Dumb 5th wheel questions of the day

Merrykalia wrote:

riven1950 wrote:
Looking at making a change to a 5th wheel from bumper pull.

When a f250 has factory 5th wheel prep can you buy any hitch or do you have to buy something from the dealer?
You can purchase any hitch you want, but a hitch place will probably be able to install it correctly since that's what they do and the dealer MIGHT know what they are doing.



If the truck is on the lot and not 5th wheel prepped can the dealer do it for about the same money as FMC would charge from the factory?Again, the dealer might know what they are doing or they might not. I would trust a hitch place more than the dealership.

Do people remove their hitches generally or just leave them in the truck all the time? A lot has to do with the weight of the hitch and if you have any place to store it while it's not in the truck. We always left ours in until the end of the season, then removed. We now have an Anderson and we remove it every time we come home.

Can you have a drop in tool box, like a Kobalt from Lowes behind the cab with a 6.5 foot bed or would you need a 8 foot bed for that? You will not want a tool box in the back with a fifth wheel attached. Yes, an 8 foot bed might be long enough, but you are also really taking up your payload with the toolbox and it's contents.

Sorry for the rookie questions but I know nothing about 5th wheelers and the FMC dealers know less than I do.

Thanks

I would agree with all of this except for the toolbox. When we had a short bed truck, we had a low profile tool box that fit easily and also allowed room for movement of the hitch. When we switched to a crew cab, dually with long bed, we just moved the tool box over and it works great.

Fifth wheel . . . fifth wheel . . . NOT fifth wheeler.