Added 2" Riser to frame

[HOWITTRO]

I would appreciate feedback from DRV Mobile Suite owners with respect to having the 2 inch riser added to your chassis frame during production to ensure you have proper clearance between your fifth wheel front and the bed rails on your truck. The dealer I spoke to has never heard of this yet Karen at RV's for Less says she recommends this option on all of her builds
Thanks
Bob

[Cummins12V98]

I wanted it, was talked out of it, should have had it!

[donnandon]

I wanted it, was talked out of it, should have had it!

Cummins, we have the 2014 version of your truck without the air suspension and were looking at a 38PS3. It does not have the 2" riser option, and were wondering what you have found in not having it with your truck???

[Cummins12V98]

Cummins, we have the 2014 version of your truck without the air suspension and were looking at a 38PS3. It does not have the 2" riser option, and were wondering what you have found in not having it with your truck???

In the pick the air bag pin box is aired 1" lower than it should have been and the front of the RV is still sitting nose high. The B&W hitch is at the lowest and the TrailAire is at the highest it can be.

From what I have been told the Ram's without the rear air don't need the riser but I have also been told they do.

I would say just hook up to it and see how it looks!

Pic looks better than it is. My rear axle weighed 900# more than the front axle.

The 2" riser would have been perfect.

http://i.imgur.com/RTZV794l.jpg

[Dogpaws]

Our 38RSB3 rides level on ouRRam 3500 DRW. The truck does not have air ride. The Curt hitch is set at the highest level.

[steadfast]

We ordered the 2" lift at the last minute and are glad we did. Our 2016 38PS3 tows at near level. We tow with a 2015 Chevy dually with air bags.
We did a height measurement yesterday. The highest point is the rear AC at 13'4". The front AC is 1 inch shorter.

[Joezilla]

Hmmmm............you guys have got me thinking. We just sent in a deposit to Rolling Retreats on a 43' Atlanta Mobile Suites. I have a 2014 Ram dually 4x4 to pull it with. Do I need to have this 2" riser added or not? I want to tow level.

Joe

[steadfast]

Hmmmm............you guys have got me thinking. We just sent in a deposit to Rolling Retreats on a 43' Atlanta Mobile Suites. I have a 2014 Ram dually 4x4 to pull it with. Do I need to have this 2" riser added or not? I want to tow level.

Joe
Another thing to consider with the lift, you can increase the distance between the pickup bed rail and the coach without making the situation worse. From what I have heard, the Dodge has the highest bed rail so it would be more worthwhile for you.
What did Rolling Retreats say about it?

[IShootSharpStix]

I have a 41RSSB4 with a MOR/ryde Pin and IS on order and will be pulling it with a 2015 Chevy dually with a Curt 24K hitch. I emailed DRV yesterday on this topic and received the following response from Kyle Miller:

We do the 2” riser on a small percentage of all our units and we have had no negative feedback from our customers who do not have that option and we assume are towing with either a GM, Dodge, or Ford. It is more of a personal preference for this option as if we were running into problems we would make this change internally. We do not want our customers to have to remember to order a special item due to towing.

[Cummins12V98]

Hmmmm............you guys have got me thinking. We just sent in a deposit to Rolling Retreats on a 43' Atlanta Mobile Suites. I have a 2014 Ram dually 4x4 to pull it with. Do I need to have this 2" riser added or not? I want to tow level.

Joe

What kingpin did you order? Mine is the TrailAire air bag system.

[Cummins12V98]

Another thing to consider with the lift, you can increase the distance between the pickup bed rail and the coach without making the situation worse. From what I have heard, the Dodge has the highest bed rail so it would be more worthwhile for you.
What did Rolling Retreats say about it?

If he asked they told him he did not need it.

[Cummins12V98]

I have a 41RSSB4 with a MOR/ryde Pin and IS on order and will be pulling it with a 2015 Chevy dually with a Curt 24K hitch. I emailed DRV yesterday on this topic and received the following response from Kyle Miller:

We do the 2” riser on a small percentage of all our units and we have had no negative feedback from our customers who do not have that option and we assume are towing with either a GM, Dodge, or Ford. It is more of a personal preference for this option as if we were running into problems we would make this change internally. We do not want our customers to have to remember to order a special item due to towing.

Well I guess I will be showing them I DID NEED it!

[Joezilla]

What kingpin did you order? Mine is the TrailAire air bag system.

Ours is the Mor-Ryde inbox with the Mor-Ryde IS suspension.

Joe

[Joezilla]

Any ideas what it would cost to have this 2" riser added to the coach frame before it leaves the factory? Ours has not been ordered yet as we just sent in the deposit check a couple of days ago.

Joe

[wingnut60]

Joe,
Can't help on the cost, but based on several comments on the SOITC site (before it went down) and others, I would not get a new unit without the riser. It is a lot simpler to raise the hitch point to match a higher trailer than to lower the hitch and lose bed clearance.
What--this will be your 3rd new trailer in 8 years?
Joe

[Joezilla]

Joe,
Can't help on the cost, but based on several comments on the SOITC site (before it went down) and others, I would not get a new unit without the riser. It is a lot simpler to raise the hitch point to match a higher trailer than to lower the hitch and lose bed clearance.
What--this will be your 3rd new trailer in 8 years?
Joe

Actually 9 years. ha. We had the Montego Bay for 5 years and have had the Select Suites for 4 years in October. With this being a 43 footer and having a 2nd bedroom for grandkids and being able for Debbie to have her sewing machine set up all the time, I truly anticipate keeping this unit until we finally decide to come off the road. Plus it will have a 55" LED HD TV for me.

I have emailed Rolling Retreats with a question about how much it would cost to have the 2" risers installed. I will report back when I hear.

Joe

[IShootSharpStix]

For what it is worth I talked to the General Manager at RVs for Less today and was told that:
- the cost is $300 if the frame has not already been built and $1500 to add it after the fact.
- The riser is strictly to achieve a level towing condition and is most needed for Dodge trucks, as their beds are the highest made and thus are most likely to pull un-level.
- GMs without the riser will see a slight off-level that is all but undetectable to unknowing observers and I am thinking my wife's wardrobe in the bedroom closet will really bring it very close to level ;)
- Fords are the least likely to need it as their beds are much lower than the dodges.

[Cummins12V98]

Ours is the Mor-Ryde inbox with the Mor-Ryde IS suspension.

Joe

My B&W is 17" from the bed to the top of hitch. It's at the lowest setting.

I have the IS also but have the TrailAir and it's at the highest setting.

I say get the riser $300 is cheap compared to a trip to MorRyde plus $1,500!

[IShootSharpStix]

Curious as to the height of your bed. With that measurement plus the 17" for the hitch we could compare the real hitch height of the truck and do some comparisons.

[Cummins12V98]

My bed height is 55" at the top of the rear corner of the bed in the loaded position. I can measure from the top of bed to top of hitch later if you want.

[IShootSharpStix]

My hitch height, unloaded and with 15psi in the bags is 55". That is from the ground to the top of the plate.

[Joezilla]

I just heard back from Rolling Retreats. Alicia said it was $350 to add it and that she would get Kyle at DRV to add it.

Whew, I feel much better now.

Joe

[HOWITTRO]

Joe
Yyou should be able to negotiate it for $350 from your dealer
Bob

[tjfotenot]

I have a 12 GMC 3500 DRW and I am not level. My dealer did not notify me of the 2 inch spacer and I definitely need it as I have ran out of other adjustments on the hitch.

[Lillyputz]

I just heard back from Rolling Retreats. Alicia said it was $350 to add it and that she would get Kyle at DRV to add it.

Whew, I feel much better now.

Joe

I had the 2" riser added to mine, when I ordered it. Talk to Gary Wheeler at Mor/Ryde , Mor/Ryde does not charge extra for this. He said adding riser's is quite common.


Lillyputz

[IShootSharpStix]

Who was your dealer?

[Stevencoles]

We have a 38rsb3 running with a Reese hitch on the highest setting, towing with a Ford F350DRW Diesel, runs near flat. The Reese is on Rails, not in the bed as the factory installed Ford hitch, wonder if that isn't part of the secret here, the rails add about 1 and 1/2 inches..

[Lillyputz]

Tiara RV. in Elkhart, IN.

[IShootSharpStix]

Stevencoles - For what it is worth the dealer told me that the Fords sit low enough that they usually don't need the riser. It is more suited to Dodge and GM.

[Joezilla]

Debbie flew to OKC today and rented a car to drive to Rolling Retreats to finalize everything on the new rig. Alicia spent most of the afternoon with her and we are very happy with the results.

On the 2" riser item, it lists a $300 cost for this. Also included is lowering the back 4 levelers to compensate for the 2" riser. I guess I never really thought about needing to lower the rear levelers.

Those of you that have the 2" riser, did your back 4 levelers get lowered also?

It won't really matter to me either way since I always put 3 2x12 boards underneath each leveler before punching auto level.

Boy, I thought we were excited about the new unit being ordered before, but now that all the paperwork is done, WE ARE SUPER EXCITED!!!!!

Joe

[Kerry]

how would one know if the rear jacks were lowered to compensate for the 2" riser ?

[tjfotenot]

Should be on the last set of biology holes.

[Cummins12V98]

Not lowered. Three holes showing below frame.

http://i.imgur.com/DaFdtFsl.jpg