I finally had a chance to get the fifth wheel hooked up this afternoon and do about a 30 mile test run. Our fifth wheel has about 3200 pounds of hitch weight and weighs 16,300 total. I'm sure it didn't weigh that much today as it was not loaded for a trip but bottom line is the ride is the best I've had with this fifth wheel. We've had this fifth wheel for 8 years and pulled it with several trucks, GMC and Ford. This one is by far the smoothest riding. My 17 F350 dually was good but could be harsh on the rough stuff. I'm not saying I couldn't feel the bumps but the harshness is gone. Even some road undulations which usually cause a see saw affect were not nearly so noticeable. To be fair part of it may be the Reese Goose Box and it's air ride and the Fox 2.0 shocks I put on the truck the day after I got it. But, I did have a Trailer Saver air ride hitch and Rancho 9000XL adjustables on the 17.

The other big difference was in the engine and transmission performance. It was really noticeable on take off. It was smooth and accelerated what I felt to be much quicker and with less effort than my 17. My 17 had the 3.55 and the new has 3.31, which did give me a little heartburn wondering if I had made a mistake not getting the 3.55. I didn't. I did a highway run with the cruise set at 67 and it held 10th gear without breaking a sweat, even on some rolling hills. You may have seen the video with the guy towing a goose neck trailer with a back hoe or something on it, 18K if I remember right. He kept saying wow. That's what I did. I did check my mileage and it was 11.4 for the highway part. Not enough to get a feel for it but promising.

Overall, the truck felt solid and stable and tracked straight. We have several trips planned which will require some all day drives. I don't think it will be a problem. I did measure the deflection and it squats about 3 1/4 inches when I hook up. I'm thinking that is acceptable, at least I could not tell any ill affects on the ride or handling.

 

Looks great! Thanks for posting. Good luck with the new truck.

 

Awesome! I'm curious if you have a tonneau cover and what type? I'm going with a goosebox on our ordered fifth wheel when it gets in and my 2020 DRW, and I've been stressing over clearance of the tonneau rails that protrude into the bed a bit and the goosebox in turns approaching 90 degrees.

I haven't ordered a cover yet, but I'm considering a roll-n-lock m series or may go back with a BakFlip MX4 which I've had before.

Edit: looking at the pictures it appears you have a roll up. Is it a revolver, and how far do your tonneau rails protrude into the bed?

 

I have the Revolver X2 and the rails protrude about and inch and a half inside the bed. I didn't mention it but turning radius is an issue. My fifth wheel was built in 2012 before they really started raising them. I only have about 4" of clearance from the tailgate to the bottom of the overhang and about 5" closer to the front. I need to get the trailer raised but I have the MorRyde Independent Suspension and I think there is only one inch of adjustment available, which may help just a little. I could raise the hitch as I am at its lowest setting. I have 2 more sets of 2 inch spaced holes to raise it but I'm afraid it will sit nose high. Right now the pin box on the trailer will not let me turn 90 degrees without hitting the bed rails. I have a pretty tight turn to back it into its garage and got within a half inch of the X2 rail. Just guessing but I was maybe at 75 degrees. It needs to sit high enough to let the pin box clear. With your new fifth wheel it may not be an issue. Mine was listed as 12' 9" height and many of the newer ones are hitting 13' 6".

 

I’ve always been a black truck guy but I’ll tell you what I love that color!

 

I'll second that on the colour too, looks great! Out of interest what is the payload on your Platinum?

 

My 5th wheel was raised by welding 2" x 2" x 5'~ square stock below the frame where the springs hangers mount and changing to 16" wheels. This is the way it came from the factory.

 

4562 pounds on the yellow sticker.

 

I have the MorRyde Independent Suspension. No Axles, torsion suspension. There is an adjustment but it will only get me one inch.

 

I can't tell from your pictures how the Goosebox sits in the pinbox mounting bracket. On my 5er I had to raise the pinbox
to the highest point to get everything level. My pinbox mounts would hit the Roll n Lock toneau cover rails so, In my case,
I trimmed the pinbox mounts. Hope the picture shows what I mean. I cut the pin box mounts flush with the pinbox except
for leaving the two holes that I have the quick links in for safety chains.

 

I will look tomorrow but I'm pretty sure I don't have much to cut back without hitting the Goose Box. Reese redesigned the Goose Box and added 2 inches or so of height to the mounting part and added holes for hanging the safety chains. It makes it sit lower on the pin box. Thanks for the tip.

 

I’m hoping to switch to a Goosebox 20k for the set up below. I also have a Roll n Lock bed cover and am worried about the GB hitting the cover’s rails. I’ve been tossing the idea around and around, but I really don’t want to replace the cover with a Backflip or something similar. I’m not worried about the bed rails to trailer clearance, it’s the rear of the GB to the Roll n Lock rails inside the bed.

Can anyone out there with a shortbed and a Roll n Lock or similar style bed cover comment? It sounds like the B&W 4” offset ball helps with turning clearance, and raises the GB about an inch, which will provide a little more rail clearance too.

 

• The front and back edges of my pin box were the same measurement. We have been looking at new fifth wheels and I noticed many of them had the back side of the box angled to give more clearance for turns. I was able to cut about 2 1/4 inches off the back edges giving me a 45 degree corner. I haven't tried it yet but I think with the combination of the higher B&W ball, which is actually an inch and a half taller than my Reese ball, and the cut off the back corner I'm going to be good. My Revolver X2 rail sits in about an inch and a half so I need all the clearance I can get. I hope to find out how it works next week.
• I can't recommend the Goose Box enough. No more not having full use of my bed from April to November.

 

You sure you have your trailer weight accurate? 16k and 3200lb pin weight seems high for that trailer.

 

It's a 2013 Excel Winslow 34RKM (35' 5") made by the now defunct Peterson, Ind in Smith Center, Ks. It has a 17,500 GVWR, a fully boxed house built frame, all wood framing and custom full length fiberglass cladding (no seams). The original tires were 17.5" J rated Michelin's and it has hydraulic over electric disc brakes. I've since gone to H rated as the J's were overkill. It was approved for full time use and they had a 10 below zero guarantee for the water lines and tanks not to freeze, as long as the heater is running of course. There's also a washer/dryer sitting on the nose. It's our 3rd one and they were notably heavy but it is because they were well built. So, yes it does weigh what I said. I've had it weighed with the 3 different trucks we've pulled it with and the weights have been consistent. In 8 seasons of use and 65K miles we've needed one slide adjustment. I wish they still made them because we would have another.

Our last 2 trucks have been duals because none of the single rear wheel diesels in the upper end models had enough payload capacity to carry our 3800 plus pounds that we put on it. The new 2020 has plenty of capacity with its 4562 pound payload.