Setting position on hitch

I am a B&W Patriot owner. I started up and back also. Now I am foward and down. That setting will all depend on your rig. We Love our Patriot.

Thanks for the input. I set it high and back and will adjust when/if needed.

I am not worried about unloading the front. I have a cummins and when I had my 3750 lbs camper in the bed it removed 200# from the steer axle. I doubt being 2" behind the rear axle with lets say 1800# (dry pin is 1350#) will affect the steer axle much.

I am more worried about not having a slider ;)

I set my Companion as far forward and as high as it would go. I have almost 8" bed clearance and tow just a bit nose-high. I need that clearance because we do camp off-road a bit. I have enough clearance that I don't hit my bumper when turning. I also can not hit my cab when turning, right or left, when going forward. I have a short-bed 4x4 crew cab and a very square-front FW. ALL will hit in reverse, at some point. From what B&W told me, in this position, the centerline of my kingpin is only about 1.75" in front of the centerline of my rear axle. On the gooseneck, though, it's right at 4".

Lyle

Assuming you don't want to mash up anything on your delivery trip I'd set it high & back. If it is not quite right you can fool with it all you want once you get it home.

Starting a little high is better than starting low. I would measure and try to put king pin over axle or forward a little not behind. You will lose front axle weight if to far back.

I would definitely set it max distance from the cab as a start point to increase cab clearance, but just as important to increase the distance between the back of the tailgate and the front on the 5er to ensure you can fully lower the tailgate while hooked up.

As far as height I would probably start at the higher mid position until I could hook up and check the bed rail clearance. But too high to start is better than too low.

I do not have the 5er yet and will make fine-tune adjustments when I get it. Just looking for a starting point. I guess I will set it back and high and go from there. Worst case scenario it will be nose high and I will fiddle with it at the dealership on pick up day. Still 2 months away :(

I would set hitch height so that at narrowest point (this will usually occur near tailgate) between underside of 5TH overhang and top of bed rails on truck is 5 to 6 inches minimum.

I got the B&W Companion for my short bed 2012 F250. I set the arms as high as they would go as far back as they would go. Our Montana 3750FL sits almost perfectly level. And I watched a mechanic make an almost 90 degree turn with plenty of clearance. But then the nose cap is angled for tight turns. After hitting the CAT scales, I lost weight on the front axles, so it may be too far back. But it works for me.