Hitching/Unhitching

Make sure you get a slider hitch and slide it to the rear when hitching and unhitching. That will give you a little more clearance.

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Get a hitch that has 4 way movement..side to side and front to back

I have 7" bed/5vr clearance and have been in a lot worst off angle situations and have had zero issues with hitching/unhitching with truck/5vr way off

Old-Biscuit, I believe that about 99.9% of hitches sold today have four way movement. You are really showing your age!

I bought a two way (forward backward) back in the early 90's, looking at going from a camper to a 5er, but work got in the way and we ended up selling the camper, very sad day!

joe puma wrote:
I did a quick check with a level, and depending on truck position I'm 2-4". Is 6" a normal distance for most 5ers?

Most likely you will be fine but go slow and watch the first couple times you back into the drive.

Yes, it's a typical minimum...but...that doesn't mean you will have 6" clearance. A lot of the new trucks sit higher than older trucks so, if you adjust the hitch so the trailer is level while going down the road, you may not have 6".

If that is the case, you may need to adjust the trailer suspension to lift it higher.

yeah I had popup years ago and had to do a couple 4x4's and a sheet of plywood at my inlaws house. Hopefully this will not be a problem. Thanks again for the input. I'm thinking of the B&W companion slider. that has 4 way tilt. might not need the slide but it would be good to have if needed. That way i don't need any special plate or wedges.Thanks ,I'll let you know if i get the 5'er in a couple weeks. Now dealer might not be able to give me the show price from Feb. So Might wait till next Feb.

Miles Away wrote:

alexleblanc wrote:
You'll probably be just fine, but if your bedside clearance is really low I'd build a set of simple ramps for the front of your truck that you can throw on the start of the driveway when hitching, something like 2x10 lumber maybe 3ft long, just enough to level out the truck a bit.

Exactly what I was going to suggest.

That was exactly what I did before I had my driveway approach cut out ,and widened .

alexleblanc wrote:
You'll probably be just fine, but if your bedside clearance is really low I'd build a set of simple ramps for the front of your truck that you can throw on the start of the driveway when hitching, something like 2x10 lumber maybe 3ft long, just enough to level out the truck a bit.

Exactly what I was going to suggest.

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Get a hitch that has 4 way movement..side to side and front to back

I have 7" bed/5vr clearance and have been in a lot worst off angle situations and have had zero issues with hitching/unhitching with truck/5vr way off

I have pretty much the same situation as the OP, maybe a little less its hard to tell from pictures sometimes .I have six inches of clearance ,and a four way hitch , and I can safely say that I wouldn't want much more dip in my driveway approach. I still have a couple inches when hooking up , much more angle ,and I would be hitting.

Not sure what you mean by a lot worse situations , but I do know that I couldn't with my setup. I agree there is not going to be any problem as far as hitching or unhitching, the problem at least for me is just hitting ,if I had much more dip to deal with .

You'll probably be just fine, but if your bedside clearance is really low I'd build a set of simple ramps for the front of your truck that you can throw on the start of the driveway when hitching, something like 2x10 lumber maybe 3ft long, just enough to level out the truck a bit.

joe puma wrote:
I did a quick check with a level, and depending on truck position I'm 2-4". Is 6" a normal distance for most 5ers?

6" minimum 5th wheel overhang to truck bed rail clearance is a good rule of thumb. More is better if you're going to be in very uneven terrain, crossing ditches at an angle or turning off a road onto steep driveways, etc.

Rusty

Don't forget that, if the fiver is similar length, your truck will be farther back due to the hitch being over the axle. You may be closer to level than you think.