I’m not kidding! I went around an awkward turn, and the trailer actually caught the corner of my tailgate and ripped it! I have to trailer all the way down, and it still rides front high. Its a 4 star 2 horse. A 4 horse head to head has more clearance (also a 4 star, go figure), but still doesn’t ride level.
Before this, I had a '97 Ford 2WD. Things were level, and there was more clearance between the tailgate and gooseneck.
So, I’m thinking about going back to a 2WD truck. I never use the 4WD. But no dealer seems to carry a 2WD dually. I’ll have to order one. But if I can’t see one to be sure the bed and tailgate will be lower, how will I know its what I need!!!
Do any of you have 2WD duallies? Ford or Chevy (I haven’t decided yet). Can you measure how high your tailgate is? Is that a weird request? Thanks in advance!
Hmm. I have a 4wd Ford Dually. I did convert my hitch to a 5th wheel because it’s easier to hook up and rides smoother. Does allow the trailer to sit higher but still pretty close to level.
You can flip the axles on your trailer. It does make the horses step up higher though. You can also try a gooseneck extender.
Literally flip the axles? Does that heighten the body of the trailer? And doesn’t it mess with the design and balance that the manufacturer worked out? I’d be a bit worried to do that.
A gooseneck extender would make my already front high trailer even higher… 
You’re hauling with the tailgate up?
You can also put blocks (steel) between the trailer axles and the trailer frame to lift the trailer. I researched this issue when I was truck shopping and concerned about the same issue.
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I seem to remember a solution on another thread about truck shopping on here recently. Something about the shocks or springs on your truck being altered to help with the “too tall truck issue”. I know my 2015 Chevy is taller than my brother’s 2007 version. I have a bumper pull, and my hitch/receiver/ball set up from my 99 F350 4x4 fits perfectly on the '15 Chevy though.
Friends of mine have lived out of their various campers for eight years.
They tow them with a 4x4 diesel van and the last three campers have had their axles replaced for that same reason.
They now upgrade to beefier axles, but at first had them flipped over, so apparently it isn’t too uncommon.
Flipping the axles means mounting the axles under the springs instead of over the springs. It depends on what kind of axles you have on your trailer. There is a kit you can buy to flip the axles yourself if you have experience working on vehicles. You should be aware that it naturally makes the step in for your horse bigger.
Blocking gives you a little more adjustment so you can fine tune it and works when you have axles that can’t be flipped.
Also be aware it moves your center of gravity higher which can decrease stability.
Agree with enjoytheride. Get yourself into a truck/trailer shop. They will be able to help.
Also, I would never purchase a dually without 4x4. Depending on where you live and your normal weather conditions, those suckers can get stuck pretty easy.
If the clearance is generally OK but you need to be able to drive over rough terrain, maybe replacing the pickup bed with a flatbed would be a better fix. 2WD will not make a big difference in ride height and obviously the height of the bed walls will be identical.
This Ford brochure gives you dimensions for theirs on page 2:
https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/topics/2015/15_SD_Pickups_SB_Updates.pdf
It’s different for every model, but for a 2015 F-350 crew cab long bed DRW tailgate height is 34.1" 2WD vs 35.6" 4WD. Bed height is 20" on all.
That may not tell you exactly what you want to know, which is floor height when loaded as the bed will be angled up significantly at the back when empty and there’s no guarantee that 2WD and 4WD suspension squats the same amount when loaded, but it gives you an indication.
Probably cheaper to take out some of the leaf springs in the rear and add air bags. I know of some that have done this. Those trucks sit high in the back anyway unless there is a ton of weight in the bed. You don’t need the short, thick springs at the bottom of the stack unless you are hauling at or above max weight in the bed. Air bags are adjustable for ride height, and the truck will ride smoother anyway.
Google lowering rear 09 chevy 3500
and you find how to do what I’m talking about
I forgot about the longer shackles, and not having to take springs out of the leaf springs:
http://www.duramaxforum.com/forum/suspension-steering/209594-shackle-kits-3500-hd-dually.html
Can’t the tongue of the trailer hitch be made longer or shorter?
I forgot to add on my truck I have one of the tail gates for hauling rvs with the middle section lower.
I’ve been really happy switching to 5th wheel hitch. I’m awful hitching a trailer and can hook up my 5th wheel hitch in less than a minute start to finish. Seconds to back it up into place by myself.
[QUOTE=Doctracy;8419602]
Can’t the tongue of the trailer hitch be made longer or shorter?[/QUOTE]
Generally, yes…but shortening beyond a certain point, especially with contemporary truck models, makes for the trailer hitting the truck bed sides on turns. OP mentioned it’s been adjusted as much as possible.
I did not read each post, but we have used an offset ball with our horse trailer. We have a 4 horse head to head that was converted with a LQ and with our dually, we had the same problem.
My husband purchased this item to bring the trailer back a bit:https://www.etrailer.com/Balls/B-and-W/BWGNXA4085.html
It has helped. He also has air bags in the back of the truck that has a pressure dial that he mounted in the dash of the truck. He can either add or remove the air in the air bags and he just loves it.
The trailer is still not quite level (horse trailer does go down a bit at the back) and we have been told that extra leaf springs can be added to the horse trailer to help raise it up to make everything more level. We havent done this yet but are really thinking of doing something like this in the future.
I would never purchase a dually without 4 x 4! One of our friends did, and she totally regrets it. She ordered it by a mistake and traded it in ASAP as she was getting stuck everywhere.
I have a 2001 Ford F350 that my mom had a couple of blocks taken out of to lower the truck bed. You might want to look into that possibility as well.
Just put a flatbed on your truck. Lots of good looking ones out there. Safer trailering, loading & unloading if you don’t raise your trailer.
We have a 2WD dually, no problems with it ever. Never had a need for 4WD.
