Longbed tailgate will hit camper when hitching

[texasvet]

I have been searching the forums and cannot find assistance with regards to a longbed truck. I went from a sb truck to a lb truck and have the Reese Elite Pro 20k hitch. When I am hitching my camper my wife must raise the tailgate prior to setting the pin or the tailgate will hit the camper. When I had my sb truck I could hit and unhitch the camper all day long by myself and now it takes two people for this task. Is there a solution that I could purchase to allow me a little more room from the tailgate to the camper to make hitching and unhitching a little easier?

Thanks in advance,

2014 Ford F350 CCLB Platinum
2008 XLR 30x12

[BillB3857]

I just remove my tailgate and lay it flat in the truck bed behind the hitch. When we get set up, tailgate goes back on and sliding cover covers the bed.

[sdetweil]

bpounds wrote:

shepstone wrote:
I had the same issue with my b&w patriot hitch and 2013 f250 longbed It turns out all i had to do was take the head of the hitch off pull the pins out take the hitch off the rails , turn it around 180 degrees on the rails put the pins back in , put the head back on , swap the spring that levels the head to the new location and now i have about 4" of clearance from tailgate to trailer when hitching up. In other words I guess i had it on back to front

After doing that, where is your pin relative to your rear axle? Seems like the pin might now be behind the axle. It should be forward of the axle, but I know some people get away with having it set back.

I think it WAS behind, now in front. If you have the base mounted 180 degrees from normal, then it could be behind the axle..
the base is 'supposed' to display the B&W logo from the rear.

[ol_Bombero-JC]

Garry&Gayle wrote:
get a v-notch flow thru tailgate then there is no raising and lowering

X-? - easy, and inexpensive (see Northern Tool).

~

[CabinetmakerII]

rhagfo wrote:

Garry&Gayle wrote:
get a v-notch flow thru tailgate then there is no raising and lowering

Best solution!

Best solution providing there is no back up camera integrated into the tail gate as equipped on my F-450

[bpounds]

shepstone wrote:
I had the same issue with my b&w patriot hitch and 2013 f250 longbed It turns out all i had to do was take the head of the hitch off pull the pins out take the hitch off the rails , turn it around 180 degrees on the rails put the pins back in , put the head back on , swap the spring that levels the head to the new location and now i have about 4" of clearance from tailgate to trailer when hitching up. In other words I guess i had it on back to front

After doing that, where is your pin relative to your rear axle? Seems like the pin might now be behind the axle. It should be forward of the axle, but I know some people get away with having it set back.

[cpaulsen]

My Ford was really close also....put a V-Gate on it......no problems.

[Lantley]

shepstone wrote:
I had the same issue with my b&w patriot hitch and 2013 f250 longbed It turns out all i had to do was take the head of the hitch off pull the pins out take the hitch off the rails , turn it around 180 degrees on the rails put the pins back in , put the head back on , swap the spring that levels the head to the new location and now i have about 4" of clearance from tailgate to trailer when hitching up. In other words I guess i had it on back to front

Good idea. I also like using cable to partially lower the gate. V tail gate would be a last resort.
Personally I would have to find a permanent solution.
Dealing with the tailgate should not be a task in itself.

[shepstone]

I had the same issue with my b&w patriot hitch and 2013 f250 longbed It turns out all i had to do was take the head of the hitch off pull the pins out take the hitch off the rails , turn it around 180 degrees on the rails put the pins back in , put the head back on , swap the spring that levels the head to the new location and now i have about 4" of clearance from tailgate to trailer when hitching up. In other words I guess i had it on back to front

[Tango__AE7UI]

I leave the tailgate off when using the fifth wheel.

[M_GO_BLUE1]

Either take the tailgate off or purchase a V-notch tailgate

[Randu]

I vote for longer pin box. Look for manufacture and a part number on the pin box. Put that information in the Google search box and then you should get sizes and on line price information to change out. Randu

[Our_Place]

Don't forget that Ford made the beds taller and therefor the tailgate will be longer when down.

[sdetweil]

Rickhuntfish wrote:
What I do is take the cable that supports the tailgate and wrap it one time around the piece that the tailgate latches to. That will the tailgate is only part way down. It misses the king pin when I back up and give me room to hitch with out raising the tailgate all the way until I am hooked up. If that doesn't make sense I can take a pic and post it.

nice tip!..

thanks

[Rickhuntfish]

What I do is take the cable that supports the tailgate and wrap it one time around the piece that the tailgate latches to. That will the tailgate is only part way down. It misses the king pin when I back up and give me room to hitch with out raising the tailgate all the way until I am hooked up. If that doesn't make sense I can take a pic and post it.