Joined the B&W Hitch Club

[blofgren]

Well, I've been looking at B&W hitches for a while, but struggled with the price of them new. I stumbled across a 1 year old one last evening that is like new and bought it today for about 1/2 the price of new! I am amazed at the workmanship on it, and man is it heavy! It also sits lower than my Ram/Curt unit did so I think it will help to level my fiver, which sat slightly nose high.

Out with the old:



In with the new:



I am very happy with how easy it operates and am really looking forward to towing with it! The jaws are massive!

[larry_barnhart]

Because I have a B&W hitch sitting in our garage am I a fan club member also???


chevman

[Cummins12V98]

"And yes, the Pres of the B&W club was consulted 1st! LOL"



I think it's high time your "HeavyWeight" standing is upgraded!!! :B

[ACZL]

I joined the B&W club back in '17 with their Patriot non slider model and won't look back. Best thing I did. At the time, had a SB F350 which got traded for a DRW in '18 but same hitch as the '18 didn't have the puck system option (off the lot buy). I can simply just reverse the whole top half to move the king pin back/gain more room between cab window/5er as well as front compartment/bumper of truck. Granted the DRW is a LB, still the B&W works flawlessly. And yes, the Pres of the B&W club was consulted 1st! LOL

[blofgren]

MFL wrote:
^ Good point Gary! That is where bed length can make a difference. My Ford standard bed is 6' 9"s.

With OP's arms in full rear position, and like you 6' 4" bed length, an adjustment may be needed, for hitch to fully slide. Again, pin box design, bed rail clearance, can differ. Pin box support can be trimmed, or in your case, a FW gate works for you.

Jerry

Thinking about this a bit further, my fiver has an extended Morryde pin box, so yes clearance to the tailgate may be an issue. Then again, maybe with the arms in the rear position, the slider won't be required. I'll need to check this out carefully when I get the fiver home.

[blofgren]

MFL wrote:
OP...You should be in great shape at 39.5"s of tow position clearance. It does make a difference having a wide body FW, and I'm sure you know that. The front cap shape also makes a difference, mine has what manufacturer labeled EZ-Turn for standard bed trucks.

Good you got the slider. The time may come when you will be more comfortable using it. I'm sure you will check for pinbox/tailgate/bedrail clearance when trailer is home, and first hookup.

FW on your sig page looks to be a great, quality built trailer. I looked it up.:)

Jerry

Yes, I will definitely need to experiment when I get the trailer home and I will report back. I'm now wondering if clearance to the tailgate will be an issue; that will be interesting to see.

Yes, the fiver is definitely a great trailer; they were somewhat overbuilt with respect to frame and running gear with 8k lbs axles. It has a full winter package good to -30C that is also great in the heat. They were made in Oliver, BC, but unfortunately didn't survive the 2008/2009 recession. We are on our second one, which replaced a 30' single slide unit that we bought new.

With respect to the long bed, that was a no go for me because the truck would have been too long to fit in my garage. I was willing to sacrifice a bit of bed space in order to have the truck inside.

[garyp4951]

Yep, hard to beat the old 8' bed.
My driveway grade goes down hill from the street and thats what got it.

[Learjet]

good point on the widebody ....I got one coming in a few weeks....will have to recheck my clearance with my Jayco Pinnacle.

[MFL]

Another sometimes overlooked option, when considering anything to do with B&W installation, is your phone. B&W does install their hitches in all type vehicles, and can give first hand info, regarding any complication that could arise. If the person answering the phone cannot answer your question, they will quickly hook you up with the right person.

Jerry

[Cummins12V98]

garyp4951 wrote:
I wish that B&W would have designed the slider with two choices of rear sliding settings instead of just 12".

The first time I used mine it ate up the rubber top of my factory tailgate, but I solved that with a 5th wheel tailgate.

These are the things that need to be considered when setting it up when new.

I know I am a broken record but many issues can be eliminated by simply buying a longed truck in the first place.

[MFL]

^ Good point Gary! That is where bed length can make a difference. My Ford standard bed is 6' 9"s.

With OP's arms in full rear position, and like you 6' 4" bed length, an adjustment may be needed, for hitch to fully slide. Again, pin box design, bed rail clearance, can differ. Pin box support can be trimmed, or in your case, a FW gate works for you.

Jerry

[garyp4951]

I wish that B&W would have designed the slider with two choices of rear sliding settings instead of just 12".

The first time I used mine it ate up the rubber top of my factory tailgate, but I solved that with a 5th wheel tailgate.

[MFL]

OP...You should be in great shape at 39.5"s of tow position clearance. It does make a difference having a wide body FW, and I'm sure you know that. The front cap shape also makes a difference, mine has what manufacturer labeled EZ-Turn for standard bed trucks.

Good you got the slider. The time may come when you will be more comfortable using it. I'm sure you will check for pinbox/tailgate/bedrail clearance when trailer is home, and first hookup.

FW on your sig page looks to be a great, quality built trailer. I looked it up.:)

Jerry

[blofgren]

I just checked and the center of pin on the new hitch to back of cab on my truck is 39.5". The pivot arms on the hitch are installed towards the rear of the truck which clearly makes a difference. I never measured with the Curt, but I'm pretty sure this B&W provides more clearance to the cab.

My trailer is currently in indoor winter storage so it will be another month or so before I have the chance to hook it up and check things out. The trailer is a 100" wide body so definitely wider than many of them out there. It appears that I may have been able to get away from a slider, but I'll have to experiment a bit to see how much sharper I can turn before it gets dicey.

With respect to experience, yes it makes a difference, but when you are in a situation where things are tight and you are trying to watch multiple things, it's very easy to forget to watch the cab clearance as I've found out. As I said earlier, I would rather have the insurance of having the slider and not need it than the other way around!

[Cummins12V98]

cummins2014 said: "I would direct him to a B&W slider"

What is the world coming to???????

[Cummins12V98]

ford truck guy wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:

4x4ord wrote:
^^^Hehe you better be careful taking my word as Gospel. You might end up with a fa fa fa Ford.

Like my wife says there are always exceptions.

I wouldn't know what to do If Ron went to a Ford :h

First It's the tires, then what ......
no more Ram's ?
Amzoil been replaced?
Harley traded for a Kawasaki ?
B & W swapped for Anderson ?

It would be like a polar opposite world...

ok..ok..ok.. Let's not get excited I have faith ! !

Too funny!!!

Hey I did have a really nice 1969 Ford F100 Ranger. Emerald green, Crager's and WIDE BFG's. Oh and a built C6 with a rebuilt 390 four barrel.