Towing a 5'er with a 10' flatbed truck?

DSteiner51 wrote:

PNW_Steve wrote:
Hey Everyone,

I am considering moving my 5th wheel hitch to another truck. The challenge with this truck (E450) is that it has a 10' flatbed.

I cannot mount the hitch directly over the axle unless I cut almost 2' off of the bed. Not a good option.

The obvious alternative is to move the hitch back far enough that the trailer clears the back end of the bed. I know that this is NOT ideal but

I have little clue as to what the down side to this move other than reduced tow capacity. Given that I want to tow a 14k trailer with an E450 I am hopeful that the weight won't be an issue.

What other concerns should I have?



Thanks.

S.

Been there, done that... 11 ft flat bed, 30,000 lb trailer, no problem. Makes the front slightly lighter but nowhere near as much as a bumper pull. takes off the front axle approx what a Diesel engine puts on extra over the gas and adds it to the rear. Makes for a puller in soft soil or snow.

I have towed gooseneck/5th wheels with the hitches 9 inches forward to 2 foot behind the axle and heard all kinds of claims from experts who knew it all. Smile, shake your head and walk away. Trying to reason is a waste of time especially when on the clock and time is money.

I agree 100%, I have seen a number of rigs setup that way for transient workers like welders , etc. It would take a very heavy fiver to impact front axle weight on an F450. Also, the Reese Sidewinder moves the pivot point back 2 ft behind the truck axle and no owner has reported sway issues even on SRW trucks. You won't have a tailgate, but you can notch the back corners of the flat bed and you can minimize how far back the hitch needs to be for clearance.