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Fifth Wheel?

4K views 27 replies 15 participants last post by  mikem 
#1 ·
I just bought a newer 08 and it has the rails installed for a fifth wheel type hitch. I need gooseneck and was wondering if they offer a ball setup that fits the rails.....or do I need to just get another B&W for this truck too?

Thanks
 
#2 ·
they make a ball set up that attaches to the rails. Here's one
 
#10 ·
Joe was cruising along at 60 when a blazer locked up it's brakes & he rear ended them. You would have to ask him for the fine details. I have heard of other gooseneck adapters for the rails that have failed in the exact same way.



 
#12 ·
Was that hitch bolted to the frame, or just the bed floor?
 
#15 ·
doesn't look like the gooseneck portion failed but the mounting for the rails themselves. You can see one of the carriage bolts sitting in the rail with out even a nut on it. Wondering if the nut broke off or stripped down instead of breaking the bolt (hard to really tell)

I don't see how it could be a bad setup since a 5th wheel hitch mounted to those same rails would be FAR more prone to the same failure since the hitch point would be higher up from the rails and generally 5th wheel campers are gonna be a bit heavier than a gooseneck and a pulling truck.
 
#16 ·
Yeah that's not the adapter plate failing. The plate is still intact. I run a reese adapter all the time in my work truck and have never had a problem. We weld dual hangers to the frame and then bolt the rails down. In 2 semi severe accidents we have never had a trailer come unhitched, even in a roll-over with a 20k tailer.
 
#18 ·
definitely not surprised, but the campers my dad has owned have always been on the heavy side though. The 40' Teton Homes was 17k empty, and then current 37' Newmar is 16k empty. Did 5 years or so towing the 40' with a 92' F350 crew cab dually with banks turbo, truck hated it, but got it around. After dumping too much money into the truck though my Dad ended up going with a International 4900 which made stopping waaaay safer and a less stressful trip.
 
#22 ·
My truck was that way when I bought it. My trailer wghs 13K and it hasn't come off yet. I'm not a fan of welding to the frame but the welds are good and it's 1/2" angle so I'm comfortable with it.
 
#24 ·
The B&W off the red truck will not fit the 08. The exhaust in the 08 is too high to clear the hitch rails or hitch itself. !@(#*!(#*!@#(

We wasted about four hours Thursday taking it off, cleaning it and all for nothing. The part is supposed to fit 99-10.....BS!

So we loaded the same HEAVY AZZ boxes into the truck bed that we had unloaded that day to install the hitch. :mad:
 
#26 ·
I only have 30K on this truck and the warranty is worth gold to me. I am not going to change one this on this truck...LOL for now. :rolleyes:

I just hate to start already....you know the routine, exhaust....tuner...intake...hpfp...injectors....custom twin setup. You just can't stop.
 
#27 ·
I know the feeling, I just can't imagine the exhaust being that close to the bed! :eek: The B&W doesn't stick down from the bed very far at all!

But then again the 08' exhausts are really goofy to begin with so I guess I could see it being that close.
 
#28 ·
i got rid of my b&w for a colibert free-ride, it makes the b&w mounting look ridiculously weak..

it has one solid 3/4" piece of powdercoated steal that goes all the way across the frame rails, which have a plate that goes through the frame with 1" grade 10 bolts

the other cool thing is being able to swap between the 5th wheel or the gooseneck or nothing at all...they also make an adapter for the b&w setup that works just like the companion, but i like the way this works better...one massive plate that you thread your GN or massive bolt for the 5er into, and it takes up alot less space than the companion style setup with the fifth wheel in place

spent 3x as much time removing the b&w as installing the colibert too, not a big deal but something to think about...
 
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