Short Bed Towing Advice

[Joe78]

Hello,

I have a '99 Ford 250 4x4 and I would like some towing advice. My truck has a gooseneck hitch that I would like to use for a 5th wheel camper I am about to purchase. In the past I used a gooseneck hitch with a 5th wheel but I had a long bed at that time.

This time, I am noticing that the hitch is mounted slightly in front of the rear axle. I only have 35" in between the ball hitch and the cab and I'm thinking this is too little clearance to tow a 5th wheel using the gooseneck hitch.

I'm curious as to what others think about this. Even with a 7.5" gooseneck adapter offset, it doesn't offer much clearance on a typical 96" wide camper. I'm going to measure the distance from the hitch pin to the front of the camper tomorrow, but the math doesn't look good to me.

In light of this, I'm starting to consider 5th wheel hitches. I have an under the bed mounted hide away type gooseneck hitch so I don't know if that limits my options but I am curious. I hate the idea of having rails in the bed, but I will do what I need to. Also, if it helps with hitch advice, this isn't a large 5th wheel- 1,500 lbs hitch weight, 10k lbs GVWR.

[IBcarguy]

I also am not a fan of having the pivot point behind the rear axle either, but after thinking about it, I'm not so sure why. There is no evidence that it makes much difference. Everyone seems to think that but no one can provide any proof that is has any negative effect. Seems like more of an opinion than of any real logical conclusion.

[laknox]

FWIW, I have my B&W Companion set as high and as far forward as possible which, according to B&W, puts my kin pin 1.75-2" ahead of the rear axle centerline. My old square-front Komfort will NOT hit my cab at full lock, right or left, when going forward. ALL will hit at some point when backing up; a slider just gives you more room before you DO hit. That being said, every manufacturer's truck has a different turn radius and even varies year-to-year within the same brand. This is what gets people into trouble. Since you already have the GN base, the Andersen seems to be an excellent hitch, though I'm not a fan of having the pin behind the rear axle, at all. I'd look for something that would at least center me over the axle, or as close to it as possible.

Lyle

[IBcarguy]

hbillsmith wrote:

IBcarguy wrote:
I use the Andersen Ultimate hitch with my GMC with a 6.5' bed. When backing in tight turns, my 5th wheel cap will make contact with my back window, so I'm very careful in turns that get close to 90 degrees.
I like the AU hitch because it is light and easy to remove. Looking back though, I would now go for the B&W Companion that is also removable and can be used with a 4" offset ball which moves everything back giving more cab clearance.

IBcarguy, I have a 2015 GMC 2500 Doublecab with 6ft 6in bed and I use the Andersen Ultimate, Gooseflip hitch with a 4" offset ball (Curt). Been towing with that combo for 3 years (19000 miles). My Andersen kinpin adapter is mounted in the position with the ball socket behind the pin (aka reverse mount). My clearance to cab is close but I can do a full 90deg.
If you want to use the 4" offset, you can. The only change for your Andersen required is you will need a shorter inner square tube from Andersen.

Thanks for the input on the offset ball. I bought a 4" offset from B&W ($165) and it won't work with my Andersen. The offset ball is about an inch higher than the standard straight ball and won't let the hitch lay flat against the floor of the bed. Their tech support told me that their offset ball wasn't recommended for use with an Andersen Ultimate.(they want to sell their Companion hitch instead). I didn't know Andersen made a shorter inner square tube. That should solve my problem. I'll call them today. I also reversed my pin adapter. In addition to moving it back 4 ", it shortened the swing radius and solved my problem of clearance from the pinbox to the bed rail. Thanks, your info is very useful to me.

[Joe78]

hbillsmith wrote:

IBcarguy wrote:
I use the Andersen Ultimate hitch with my GMC with a 6.5' bed. When backing in tight turns, my 5th wheel cap will make contact with my back window, so I'm very careful in turns that get close to 90 degrees.
I like the AU hitch because it is light and easy to remove. Looking back though, I would now go for the B&W Companion that is also removable and can be used with a 4" offset ball which moves everything back giving more cab clearance.

IBcarguy, I have a 2015 GMC 2500 Doublecab with 6ft 6in bed and I use the Andersen Ultimate, Gooseflip hitch with a 4" offset ball (Curt). Been towing with that combo for 3 years (19000 miles). My Andersen kinpin adapter is mounted in the position with the ball socket behind the pin (aka reverse mount). My clearance to cab is close but I can do a full 90deg.

If you want to use the 4" offset, you can. The only change for your Andersen required is you will need a shorter inner square tube from Andersen.

hbillsmith, where are you using the Gooseflip offset hitch? Is it attached to the gooseneck plate or the top of the Andersen hitch? Also, why do you have the kingpin adapter reversed? Just curious.

Do you have a picture of this setup? It sounds like something I should consider.

[hbillsmith]

IBcarguy wrote:
I use the Andersen Ultimate hitch with my GMC with a 6.5' bed. When backing in tight turns, my 5th wheel cap will make contact with my back window, so I'm very careful in turns that get close to 90 degrees.
I like the AU hitch because it is light and easy to remove. Looking back though, I would now go for the B&W Companion that is also removable and can be used with a 4" offset ball which moves everything back giving more cab clearance.

IBcarguy, I have a 2015 GMC 2500 Doublecab with 6ft 6in bed and I use the Andersen Ultimate, Gooseflip hitch with a 4" offset ball (Curt). Been towing with that combo for 3 years (19000 miles). My Andersen kinpin adapter is mounted in the position with the ball socket behind the pin (aka reverse mount). My clearance to cab is close but I can do a full 90deg.

If you want to use the 4" offset, you can. The only change for your Andersen required is you will need a shorter inner square tube from Andersen.

[dawzie]

I have a trail air pin box on my fifth wheel. it is 6" longer than the standard pin box. Was able to keep my hitch forward of the rear axel.

[IBcarguy]

I use the Andersen Ultimate hitch with my GMC with a 6.5' bed. When backing in tight turns, my 5th wheel cap will make contact with my back window, so I'm very careful in turns that get close to 90 degrees.
I like the AU hitch because it is light and easy to remove. Looking back though, I would now go for the B&W Companion that is also removable and can be used with a 4" offset ball which moves everything back giving more cab clearance.

[Joe78]

KD4UPL wrote:
By your description it sounds like you have a B&W GN hitch. They make a FW that mounts right in where your GN ball is. You will need the one that slides rearward when you make a turn; usually refereed too as a slider.

My hitch is actually made by buyers products.

So far, the ultimate hitch seems the best option to me.

[Joe78]

F-TROUP wrote:
When I bought my truck in 2001, I had them mount the hitch 4" behind the axle, due to the old design of the 5th wheel caps. In 16 years towing I've had no towing issues, even turning around in our culdesac. I have a Little Rocker hitch non slider.

With my hitch about 2" in front of the rear axle, I've lost some precious space.

[Joe78]

hbillsmith wrote:
Check out the Andersen Ultimate

Thanks, hbillsmith! After reading up on this hitch, I really like this option.

[KD4UPL]

By your description it sounds like you have a B&W GN hitch. They make a FW that mounts right in where your GN ball is. You will need the one that slides rearward when you make a turn; usually refereed too as a slider.

[F-TROUP]

When I bought my truck in 2001, I had them mount the hitch 4" behind the axle, due to the old design of the 5th wheel caps. In 16 years towing I've had no towing issues, even turning around in our culdesac. I have a Little Rocker hitch non slider.

[hbillsmith]

Check out the Andersen Ultimate