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Who tows a 5th wheel with their short bed?

KATOOM
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KATOOM

KATOOM

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Help me with some measurement figures. I was told towing a 5th wheel with a short bed would be fine with a slider but I think I was lied to. Sure I can tow any 5th wheel.....as long as I only go straight. My current 5th wheel hitch has the kingpin 41" from the cab and the slider moves back about 12" or so for tight maneuvers. Trying to find a 5th wheel that will allow normal daily driving is proving to be far more difficult that I was led to believe.

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Mopar1973Man

Mopar1973Man

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Help me with some measurement figures. I was told towing a 5th wheel with a short bed would be fine with a slider but I think I was lied to. Sure I can tow any 5th wheel.....as long as I only go straight. My current 5th wheel hitch has the kingpin 41" from the cab and the slider moves back about 12" or so for tight maneuvers. Trying to find a 5th wheel that will allow normal daily driving is proving to be far more difficult that I was led to believe.

You might head over to http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php and talk to Gary he's a guru of 5th wheels and trailers...

cab to center of my king pin is 52 1/2" to 53" and i can turn 90* no problem. my truck is a long bed.

Same here... I've got a bumper pull... :lol: Well at least I gave a tidbit of information but I'll got sit in the corner with Dripley... :rolleyes:
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dripley

dripley

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i guess the only thing i was driving at is you have a short bed with the hitch mounte 41" to the center of the king pin. the hitch is a slider which gives you an additional 12 " when slid to the back for a total of 53". my long bed has a hitch that is mounted 53" from the cab to the center of the king pin. so for maneuvering we are identical. for down the highway and straight line driving we are still equal with the load being placed over the rear axle. there might be a little advantage for you when maneuvering in tight places since your king pin is now not centered over the rear axle. though that could go the other way. i'd have to think about that.just another voice from the corner:stuned:.

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War Eagle

War Eagle

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There are two kinds of sliders ( for 5th wheel trailers): manual and automatic.I have a Superglide which is the automatic slider. When you begin to turn then the kingpin plate assembly is released and slides to the back of the hitch rails so that the 5th wheel trailer doesn't hit the back of the cab. when you straighten out it locks back in place over the axle.The manual slider requires you to stop and get out of the truck to release the kingpin plate assembly before you make the turn. If you forget to do it then you will damage the truck and trailer when they run into each other as you turn. I have seen lots of 5th wheel trailers with the corners messed up where the owner started the turn without first releasing the slider. Sometimes they get lucky and it only punches out the back window of the truck and they stop before the sheetmetal and trailer get scrunched up.I think the Superglide works great. There may be other brands of auto-sliders but all sliders are not automatic. In fact it is my opinion that a large part of the population uses the manual slider on their short beds because the auto sliders are more expensive.

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fire176969

fire176969

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There are two kinds of sliders ( for 5th wheel trailers): manual and automatic. I have a Superglide which is the automatic slider. When you begin to turn then the kingpin plate assembly is released and slides to the back of the hitch rails so that the 5th wheel trailer doesn't hit the back of the cab. when you straighten out it locks back in place over the axle. The manual slider requires you to stop and get out of the truck to release the kingpin plate assembly before you make the turn. If you forget to do it then you will damage the truck and trailer when they run into each other as you turn. I have seen lots of 5th wheel trailers with the corners messed up where the owner started the turn without first releasing the slider. Sometimes they get lucky and it only punches out the back window of the truck and they stop before the sheetmetal and trailer get scrunched up. I think the Superglide works great. There may be other brands of auto-sliders but all sliders are not automatic. In fact it is my opinion that a large part of the population uses the manual slider on their short beds because the auto sliders are more expensive.

I don't have a 5th wheel hitch in my shortbed yet, however a friend of mine has had 3 different shortbeds and pulled a 5th wheel camper all over the country for work and never had and problems turning or any damage. Next time I see him I'll find out what kind of hitch he has and attempt to get some measurements for you. :thumb1: Until then I will join the growing party in the corner. :lol:
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KATOOM

KATOOM

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I don't have a 5th wheel hitch in my shortbed yet, however a friend of mine has had 3 different shortbeds and pulled a 5th wheel camper all over the country for work and never had and problems turning or any damage. Next time I see him I'll find out what kind of hitch he has and attempt to get some measurements for you. :thumb1: Until then I will join the growing party in the corner. :lol:

With that reply, I pardon you from the corner of shame. So please, return from your friend with some measurements and type of hitch. I agree with War Eagle in saying that auto sliders are the best option but two things in my defense: 1) I was led to believe that I would be fine towing just about any 5th wheel with a slider hitch when I was hitch shopping. And 2) auto sliders are expensive as they are cool. I'd buy one but I have a brand new Curt slider hitch in my truck and I'd really like to exhaust all my options before I attempt approaching my wife trying to explain why I need to spend money on a different hitch.....
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fire176969

fire176969

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With that reply, I pardon you from the corner of shame. So please, return from your friend with some measurements and type of hitch. I agree with War Eagle in saying that auto sliders are the best option but two things in my defense: 1) I was led to believe that I would be fine towing just about any 5th wheel with a slider hitch when I was hitch shopping. And 2) auto sliders are expensive as they are cool. I'd buy one but I have a brand new Curt slider hitch in my truck and I'd really like to exhaust all my options before I attempt approaching my wife trying to explain why I need to spend money on a different hitch.....

I know his hitch is a Reese, I think it is a manual slider but not sure. I am currently trying to buy his camper so I will need to adress these problems as well. He has had the same hitch in 3 different trucks and never had ny problems. 2 of them were 2001s and one was a 2008. He also had a 99 before that with a shortbed and pulled a fifth wheel camper with no issues so he should have an idea, lol. I actually have the bedliner out of one of his trucks in mine, it was cut for the rails so I can at the very least give you a ballpark measurement by going to the center of the cutouts for the rails the hitch assembly mounts to. Being sent to a different corner? Can't even hang out with a longbed owner. :lol: Oh well, it could have been worse, I could have bought the duramax I wanted instead of my dodge, but one hell of a deal can change almost anyones mind, lol.
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KATOOM

KATOOM

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Being sent to a different corner? Can't even hang out with a longbed owner. :lol: Oh well, it could have been worse, I could have bought the duramax I wanted instead of my dodge, but one hell of a deal can change almost anyones mind, lol.

Now you're just trying to get in trouble..... I am curious if your friend mounted the hitch back, or his trailers had extended pin boxes, or was simply an alert driver and always kept an eye on his trailers position.
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flagmanruss

flagmanruss

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I didn't know about sliding hitches when I had a 5th wheel. The horse trailer is a gooseneck/hidden hitch. I never considered a short bed. I'll go stand in the long bed corner. I recently saw a long bed with a crunched cab... the driver was a mite bit touchy.

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fire176969

fire176969

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Now you're just trying to get in trouble..... I am curious if your friend mounted the hitch back, or his trailers had extended pin boxes, or was simply an alert driver and always kept an eye on his trailers position.

I always seem to be good at getting myself into trouble. :lmao:I just tore the crap out of my yard today because I had the brilliant idea to back down to get my little utility trailer after it rained all day. 7,000 pound truck and soft ground do not play well together. :nono: I was going to stop today but passed him before I got to his house. I don't think he has an extended pin box or anything but I will ask when I can get ahold of him. The only other thing I know about the hitch he has is the two rails mount across the bed and he has an additional piece so he can take the 5th wheel off the rails and put one on the rails for a gooseneck.
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m109rrider

m109rrider

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Help me with some measurement figures. I was told towing a 5th wheel with a short bed would be fine with a slider but I think I was lied to. Sure I can tow any 5th wheel.....as long as I only go straight. My current 5th wheel hitch has the kingpin 41" from the cab and the slider moves back about 12" or so for tight maneuvers. Trying to find a 5th wheel that will allow normal daily driving is proving to be far more difficult that I was led to believe.

Maybe I'm slow but I'm trying to figure out exactly what your trying to figure out. Are you looking at new trailers? If so there's a metric butt ton of trailers out there that will allow you almost a full 90 deg without a slider (like mine). Center of my kingpin is 37" from the cab. With the long pinbox and scalloped corners I can go almost 90 degrees.

--- Update to the previous post...

Now you're just trying to get in trouble.....

I am curious if your friend mounted the hitch back, or his trailers had extended pin boxes, or was simply an alert driver and always kept an eye on his trailers position.

Extended pin boxes only work on trailers with scalloped corners. They push the trailer back while turning to align the scalloped part so it can clear the cab.
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KATOOM

KATOOM

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Maybe I'm slow but I'm trying to figure out exactly what your trying to figure out. Are you looking at new trailers? If so there's a metric butt ton of trailers out there that will allow you almost a full 90 deg without a slider (like mine). Center of my kingpin is 37" from the cab. With the long pinbox and scalloped corners I can go almost 90 degrees.

--- Update to the previous post...

Extended pin boxes only work on trailers with scalloped corners. They push the trailer back while turning to align the scalloped part so it can clear the cab.

You're very right about extended pinboxes. They aren't intended to "fix" the clearance problem but help offer a little more angle before a slider is needed.

And what I'm trying to find out is basically if I'm of the norm with those measurements I listed. If there was a magic trailer and kingpin measurement then that would make me feel better. Maybe I just need to hookup whatever I find and give it a test run to be sure but with trailers all over the place, its becoming expensive just looking.

Yes, you're so right again in saying that there's a metric butt TON of used trailers out there but I'm after a toy hauler and in saying that, a toy hauler that offers what my family needs. Some are no more than cargo boxes with a table and bed up front. Not very family friendly. So that metric ton quickly turned into a few pounds, and of those I've found, I haven't seen one that I would consider as a safe trailer for a short bed. Thanks for the opinion though.

--- Update to the previous post...

Don't know if you can tell from the pic but the cornersof the trailer are cut back really deep.

Nice setup.
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