5th wheel in short bed

having looked at what fords have to offer im back to wanting a mega cab dodge and i dont mind travelling to another dealer.

i removed the 5th wheel hitch from my '05 but as i understand it there is a different hitch for a short bed? its a 2007 reese 20,000# 5th wheel. will it work on an '08 shortbed with different rails? how difficult is it to tow a 5th wheel camper with a short bed? thanks,

Reply to
Nathan W. Collier
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Ive had my adjustable fifth wheel hitch in

6+ Dodge Ram 1500 pickups since 98, and it works great. My hitch is a dual pivot and slides, but works easy in a shortbox. I had different mounts for th 05+ trucks.

I always get a pair for spring assist Monroe rear shocks, and they tow and pull fine, with LT tires on the trucks.

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Reply to
OPTIMABATTERYSTORE

The different hitch would be a "slider". It is used to slide back the hitch when you need to do tight turning. If you didn't, you take the chance of smacking the back corner of your cab with the front corner of your 5th long before you would if you did slide it back, or have a long bed.

As far as towing forward at speed, I'm not sure there is any difference as long as you had the slider forward. If you didn't put in the slider and just used your regular hitch, you have to really watch those tight turns, especially when backing.

FMB (North Mexico)

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Reply to
FMB

Do you still have the tri-axle Raptor? That thing is huge. I don't think a megacab can handle it unless they changed them. The towing rating is really poor on them.

If the truck can handle your camper and you want a long-bed megacab check out

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. Ken

Reply to
Nosey

That can't be right... $6K for the conversion??

I think I just found my next truck....

Reply to
Tom Lawrence

thanks for the tip. i do have the triple axle raptor and i think im just going to wait around until the 4500s hit the lots. closest dealer is livingston 2 hours away so ill probably head up there. in the meantime while at the ford dealer yesterday i picked up this

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'01 cummins ram. 4 wheel disk brakes, all options, VERY clean at 125,000 miles. previous 1 owner, elderly man who passed away. his widow brought it in to trade as it was to much truck for her. i bought it on the spot for $15,250 without hesitation. although i was toying with the idea of picking up an addition work truck to expand my busiiness one more man, i really wasnt ready but i couldnt walk away from that truck at that price.

Reply to
Nathan W. Collier

Didn't you sell a grey one just like that?

Did you see Roy's ping on 4/11 about Jodi's Montana registration question?

Reply to
Nosey

the grey one

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was the best truck ive ever owned, period. i like it better than the newer ones i have now. it was however, a short bed and for service work a short bed just doesnt work for me.

ill look for it.

Nathan In Montana

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Reply to
Nathan W. Collier

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that is my camper and my '05. from the looks of it, if i did buy the 3500 megacab and use the standard hitch i should still clear the trailer except for when the truck and trailer are more than 90 degrees with one another. is that right?

also, bottom line....will the 3500 mega cab pull this trailer safely? fully loaded with fuel, gear, and everyone inside my rig total weight was just shy of 23,000#. thanks, Nathan In Montana

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Reply to
Nathan W. Collier

Nope... the closest distance between cab and trailer comes at 45°. Measure the distance from the pin of your trailer to a front corner. Then, measure the distance from the center of the rear axle to the back of your cab (on your long bed). Subtract 2 feet from that measurement. If the trailer measurement is longer, then you've got a problem.

Reply to
Tom Lawrence

What does the trailer weigh, ready to go?

Reply to
PeterD

I just realized what a stupid statement that came across as... obviously, if you keep going beyond 90°, you're eventually going to hit. What I meant was, between 0 and 90. the critical dimensions come at 45°. If it will clear beyond a 45° swing, then you're good up to, and a little beyond, 90°.

Based on some quick calculations here, and a lot of estimating, I figure the pin-to-corner distance to be around 4'5" or so.... might be a tight squeeze.

Reply to
Tom Lawrence

Tom, if the pin to corner distance is 4'5", wouldn't the pin to center of the rear window be even shorter? If so, your statement about "If it will clear beyond a 45* swing, then you're good up to , and a little beyond,

90*." is a bit suspect.

I'm just envisioning a circle with the center on the center pin and the arc smacking the either the truck cab corner or center of the window, but the same arc will not smack both.

I'm thinkin if you measure from the center of the trailer's pin to the front corner of the trailer, that will be your critical distance. Take that distance to the truck and see how close to the cab you get, from a point over the center of the bed (side to side) and centered over the rear axle.

I'm thinkin he will be better off with a slider hitch.

FMB (North Mexico)

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Reply to
FMB

Corner of the trailer, not corner of the cab.

That's what I meant - even though it might not have been exactly clear. "Measure the distance from the pin of your trailer to a front corner". I was referring to the front corner of the trailer.

Probably so... short beds and big 5th wheels rarely go well together.

Reply to
Tom Lawrence

i had a buddy bring over his shortbed today. we attempted to connect my camper to his 5th wheel at a 45 degree angle. NO WAY! backing into a tight camping spot is tough enough without having to worry about hitting the cab of the truck. i went today and bought an '08 LONG bed quad cab. see thread "goodbye 5.9, hello 6.7". thanks for all the help, im positive ill have more questions.

Nathan In Montana

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Reply to
Nathan W. Collier

See, Nate... there's your problem. You can just never commit to a decision :)

Reply to
Tom Lawrence

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