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Truck bed and fifth wheel hitch

Jaw147
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Jaw147 New Member

Jaw147

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Can anyone tell me why they made the bed to 6’9” and that the hitch does not set right over the rear axle? Does this mean I don’t need a slider hitch?

Makito Enthusiast

Makito

Posted
Posted

I bought the long bed and my buddy bought the short bed. I am using a non sliding hitch and my buddy chose a slider. He has been super frustrated that it does not sit right over the axle but could not get help or a straight answer from anyone. First holiday with the truck he slides the hitch and it slid back so far the hitch damaged the tailgate. Long story short at this point I would not recommend a slider hitch unless you absolutely need one. His setup would have been fine without.

newdude Senior Enthusiast

newdude

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Jaw147 said:

Can anyone tell me why they made the bed to 6’9” and that the hitch does not set right over the rear axle? Does this mean I don’t need a slider hitch?

 

The ball is centered over the spring packs for optimal weight distribution.

  • Quote

     

    • The ball is gooseneck mounting point is 2" behind the axle
    • It is centred on the rear leaf springs between the front hangar and the rear shackle
    • According to GM engineers, supposed to be the right distribution for the standard bed truck, also gives you the additional 3 or so inches to the cab

     

     

 

 

Njmurvin Enthusiast

Njmurvin

Posted
Posted
On 8/15/2020 at 8:31 AM, Makito said:

I bought the long bed and my buddy bought the short bed. I am using a non sliding hitch and my buddy chose a slider. He has been super frustrated that it does not sit right over the axle but could not get help or a straight answer from anyone. First holiday with the truck he slides the hitch and it slid back so far the hitch damaged the tailgate. Long story short at this point I would not recommend a slider hitch unless you absolutely need one. His setup would have been fine without.

I came from a Pullrite Superglide in my Dodge Ram to this new truck. After considering all my options, I settled on the Andersen Ultimate hitch. Depending on how it's installed (there are options for positioning), you can get as much as 9" more clearance from the cab. The length of the trailer's pinbox can be an issue with clearance to the tailgate and sides if it's too long.  With mine, I was able to get the full 9" and have a mile of clearance between cab and trailer. And it's a whopping 38lbs which makes it a cinch to get in and out.

  • 1 month later...
Toddsquad Enthusiast

Toddsquad

Posted
Posted

too bad when you take the tailgate off you loose all the cameras on the truck and now created a safety issue as well as loosing your fancy high tech system on your 80k-100k truck. guess the engineers must have missed that in thinking nobody takes their tailgates off for slide ins / salt spreaders for winter and whatever else you would need to take the tailgate off.    

  • 4 weeks later...
bass mechanic Enthusiast

bass mechanic

Posted
Posted

My 5th wheel trailer is a Grand Designs and came with the turning point hitch. It’s pretty slick! I don’t need a slider because my 5th wheel pin has a giant key in it that keeps the 5th wheel pin from rotating in the hitch itself. Instead it pivots at the pin box where it’s attached to the trailer. I can turn 90 degrees with probably 6” to spare on a short bed truck.


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