Just purchased new Nissan Frontier 4WD for towing my Scamp 5th wheel. Haven't hooked up yet but it appears I'll only have about 5 inchs clearance between the trailer and the top sides of the truck box.
Wondering if this is sufficient or will I need to lift the trailer a few inchs. Would like to hear from anybody towing the 5th wheel with late model Frontier 4WD.
When I bought my Scamp 5er in 2007, the factory specifically asked the height of the truck bed/sides. The trailer was raised at the factory. At the time I was pulling with a 1996 Chevy. When I bought my new 2012 Chevy Silverado, I was concerned about the clearance since newer vehicles have higher bed sides. After measuring, I discovered there would be enough clearance, but less than the 96 vehicle. To try to answer your question - height of my truck bed at the rear is 53 1/2 inches from the ground. I would say there is 6" to 8" clearance between the truck and trailer. This from the Scamp owners manual: Ball heights are relative. Suspension of the tow vehicle, storage of personal belongings in trailer, water kept in trailer, etc. will affect the necessary ball height. 5th wheel trailer - 40 inches to top of ball. If the sides of the truck are higher than 48" a raised axle may be necessary. You need to discover whether your trailer has been raised, or not. I would suspect that it was.
Ken
I have a 07 CC 4X4 Frontier and have owned two 5 ers. Its hard to judge clearance until you are hitched up and you have the 500 lbs of tongue weight on the rear of the truck. Once the weight is on the truck the ball will more than likely have to be raised and that will give you plenty of clearance. I did have one trailer contact the bed lip but I was off road and the truck dropped into a 1.5 ft. deep hole (tank trap) while backing up and turning.
Eddie