tail gate

[moody49]

Hello--I have 2011 forest river wildcat fith wheel rv and pull it with 2011 2500hd chevy I have to remove my tailgate when pulling my rv,the hitch on rv is about 1/2 inch from tail gate any way to fix this problem...thks

[huntr70]

Who installed the fifth wheel hitch?

Does it have the pin over or slightly in front of the axle when towing?

Is it a short bed truck? Something isn't right if you are that close to the tailgate.....


You may be able to find a shorter extended pinbox or the WC that should help.

[Hoo Dad]

Can you take and post a pic?

[Flying dutchman]

How much clearance do you have between the frontcab and the bedrails of your pickup? Is your 5th wheel level if hocked up to the truck?

[moody49]

The hitch was installed by rv dealer,it is a reese 15k slider. I watch them install and they had a template for the bed of trk,it is a short bed and I notice to rv isn't setting level when hooked to trk,its high in the front...

[moody49]

I measured the bed rail and it is 26 inches from front of trk bed to front of rail...Thks

[Dave_Monica]

You referring to the clearance between the camper and the tailgate when the tailgate is down, correct?

My current TV is closer to the camper than the one it replaced. If hooking up, the truck has to be pretty much in line with the camper if I leave the tailgate down. There's been a couple of occasions that doing that was not possible and I had to close the tailgate once past the pinbox to avoid it hitting the front of the camper.

The installation instructions for your hitch must place it ahead of the axle centerline. On my F250, the hitch is 4" ahead of the axle centerline as that's where it has to go due to the location of the box cross braces and location of the brackets. You can't install it wherever you want...

You may want to look at a 'flow thru' tailgate that allows hitching up with the tailgate closed.

Dave

[FarmerJim]

We once were towing a trailer (bumper pull) thru Alabama returning to Michigan and purchased a new 5th wheel at a dealer along I-65 . The dealer , as part of the deal was to install a 5th wh. hitch in my almost brand new truck . They did ! They didn't get a bolt set from the maker of the hitch . I looked at it an saw "grade 3" bolts . This was a 12,000 lb + GVWR 5th wh. I noticed the hitch looked off center (left to right ) so I got out the tape measure . It (the pin receiver ) was off to one side by 1 & 1/4 inches ! It was 3 inches behind the center point of the axle ! Now this was a brand new Dodge Ram extended cab long bed diesel . They had drilled 1 hole in the wrong place and just left the hole there ! The bolts were NOT in or thru the frame on 2 points of the hitch ! So the only thing holding the hitch at that point was only attached to the sheet metal of the truck bed. They didn't even know what a "hardened" grade 8 bolt was when I asked why they didn't use them. I checked on the hitch company site and it required grade 8 bolts !They tried to trick me into signing some papers to release them from all the damages they had done to my truck . I was able to add enough "steel" etc. to limp to Tn. where relatives lived . I then jury rigged it and limped home to Michigan . I repaired the bed of the truck , removed the hitch and then had "LINE-X" spray the bed . Then took the truck to a RV dealer I knew and did business with and had a hitch put in the bed . They had put the hitch over 4 inches behind where it was supposed to be and side ways 1 & 1/4 inches! This is according to the hitch makers install instructions ! Lawyer said I could sue and win but the case would cost far more than we would get because of legal fees etc.. So unless you know the installer yourself, NEVER assume that just because a dealer or professional place did the install that it is right ! Sorry to rant on your thread ! BY THE WAY we pass that RV dealer every time we go to Florida on I-65 and its still there . Just an hour +- south of the TN. line .So BEWARE ! Jim

[fast murray]

Awesome, my grandpa had an old style over the fenders hitch installed and they bolted it right to the box with nothing going to the frame. They also bolted on a set of really ugly towing mirrors that spanned from above the window to below it and they shook like crazy. Not cool! That dealer isn't in business anymore.