I'm learning about 5th wheels and trucks, thinking about taking that plunge after I sell my Class C.I've heard about an issue where somebody with a fiver had a problem: when making tight turns his pin box would hit against the truck bed walls and he was not able to fix this with the standard adjustments.When I heard about that it started me thinking about all the things I don't know about pin boxes, hitches, trucks etc. How can I be certain to avoid the same problem this other gent had? My first thought was that with any fiver or truck I'm considering I should take some measurements. For the fiver I should measure from the ground up to the lowest point on the pin box and on the truck I should measure from the ground to the highest point of the truck bed wall. Perhaps it would be more important to measure from the pin of the pin box to where it attaches to a given hitch? (I suppose tailgates can be a problem too but I've seen fixes for that.) What is the rule of thumb about how much clearance there should be between the pin box and truck bed walls? How should I be thinking in regard to pin box/hitch/truck bed wall height? Is there a primer somewhere that covers stuff like this that a fiver wannabe like myself can refer to?

Get a SuperGlide slider hitch and there is not problem.

First what truck are you talking about Ram, Ford, Chevy and is it a long bed or short bed. As far as rail height there are many ways to manage that. A long bed you should not have cab damage. A short bed you may want a slider. Also what fiver are you looking at?

Jack_Diane_Freedom wrote:Get a SuperGlide slider hitch and there is not problem.That is not going to solve what the OP is talking about. My 5ers pin box has a plastic cover over it that hits the inside of my bedrails when back into tight spots. OP , I had to trim the lower back corners of my trim and pin box mount.

transamz9 wrote:Jack_Diane_Freedom wrote:Get a SuperGlide slider hitch and there is not problem.That is not going to solve what the OP is talking about. My 5ers pin box has a plastic cover over it that hits the inside of my bedrails when back into tight spots. OP , I had to trim the lower back corners of my trim and pin box mount.What trim was that?

retispcsi wrote:First what truck are you talking about Ram, Ford, Chevy and is it a long bed or short bed. As far as rail height there are many ways to manage that. A long bed you should not have cab damage. A short bed you may want a slider. Also what fiver are you looking at?I'm not talking about any truck, hitch or fifth wheel in particular. I'm asking how a person can avoid running into the problem mentioned (or others) by knowing how to avoid it before a rig, hitch or truck is purchased and using that knowledge to make sure he isn't setting himself up for problems.Also, I'm not talking about the bed or tailgate hitting the fifth wheel (although that's obviously something else somebody should think about). I'm talking about the pin box hitting the bed rails during sharp turns.

Pin Box vs. Truck Bed Wall: How to Avoid Conflict?

RussOnTheRoad
Explorer
Apr 18, 2016
Dandy Dan wrote:
Russ, The newer trucks seem to have higher bedrails. I used to use a 2005 Dodge and had no problems at all. Got a 2014 Chevy dually and had problems. What I did was drop the pinbox 1 hole and had to trim the back corners off of the pinbox mount. Going to try this. Have a friend that had same problem and had to change pin boxes as he did get into the rail. Hope this will answer part of your question. Good Luck in the venture.

Thanks. I'm a little unclear, however. I've seen pin boxes that attach to brackets mounted on th rig. If I understand your meaning you must have such a setup. I've never worked with one of these but my expectation would be that dropping the pinbox down would in effect raise the rib because, after all, the pin and part of the box attached to it will always remain at the same height from the truck bed floor by virtue of the fact the pin fits into the hitch. What am I missing here?
tinner12002
Explorer
Apr 17, 2016
That's interesting, never thought about the pinbox hitting the bedsides...have to check that out.
Elk4me
Explorer
Apr 17, 2016
I have a 2013 Chev Silverado 2500HD Short Bed. I use the SuperGlide hitch. The first time I used it was on a hunting trip. Trying to get my 37.5ft. Montana Mountaineer into position I almost hit the right rear top of the bed on the underside of the RV. I was able to adjust my approach and made it. I purchased and installed the 3" lift kit for the hitch and that has made a big difference. I tried to get into a turn tight enough to see if the pin box was going to hit the sides but reading now that all I have to do is measure the center distances I will do that. I sure like these forums. I am on my 3rd 5vr and about my 10th RV and still learning.:B
Dandy_Dan
Explorer
Apr 15, 2016
Russ, The newer trucks seem to have higher bedrails. I used to use a 2005 Dodge and had no problems at all. Got a 2014 Chevy dually and had problems. What I did was drop the pinbox 1 hole and had to trim the back corners off of the pinbox mount. Going to try this. Have a friend that had same problem and had to change pin boxes as he did get into the rail. Hope this will answer part of your question. Good Luck in the venture.
cummins2014
Explorer
Apr 15, 2016
Me Again wrote:
Sawzall!

This is the typical example of what RussOnTheRoad is trying to avoid . The wrong hitch, truck or whatever for the application. Pin boxes shouldn't have to be butchered like that to be made to work. Buying the right equipment is key. The OP is smart in avoiding these type of modifications to start with .
Me_Again
Explorer III
Apr 14, 2016
Sawzall!
restlesswind
Explorer
Apr 14, 2016
When I bought my fifth wheel, it had an extended pin box. After dinging the rails on both side of the TV, I gave the extended pin box away and put a standard unit on the trailer. Now it is impossible for the box to hit the rails or for the front cap to hit the truck cab while making any normal turns.
Trimming the back of the pin box would have required a lot of steel to be cut off, though it may have worked.
Rich1961
Explorer
Apr 14, 2016
cor4743 wrote:
What did you use to trim the pin box corners ?

I used a small angle grinder with a thin cutoff disk. Made multiple passes. Used masking tape for a guide line. It took about 10 minutes per side to do the cuts.

Rich
cor4743
Explorer
Apr 14, 2016
What did you use to trim the pin box corners ?
cor4743
Explorer
Apr 14, 2016
CumminsDriver wrote:
The GM Trucks are narrower between the bed rails. I have one, and have measured the other two brands to verify. I ended up cutting the corners of my pinbox to avoid the contact.

Rich

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Pin Box vs. Truck Bed Wall: How to Avoid Conflict?

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