Will my bumper hit my 5th wheel?

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skeeter_ca

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Joined
May 24, 2017
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Ok, so i bought a fifth wheel and installed an old "lil rocker" hitch in the bed of my 97 Ram2500 4x4 longbed pickup that came with the truck. After installing it found out it looked like it was centered about 2" behind the center of the axle. From what i hear it is supposed to be about 2" in front of the axle. The bed rails actually are install wrong and crooked. From what i can see from the instructions on the new Curt hitch and rails i bought they want the rails about 4" forward from where they are now. I noticed the other day when backing into a tight turn that the bumper is pretty close to the trailer already. If i move the rails forward 4" like the instructions say will the bumper hit the trailer? How can i measure that accurately before i move the rails?

skeeter
 
With another person to help, using a tape measure, measure from the center of the king pin hole of the hitch to the widest part of the bumper which will be the ends. Use a plumb bob or a carpenters level. Then basically do the same thing with the RV measuring the shortest distance which will be at the middle of the RV to the center of the king pin.  You can guesstimate having the king pin hole 4" towards the front to come up with those dimensions. 
 
The critical measurement is the long side of the triangle.  Moving the ball 4" will NOT increase this distance 4".  Follow Rene's simple directions to know for sure!
 
The bumper should come nowhere near it, but some 5R's don't leave enough room for the tailgate to come fully down while it is hitched up.

You have to make this determination individually for each trailer, but nearly all of them will be designed to accommodate the standard 5W hitch position, which places the pin 2-4" ahead of the axle centerline. While you are measuring, also measure to see how close the corners of the trailer can come to the cab in an extreme turn, e.g. 90 degrees. Should not be an issue for a long (8 ft) bed truck, but better to find out ahead of time.
 
The other thing you should look at the first time you hook up is the clearance between the bed side rails and the bottom of the RV. You should have at least 5" clearance and preferably 6".
 
Hi Skeeter, welcome to the RV Forum.  DH (Dear Husband) and I recently purchased a new to us 5th wheel and a new to us truck to pull the 5th wheel.  We are totally clueless so we went to our trusted local trailer and welding shop and had them correctly install the hitch.  We just got back from our maiden voyage and the truck/hitch/and 5th wheel all seem to be playing nicely with each other.  (However, we desperately need back up and parking lessons.)
 
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