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Anyone have one of these?
I am thinking of taking out my ford drop in Bedliner and getting a bed mat that I can cut a hole in for the B&W turnover ball, and be able to sit the companion hitch on the bed mat.
I'm not sure if this would work on the techliner or if another rubber mat would be better.
Far as I can tell it's the same material as their flour mats. Should be just fine for what your looking for. I know I few people that cut a hole in a regular bed mat as well. Pick a mat out you like and add the hole as needed.
Cutting a hold for the goose ball is not big deal, but I would be concerned about sitting a Companion hitch on top of a soft rubber mat like that. With pin weights well over 3,000 lbs with today's big fifth wheels, you are going to have stability issues with the hitch sitting on that rubber.
How would you address the depressions in the bed? I have the B&W provided spacers installed on my Companion to make up for the depressions, but how would you handle that with the mat? I currently have an old rubber bed mat in my truck and have cut a square out of it for the Companion. When I'm not using the hitch, I lay the square back in the mat. I wouldn't want to do that with a new mat, but I don't want the hitch sitting on top of a rubber mat either.
I have used a B&W Companion on top of a bed mat with no issues. I've also used it on top of a drop-in liner (approved by B&W) with no issues as well. I would just be very careful to follow the installation instructions as far as torque on the pull-down and u-bolts.
I think b&w might have changed it approval for sitting on top of a Bedliner
"Will the Companion work with my bedliner?
Yes. However, if you are using a plastic drop in bed liner you will need to cut a hole in the liner large enough for the Companion base to set in."
Yeah, back in 2005 they said it was alright to use it on a drop-in liner. I used it on top of a Duraliner, which was certainly more robust than some of the other drop-ins I've seen. I did not have any problems running it with the Duraliner. I ran a Dual-Liner in my 2008 which only had a heavy duty bed mat on the floor. I used a hole saw to cut access the B&W and then torqued the Companion down to the mat.
Yes, their mat is really nice. I just put a BedTred (by Bed Rug) in my 2014. It appears to be a pretty nice product. I again used a hole saw to access the factory 5th wheel prep and gooseneck mounts, and I've actually got my old Dual-liner mat in there too for its non-skid property.
I also considered the WeatherTech liner, but was concerned about scratching up the fender wells because I'm always sliding things in next to the 5th wheel hitch.