B&W Companion RVK3500 Set Up

Long bed truck place head supporting arms FULL FORWARD with the STRAIGHT edges towards cab. I have 5,750# pin and with my 3600 full forward I add less than 200# to the front axle.

Go it set up last night. We ended up orienting the 2X2 stinger so it was centered in the middle of the hitch base. We put the head mounting arms in the forward most position, bottom set of holes, with the vertical side facing forward. This put the center of the arms approximately 3" forward of the center line of the axle.

My buddy is picking up his 5er Friday and the dealer told him to not torque the arm bolts. They want them snugged up to check pin box height and adjust if needed, then they'll torque them down. We took measurements off my 5er and if his is close to the height of mine it should be perfect where we have it now. I guess we'll know for certain this weekend.

KJ

I have mine mounted in center hole for the height and pointed toward the rear. I have a short bed and wanted as much clearance from cab for turning.

The only issue I had was with our 2013 Chapparal I could not use the slider. It would hit the tailgate. We now have a 2018 Jayco Northpoint and that is not an issue. Sits a lot higher then the Chapparal.

I set mine center over the axle. this resulted in the brackets being the most forward position. Height was the lowest level holes.
with the newer 2014, the truck sits so much higher than THE 03.
but it towed fine and looked some much more level when hooked up and towed around town and country roads.. first big test towing in next few weeks to the mountains of Tenn.
randy

I have a long bed and have run the hitch in the rearward position on the past two rigs. Gives me more clearance for the tailgate, more room for kayaks on the roof of truck or bikes on the pin box and it only moves 30lbs to the front tires when I move it up.

Thanks for all the great info. With the 8' bed I was assuming the forward position would be the best location, but I wanted to be sure before we dive in and assemble the hitch.

KJ

On my 08 GMC Duramax DRW I have our B&W set full forward and it's lowest position.

The weight shift is minimal fore vs. aft.

When I had a short bed I had it set aft for extra cab clearance. With my current long bed truck I went in the middle.

Middle or aft give you extra clearance for the tail gate down.

Once, again...weight shift is minimal 2" forward or Reward from the center of the axle.

SlickWillie wrote:
I put ours forward. Wanted the weight as far forward as it would go.

Yep, me too.

LIKE2BUILD wrote:
I need some advice for setup on a B&W Companion RVK3500.

Truck:
2010 GMC 3500 Crew Cab, DRW, 8' bed

5th Wheel:
2012 Avalanche, 38', 14K lbs GVWR

Mainly I need suggestions for mounting location of the head support arms. Should we put them in the center or slightly forward? Height adjustment won't be a problem, I just want to make sure we get the fore/aft positioning of the head correct.

Thanks,
KJ

Personally, I set mine up as high and as far forward as it would go. I =want= a few lbs forward weight transfer. It's not much, but I need all the rear payload I can get, and if the front springs can support a few lbs, that's less on the rear. As it is, I'm probably going to drop it 1 hole as my new FW has more bed clearance and I'm still just a touch nose-high.

Lyle