Forum Discussion
LIKE2BUILD
Nov 08, 2017Explorer
2012Coleman wrote:
Does the kit contain the goose neck connector in the middle? I'll be having one installed soon, and the guy at my local shop said he just did one, but the kit had only the pucks - no goose neck. Also, what about the wiring harness that comes in the bed with this option? I see from the link that you can get the roof clearance lights as well.
Gooseneck Prep and 5th wheel prep kits are different.
The Gooseneck Prep kit includes the gooseneck receiver center section, 4 bolts to mount the receiver, rear stantions (with hardware) and 2 trim rings for the bed holes. That is about $300.
The 5th wheel prep kit includes front and rear stantions (with hardware) and 4 trim trim rings for the bed holes. This is about $225.
In my case I had installed the 5th wheel prep kit (4 stantions) and was already using my 5th wheel hitch. Late last year I came upon a situation where I needed to tow a gooseneck trailer. When I researched the RAM Gooseneck Prep Kit the cheapest price I found was over $300 and it included another set of rear stantions which I didn't need. I did some digging and located MOPAR part #68161896AA which is only the gooseneck receiver. A little bit of searching later and I found I could get just 68161896AA at MoparPartsGiant.com for $149. They charge a stupid amount for the stud plates (part # 68186015AB) so I went to a local bolt shop and got the properly sized Grade 8 bolts, washers, and stop nuts for about $10.
The one gotcha is this will not give you the bed trim ring for the center receiver. No problem. I went to Oreilly auto and purchased a cheap roll of Automotive Door Edge Guard and used that to protect the edges where the hole saw went through the bed. So far it's worked like charm.
The takeaway is that for $375 you can have both the 5th wheel prep and Gooseneck prep if you each separately. To tow a gooseneck trailer you will also need to get the pop-in ball and tow hook kit. I purchased the Curt OEM Gooseneck Ball Kit from Etrailer.com.
I had to buy the wiring harness separately. There are aftermarket wiring harnesses available but I decided to buy the OEM In-bed wiring kit when I bought my prep kit. You'll have to add in-bed 7-way connector for any hitch system so I considered that a wash. The wiring harness wasn't all that bad to install either.
KJ
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