fifth-wheel installation

[fishman]

My buddy got a great deal from his in-laws on a 24' travel trailer. Included with it was the 5th wheel hitch, Reese brand. It was taken out of a Chevy half-ton and he wants to put it in his Ford half-ton. What should he look for in an installation? In other words, how does the used hitch need to be installed, and which, if any, parts need to be new? Do the bolts need to be hardened? Also, for the brake controller, he needs a good combination of price, quality, and ease of use. Any thoughts would be welcomed. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[midlf]

Check the Reese website. For the Drawtite hitch I bought all the installation instructions were on the Drawtite website. If those instructions are available check for the Chevy and Ford. Comparing them should give the info you want. I would suspect grade 8 hardware would be required. If not I would use it anyway.

 

[BB_TX]

Any time brake controllers are discussed, Tekonsha Prodigy seems to float to the top of the opinion poll. I haven't bought one yet, but they can be had for a little over $100 on Ebay. Quite a bit higher at an RV or camper store.

 

[RobS]

When we got our fifth wheel I put the hitch in myself. It too is a Reese. Easy enough to follow the directions but don't guess at it. The placement in the bed relative to the axle is very important (the hitch pin needs to be a couple inches ahead of the axle). Check with Reese and compare the parts you have to those they recommend. If you don't have the right brackets and such, I'm sure Reese can help.

The worst part of the whole thing was drilling the holes. There are eight holes through the frame and I drilled all from my creeper. Any idea what hot metal shavings feel like as they fall on your arms, neck and face /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[tillerkiller]

Remember to check the tailgate-to-RV clearance when he hooks up with the tailgate down so he does not back the tailgate into the RV while hooking up. It may not hit anyway, but some can.

Also, if he can't unhook when he wants to, the truck needs to be backed up into the trailer (with the brakes on the trailer held on, go easy!) to get some slack in the hitch so it will let go.

 

[Bird]

And does he have pickup with an 8' bed? If not, does he have a hitch arrangement that will allow him to jackknife the rig without the front corner of the trailer and the rear corner of the pickup cab meeting?

 

[Phils]

I installed my Reese sliding hitch in my 6' bed with no problems. I opted to weld the brackets to the frame rather than drill bolt holes and did the welds per Reese's instructions. I'm not a good welder but with a borrowed MIG welder did a satisfactory job -- been about 8 years and I regularly check the welds and have found no cracks.

As has been mentioned above, follow Reese's instructions.

Phil

 

[BB_TX]

<font color="blue"> without the front corner of the trailer and the rear corner of the pickup cab meeting? </font>
Yep. Good friend found out the hard way. Both the corner of the cab and the camper show that you can't turn it 90 degrees. He has a 30' camper. May not be as much a problem on shorter ones. Hopefully I am learning most of the problems before I ever buy mine. Now if I can just remember them.

 

[kennyd]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Any time brake controllers are discussed, Tekonsha Prodigy seems to float to the top of the opinion poll. I haven't bought one yet, but they can be had for a little over $100 on Ebay. Quite a bit higher at an RV or camper store. )</font>

Here is another favorite, the Jordan Ultima .
I have been using one for 2 years now and it is absolutely fantastic. Very simple design-the more you push the pedal- the more it stops the trailer. There are no fancy electronic inertia sensors or other stuff to fail, It just plain works /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[fishman]

"And does he have pickup with an 8' bed? If not, does he have a hitch arrangement that will allow him to jackknife the rig without the front corner of the trailer and the rear corner of the pickup cab meeting?"

Bird, you have a way of cutting straight to the important stuff, don't you. As it turns out, due to the width of his trailer there apparantly isn't a hitch manufactured that will work in his 5.5' bed. Of course, the Ford salesman and their aftermarket installer told him it would be no problem before he bought the truck. Now the installer has "pretty much gotten out of the 5th wheel installation business". He called Reese with some measurements and they were very helpful, although they had no product that could help, even their premium slider hitch didn't provide enough clearance.

So unless someone has a bright idea out there, he's pretty much limited to complaining to his dealer and trading off his 5th wheel for a bumper pull, I guess. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Thanks to all who replied. The brake controller info will be applicable regardless.

 

[tillerkiller]

There are more slider hitches out there than you can shake a stick at. I don't have any experience with one but I would not give up just yet.

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( due to the width of his trailer there apparantly isn't a hitch manufactured that will work in his 5.5' bed. )</font>

I am having a hard time understanding this statement. Arent all RV 5th wheels wider than the tow rig anyway?

 

[Dozernut]

Before he trades trucks or sells his 5th wheel, have him look at this 5th wheel hitch. It is an automatic slider built for short bed trucks, it is pricey but cheaper than trading trucks or trailers. hitch The 12k Superglide will fit the short bed F150.

 

[Bird]

John, I would have thought the truck would have a 6.5' bed instead of 5.5'. A slider hitch for the truck is one option. Another is to change the pin box on the trailer for one that extends forward. But if it really is a 5.5' bed (crew cab?) then I'm not sure whether anyone makes something he could use unless an extended pin box can be found that's long enough.

 

[fishman]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Arent all RV 5th wheels wider than the tow rig anyway? )</font>

You've got me Tillerkiller. All I can report is that his rig is 95" and the widest the Reese technical guy said he could use was 84" or there-abouts. It might have been wider. The problem comes when turning . . . the trailer corner will hit the cab of his truck.

And yes it is a crewcab truck. I'm forwarding all of these suggestions to him. Thanks to all for the help so far as he really is in a bad spot on this one as one of the purposes of the new truck was to pull the trailer. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Arent all RV 5th wheels wider than the tow rig anyway? )</font>

Well, just about, but as you know, there's always exceptions to the rule. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif The Scamp is only 80" wide. I don't know now many others might be narrow. 95-96" is common, and then a number of the larger ones, such as the one my younger brother lives in, are 102" wide.

 

[Bird]

John, I asked my brothers about this hitch problem. Both of them are full time RVers; one used to be in the RV business and still occasionally helps the other brother who has his own RV service business. Neither of them have personal experience with using such hitches, but think the Pullrite SuperGlide is probably the best was to go, and they do make it for the supercrew trucks.

 

[RedRocker]

IMHO I'd get at least a 3/4 ton truck with an 8' bed, 1/2 ton trucks are great for trips to Home Depot, but for hauling a travel trailer there are a lot better alternatives.