5er hitch questions

anaro wrote:
We are looking at getting our first 5er. We have a long bed so we do not need a slider. The 5ers we have narrowed it down to have a gvwr of around 13,500-13,900 lbs. My truck is rated up to 16000 lb 5er (yes I have enough payload for these trailers). I'm guessing a 16k hitch is enough for us and we don't need a 20k hitch?

We are looking at installation for the hitch. If we go through a local dealership it looks to be around $1500 to get base rails, hitch etc in (my truck is not fifth wheel prepped). This would be for a pullrite hitch. Other option I'm considering is having a dealership install just the universal base rails and getting a b&w patriot shipped to us (free shipping). We would attach the hitch to the rails knowing nothing about 5ers hitches. I don't want to skimp on safety but I don't want to spend a fortune if I don't have too. What is the better option here for newbie to 5ers, not new to camping (have had a tt for 3 1/2 yrs). Thanks

A more expensive, but not a hard DIY install, is to go with a B&W Turnover Ball base and the Companion FW hitch. I did my TO Ball solo and helped my brother do his. We have a gooseneck trailer, so needed the turnover ball, but having the clean bed when needing to haul cargo is a real benefit. You don't have that with rails in the bed. The hardest thing to do in my install was to get up the nerve to actually cut that 4" hole in the middle of my bed. :-)

Lyle