GM Gooseneck / 5th wheel prep package ?

[AUwing2]

Noodling with ordering a 3500HD Silverado but I'm not sure what the Gooseneck / 5th wheel prep package give me. I get that it's a frame below the bed and I believe an in bed 7way but what about the hitch itself? Can I continue to use my existing rail mounted hitch or do I need to trade up? How does the hitch lock into the frame? I'm imagining being under the bed trying to pin it in place?

[AUwing2]

Thanks for the info everyone. Forgot that etrailer.com does a great job with videos - thanks for the link reppoc12, helped to see how the system works. Curt also has a video on the hitch and system.

Now to get the strength to order a $60k mule.

[minnow]

I heard that the Chevy Hitch Prep has placed the holes in the bed which are different from the Ford and Ram. So that would be three distinct different layouts. So a htich manufacturer will have to make seperate hitch leg kits. As GM just started this, there may be very few hitches to choose from. As it is now there aren't an overabundance of different hitches to choose from on the Fords and Rams and they have had their hitch package out for a lot longer.

[Labman7]

I ordered the gooseneck hitch package with my 2015 GMC 3500 from the factory. It came in a box with a 30,000#/6,000# pin wt Curt hidden /flush with floor gooseneck and a wiring harness. It was a dealer installed factory ordered option. Looks like the 2016 option may be different.

[Rich1961]

The new GM Factory Hitch Prep just became available in March according to my Dealer. The part # from GM is 19352639 for the 25k rated hitch which is made by Curt. I checked with B&W a few weeks ago and they plan on making a hitch for the GM trucks but at that time they had not seen a truck with the hitch prep yet. I have had a Chevrolet 3500 LTZ Dually on order with the hitch prep since the beginning of February, but so far no build date from GM.

Rich

[YnotTurbo]

Curt sold the locking legs for my hitch. Took off the legs that rested in the bed rails and put on the new style for the puck system. Well worth spending the extra money.

[reppoc12]

Some manufacturers sell frames that support the rail mounted hitches, Some manufacturers sell new legs for the fifth wheel heads. For me it was less expensive to buy new legs for my Curt head.

One example


Edited the link, I looked at 2015, not 2016 Silverados.

[BB_TX]

The purpose of the prep is that you no longer need rails. The hitches made to fit the prep just drop in the holes, turn some levers, and it locks in place. Pull the hitch out and the bed is left flat. If you want to keep the old hitch, you would need to get an adapter to fit the old hitch to the prep.

At least that is the way it works in a Ford.

Oops. I was a little late.

[agesilaus]

I can only speak to the Ford prep system but I magine they are similar. There will be 5 cutouts in the bed, 4 in a rectangle and one bigger one in the center. The center one is for a gooseneck ball which are not recommended for fifth wheels. The four outside cutouts allow a fifth wheel hitch that is designed for prep packages to drop right into those holes. The Pullrite in my sig line. It takes 5-10 minutes to install or remove one of those hitches. When removed you have a flat bed.

I understand that the B&W companion hitch installs using the gooseneck adapter.

So you will probably want a new hitch. Some older hitches I believe can be used with an adapter. You really don't want rails in the bed tho.