires. The feedback was 21.5" to the bottom of the socket or 23.5" to the top of the socket. The Hensley's socket when attached to an Airstream is 12' off the ground at the bottom or 14" at the top. The difference is 9.5" and the longest Hensley drop is currently 8".

The pickup bed in the pictures is obviously higher in the back since the only weight support option is to lower from the weight and compress the springs (no load leveling suspension). The unhitched trailer tongue weight is currently 1,175 pounds and the Dodge hitch assembly is rated 1,200 pounds.

Does anyone have a setup like this and did the suspension compress and lower the rear end of the truck to the point the Airstream was nearly level rather than nose high?

Also, did you have the Dodge hitch welded to reinforce it for the load?

I changed the DODGE hitch receiver as I was not at all impressed with it. I'd ditch it. The 2.5" TITAN #45299 is the stoutest hitch receiver I'm aware of (fits 2012 and my 2004) with plenty of support on various CTD forums:

DRAW-TITE #45299 A 2.0" sleeve is optional and can be tacked in place.

I had a Houston shop slap the 2.0" CURT C15061 on mine for far less than the linked price. Note the difference in frame attachment. The CURT just hangs low (I've dragged it with my 2WD ground clearance), the TITAN is a rear frame cross-member replacement piece.

CURT is just kinda cheap anyway. Click the links and note the attachments. Which do you think is the one to have?

I haven't decided between a full replacement REUNEL bumper or the TITAN plus a new chrome bumper so it's good enough for now. Same with a PRO PRIDE adjustable H/A stinger: good enough for now. But a PP is on my list as these make-do's aren't up to full spec, IMO.

I dragged my new 1990 35' Silver Streak home just before the New Year with an unadjusted RA weight addition of 1,540-lbs. It most certainly compressed the TV rear springs (though I didn't measure). TW was calc'd at 1,180-lbs (full propane, empty TT and no fresh water).

CAT Scale:

Solo (driver, full fuel, normal load)

FA - 4220
RA - 3760
7,980 (solo, new, was 6,860-lbs)

Hitched:

FA - 3820
RA -5340
TT - 6540
15,700

With a 2" rise ball out of a hitch receiver height of around 14" I still would need another 2" to keep the TT level with a non-WD ball mount hitch. Of course, this is not an A/S TT, nor did I have WD applied in the above where the RA value would have declined to approximately 890-lbs from the 1,580-lbs shown (690-lb deduction) assuming a 75/25 split where 295-lbs would have been returned to the TT axles.

You're better off with the same truck in 1T. The payload capacity is quickly maxed in a 3/4T for no advantage in solo ride quality. Nor can a 3/4T be re-titled as a 1T. Nor are air bags, etc, a proper substitute for a proper spring package. Etc. Note that I am over the GVWR at 9,160-lbs (9k) and even with WD applied the truck is still over (but not on the axle/tire ratings which is my only real concern) given that the payload is still less than what is planned.

1T CTD + Pro Pride + TT disc brakes (Direclink anti-lock) = best combination.

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[slowmover]

Forgot to add that SS TT ball height is 18.50" As Andy/Inland RV notes, even TT's that are new will have variances here. IOW, there is no published figure that is hard and fast.

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