Clearance over bed rails enough for a toolbox

[sonofcy]

How much clearance over bed rails does a hitch with 14.5" to 16.5" of vertical adjustment give me? It is the Reese 27.5K that Ford supplies on the F450. 5er is a Keystone Montana. I have no way of checking since I am many hours away from dealer and neither truck nor RV are delivered yet.
The problem is I may not be able to buy it after I get the rig due to time constraints and remote location.

[RCMAN46]

RCMAN46 wrote:
This is the box I use.




I have found the 6 inch trailer clearance is mostly needed at the rear of the truck bed. As you get closer to the cab not as much clearance is needed.

I like this box as it does not go to the floor of the bed. This allows the ability to carry a full sheet of plywood.

[albow]

I'm thinking the toolbox would only present a possible problem when turned fairly sharply on uneven terrain at the same time, which probably is an unlikely occurrence. That said, I have an approx 6 1/2 ft bed and my automatic slider sure has paid off. On the other hand, where I pull into my driveway and also when I pull into the backyard, there are elevation changes and my bed and camper almost meet. It's kind of tenuous every time and certainly if I had a toolbox it would be hitting because there is some fairly tight turning involved, but my situation is a little unique.

[slickest1]

On my Dodge I put a Roll and lock cover on. I put a divider in the box in front of the hitch. I keep all my tools up there and the cover locks in that position. When I am not pulling the trailer I can roll it all the way closed. If I want to haul plywood or a bit of lumber I can do it on top of the cover and leave the hitch in. I got rid of the storage box altogether. It is another option.

[Allworth]

Rather than a "truck tool box" look for a "in-bed tool chest". They do not extend above the rails.

[rhagfo]

You need to get a flush to the rails tool box, many out there then no worries.

[George_H]

Currently have Transfer Flow fuel tool combo, bed rail high. Previously had a bed rail high steel box bolted to floor. No surprises from slopes or speed bumps during turns.

[ckwizard777]

My tool box mounts to the bed floor and is flush with the top of the rails so no issues.

[BarryG20]

Another option is I bought a Pro Tech tool box that was meant to sit on the floor of the bed. I also have a headache rack. I built a frame out of unistrut that hangs off the headache rack mounting rails and set the tool box on it, bolted the box to the frame. It is quite sturdy. The box is level with the bed rails yet still have 10ish inches underneath the box for full use of the bed floor.

[stickdog]

sonofcy wrote:
How much clearance over bed rails does a hitch with 14.5" to 16.5" of vertical adjustment give me? It is the Reese 27.5K that Ford supplies on the F450. 5er is a Keystone Montana. I have no way of checking since I am many hours away from dealer and neither truck nor RV are delivered yet.
The problem is I may not be able to buy it after I get the rig due to time constraints and remote location.

I have an under bed rail toolbox just to not block my view of the hitch while hooking up. My F350 is just for towing so no reason to worry about needing 4 inches of bed space for plywood or studs. I still have hauled 4x8 sheets of plywood.

If you get the high stop light camera you'll still be able to see the hitch. Also as others have mentioned I've in 7 years of fulltiming I've never needed to do a 90 degree that would interfere with a bedtop toolbox.

[korbe]

I purchased a low profile utility box that rises about 2-inches above, and rests on the rails. My 5er sits above the rails about 6-inches, but with my 6'-9" bed, I didn't want to take any chances.

[DReisinger]

One problem I encountered, I didn't have a good view of the hitch with an across the rails box.

[Coach-man]

Your tool box should be in front of your hitch, and unless you plan on turns of greater than 90 degrees you should not have any problems. Clerence to top of bed rail should be 4" to 6" just in case you are backing over uneven terrain! Good luck.

[jimh406]

How about, what toolboxes are you guys using on your Keystone Montanas or F450s? Btw, are both of those going to be new? In any case, congrats!