Needing fith wheel hitch help for new comer

[nodrama]

Hello to all,
I am a newbie to this site and 5th wheels as well. I have a new 5th wheel on order and have to get my truck ready. I'm sure I'm going to get blasted with the questions I have.
I own a '02 GMC 4x4 1500hd to which last spring a installed a leveling kit and a 3" body lift to acommodate 305 series tires. I did this with no intention at the time what was coming in the future.
My questions are with the 3" body lift, will I have to make custom brackets to install a 5th wheel kit or are there kits out there for this???
I also see many different hitches on the market. I'm needing a hitch in the 15,000 range. Any opinions??? This is a 6 1/2 bed. I see several different opinions of whether or not a slider is needed for cab clearance.
I know there are going to be many opinions that this truck isn't heavy enough. This truck has been and is being beefed up quite a bit over stock. I don't plan on making cross country trips with this setup. I'm buying this camper basically because I spend most of my time in motels working on power line projects and am going to be basically living in the camper during the week. I hope to not have to move it around once a year or less.

 

[RoyM]

First of all, what trailer did you order? What is the GVWR of the trailer and the pin weight? What is the maximum towing capacity of your truck? What engine and gear ratio does it have?
You need a sliding fifth wheel, trust me on this one. We have punched out a rear window. : Hijacker, Reese and others make top quality units. If you want to go all out and money is no object, have a look at Pullrite's Superglide. You will also need a spring over axle with that lift kit and the larger tires although  even that may not give you sufficient clearance.

 

[nodrama]

First of all, what trailer did you order? What is the GVWR of the trailer and the pin weight? What is the maximum towing capacity of your truck? What engine and gear ratio does it have?

Thanks for the reply.
Here's where I know I'll get blasted on the weight issues. lol
The camper is a Blue Ridge 3025rl. It as a gross rating of about 14,000 and a pin weight of 2050 if my memory is correct.
As far as the truck, is has the 6.0 with 410 gears from the factory. It now has 488 gears, additional springs in rear, and other performance upgrades. I'm not worried about the trucks abilities. I currently pull a 37' homemade house boat that's 10' wide, weighs about 11,000lbs and has the aerodynamics of a 8'x10' flat wall. ;D ;D ;D
I know I'm pushing the limits of this truck, but as stated it will only pull this camper about once every year or two.

My main concern at this time which you just answered is the sliding hitch question, and still unanswered is the body lift issue. I've seen how the Superglides mount system attaches to the frame and for this to work, I'll have to make some custom brackets due to the bed now being 3" higher above the frame than stock. I can do this, but was just wandering if anyone has dealt with this before and if there were kits already available.
Edit: Fixed quote.

 

[nodrama]

I made that whole reply look like a quote. Bear with me, I'm in a learning curve

 

[edjunior]

Dang man, you're gonna hear it from a lot more, and they'll probably be harsher than me.  But...that truck simply will not work...period.  It will be dangerous on any road, no matter how seldom you tow it, or how far you tow it.  A lifted half ton, with oversized tires, and you didn't state what engine it has...my guess is at best a 6.0, but likely a 5.3.  You don't have the carrying capacity for the pin weight, you don't have near the towing capacity for the rest of the trailer.  "Beefing" it up won't matter a lick.  It does not change the tow ratings.  You simply cannot tow that trailer.  Period.

RoyM pretty well answered your questions though.  If you do decide to go with this, I'd sure like to know where you live...I'll know where to avoid.

Sorry to carry on like that, but this is just not a good idea.  You really need to rethink this.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Since there are plenty of others to beat you up about the truck capacity, I'll skip that. Your truck has plenty of pulling power with those 4.88  gears, but power to the rear wheels is not the only issue. It's the rest of the truck mechanicals that are questionable.

But the lift is a problem, both for installing the 5W hitch and clearance between the trailer and the truck bed. I'm sure a good hitch shop can find or fabricate whatever you need to get it installed, but running the trailer nose high is a handling problem. And you stand a good chance of having the trailer hit the side of the bed when it rocks in a turn or bump.

As for the slider hitch, it depends on the bed length & wheelbase. An 8 foot bed is no problem, but the 6.5 ft bed runs the risk of a cab strike in a very sharp turn. A slider hitch eliminates that risk.

 

[nodrama]

edjunior,
I appreciate your reply and concerns.
I did mention the engine size. It's the 6.0. Also, this is not a typical 1/2 ton truck. It's a 3/4 ton truck with 1/2 ton HD badging. It has the 3/4 ton chassis, suspension, and rear ends.
Also not mentioned is the fact that though I may be a newby to the camper scene, I'm no virgin when it comes to pulling or hauling extreme loads. I've been towing with ball hitches, pintle hitches, and road tractors for nearly 30 years.
I also know this truck and how it handles with the mentioned home made house boat that I built that has 1000lbs of tounge weight.
I would post a picture of this, but I dont know how yet.
Once again, I do understand where you're coming from. As I was driving up I95 north of Richmond, Va., I saw a standard 1/2 ton extended cab Chevy with a 5er. It's headlights were pointed to the sky.

 

[nodrama]

Gary,
I appreciate your responce as well. As my truck sits now, it's not much taller that alot of the 3/4 and 1 ton dodges that I see. I am sure that I'll have to remove my bed rails. The pull home from the RV dealer will be very straight forward. Once I get it home, I will play around with it in some different terrain to make sure I dont have issues else where. It sounds like going ahead with the slider hitch is in my best interest.
As far as fabricating brackets to make the hitch mounts work, I can do this as well. I was just wandering if there anyone knew of kits for this. My friends get on me all the time for over designing whatever I'm building. I built the 45' tri-axle trailer that my houseboat rides on.

My theory is "If you can make it take it, break it. Then get the torch and welder out and make it better and stonger"  ;D

 

[silveradomike]

I have a 3" lift on my D/A with 285/16" tires. My 5w has the springs over the axles along with larger 16" wheels and tires and I can just manage 5 1/2" of bed clearance between the bed and the 5W. I would plan on having to do the same for your 5W if you want to tow it with your truck. Just asking but is your truck a 1500HD or a 2500LD? I seam to recall they manufactured these up till about 2003 or 2005.