Hell Ford lovers
I am thinking of buying a fith wheel camper 25 foot and the ? is has anyone evewr mounted fith wheel hitch behind the rear axle because I was thinking of doing this because I have a short bed with toolbox and Fuel tank. Buddy of mine says his friend has done this. looking for input

thanks SPROCKETFORD

 

The normal installation is 1" ahead of the axle centerline and most application specific rail kits are made to fit there. I would recommend a fifth slider kit or an offset king pin/extender.

 

were do find that stuff new to fith wheel hitches

 

I have a slider because I also have a short bed. I mounted mine 6" forward of the axle in the front position. My 5er has a 2300# tounge weight, so I am pulling alot more weight than you will be, but it pulls and rides really nice. I decided to pull with the slider back which is 6" behind the axle (I am basicly lazy and didn't want to move it after doing some serious manuvering). I pulled it less than 2 miles and pulled off the interstate and moved it back up to the normal pull position. IT RODE TERRIBLE!! I may as well have been pulling a bumper pull. I do not recommend mounting the center line behind the axle. I was amazed at how much difference it made. JMHO

JIm

 

thanks for info

 

It would be a bad idea to mount your hitch behind the axle as the 5er would whip so bad as you towed it! Can you go to a side mount tool box to get the hitch above the axle? Or would the 5er hit the fuel hose yet?

 

Sproket:

DO NOT mount the CL (centerline) of the hitch behind the rear axel for it will sit low, not distribute the weight properly and as mentioned it will 'whip' on the highway. I mounted mine in my '99 and now '05 F250 CC FX4 1-inch in front of the rear axel and it rides good. I DO NOT have a slider but my fifth pin sticks out in front of my unit about 8-inches. I have taken the truck and 5th hooked up on my back 2-acres and cut turns and practiced backing up with it and I can honestly say that mine would almost NEVER hit the cab unless I did:

1. On (2) complete 360-degree turns it tightens up to where it would hit. How often do you turn (2) consecutive turns...NEVER..

2. When backing up you might get jackknifed a little in a really tight spot and it may hit. If you are trying to negotiate the 5th into that tight of space or have to adjust your turn angle that much while backing you have already done a poor job of beginning the backing process to begin with. Believe me, because I am poor at doing it still......HAHAHA

Most of it will depend on the hitch configuration and where it is on the trailer. Some of the larger units have the pin mounted under the unit or right at the end of the unit. With this being said, I would just ask the dealer to install a hitch pin extender.... The slider hitches are good but are expensive and then there is just another 'component' to potentially fail....

Just my thoughts.....

Vegas

 

From wnoahat I have been told is on a short box it should be mounted 2" in front of the axle providing there are no obstructions below for mounting the brackets. They then work there way towards the back of the box until they find a clear spot.

 

Sprocketford,

Try a Google on RBW and Valley Industries. Both are real good hitches and I'm familiar with them. On top of that Valley is made in Lodi California and real close to where I live. I have Valley rails and an RBW hitch right now. There are other good hitches, just look around and find one that works best for you. LindenBruce

 

BTW, just clear something up.. A slider is designed to slide the hitch backward for more clearance when turning...It is not designed to be towed in the rearward postion!
If you need to turn sharply, then you have the ability to move the hitch rearward.

 

I ran into the same problem with my new beast and the problem has been completely resolved by the addition of a Pullrite 16K SuperGlide. This is one helluva piece of engineering ! Check out http://www.pullrite.com/superglide.htm
They are priced proud but worth every cent when I compare the last 10+ years using a Reese in a previous long bed to this one. Couldn't be happier.
And from my point of view, sooner or later an occasion will arise where a harda** turn will be required and the situation requires a turn NOW with no time to think....bye bye truck rear window!

 

ARE YOU KIDDING ME??
Look at the price....over $3,000.00
WOW!

 

POWER SLIDERS rule!!! but they are pricey... it helps for jack knifin the 40 footer onto a small site!

 

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME??
Look at the price....over $3,000.00
WOW!"
.................................................. ............................
I paid $2,100. out the door installed for the 16K SuperGlide.
That sure aint chicken feed but the rig is the very best I have seen and now I just crank and go with nary a thought to 5er-cab interference. Talk about piece of mind.
When you consider the $$ you have already invested in your truck, this seems a little easier to swallow.
Also I had a Reese manual slider om a previous truck and though it worked OK, there was an annoying fore & aft slop in that rig that would produce a bump on start and stop. And I had a couple of situations where I couldn't get out and put the slide to the rear due to traffic and it got a little hairy.
Food for thought......

 

Had a 32' Fiver with a Reese Slider Hitch. It's mounted centered the rear axle or slightly forward. I have short box Super Crew cab FX4. Pulled great in normal position but you wouldn't want it behind. Extreme loading to read of vehicle.

Removed by Admin: Please review the Guidelines about selling items in the forums,
Thanks