F-250 Short Bed Fifth Wheel Cab Contact Risk

[oldryder1]

2023 f250 crew cab with 6-1/2' box, standard rail installation. 2015 GD 27RL 5th wheel (has the narrowed front)

Is it possible to create contact between the cab and the trailer with this set-up? (I am trying to figure out if I need a slider hitch)

thx to anyone taking the time to offer advice.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Cannot tell without careful measurements, and you can't measure with 100% accuracy without a hitch in place to locate the pivot point for the hitch pin. If you have the Ford hitch rails, you should be able to accurately predict where the pin will be. That lets you measure the radius distance from pin to cab. Compare that with the radius distance on the trailer from the actual pin to the farthest point on the trailer nose. If the radius intersects with the front of the trailer,then Yes, a cab strike is theoretically possible. Whether you will ever turn sharply enough to incur that is a tougher question.

There may be some pre-determined measurements for your truck or the trailer. Ask around or check the manuals.

In general, I think the GD 27RL with its extended pin box & tapered corners will have very low probability of a cab strike. Maybe even zero probability. But the only way to know for sure is to measure. Or you can just say to yourself "I'll never turn more than 75 or 80 degrees anyway" and remind yourself to pay attention to the angles if you ever get into a tight situation.

 

[Kirk]

If you have a place with room to test, you can unhook the trailer and then back the truck slowly in at a 90-degree angle with a guide to watch and stop you when under the pin, or before you hit.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I think he hasn't bought any hitch yet & is trying to figure out what to buy. Maybe doesn't have the trailer in his possession yet either.

 

[TonyL]

I would say that if you turned tight enough, any set up is liable for a cab strike, but from our experience of 7 years touring the US with a short bed F350, using the puck system we never had an issue.
The wife would always get out at campgrounds and watch all blind spots and for any chance of cab strike.
F350 & open range 337RLS

 

[Rene T]

If you have bed rails alteadyin the bed, maybe you could borrow a hitch from a friend them take more measurements like Gary said

 

[richclover]

2023 f250 crew cab with 6-1/2' box, standard rail installation. 2015 GD 27RL 5th wheel (has the narrowed front)

Is it possible to create contact between the cab and the trailer with this set-up? (I am trying to figure out if I need a slider hitch)

thx to anyone taking the time to offer advice.

Short bed Ram, Andersen hitch, no slider. I might have been able to get to 90 degrees, but I didn’t want to. These photos were taken in a gravel/dirt lot. On pavement I would have been “twisting” the tires severely. I never got into a situation where I needed more than about 45 degrees and I was always watching for potential contact. If nothing else, a slider will give you more options.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[EdJunior]

Without hooking up and actually running a few turning tests, it's almost impossible to know for sure. I had a slider hitch, mainly because the one I originally went to get sold, and the hitch place sold me the slider actually cheaper than the non-slider I was going to get. In the 15 years I towed with it, I never "had" to use it, but I can tell you, it did give me "peace of mind". I knew that if I needed it, it was there. I would say, if you can afford it, and want that peace of mind, go ahead. Just remember, it will be heavier also. I ended up not taking the hitch out for the last few years because I got to where me and my wife could not move it. So it stayed there with the truck when I sold it.

 

[woof-n]

I paid extra to get the slider so I would not be in a situation where I needed it and did not have it. I called the $ difference an insurance premium. With that said I never used it. I did have the truck 90 degrees to the camper once in 6 years. You could try calling your campers tech support and ask if a slider is need for your camper truck combination. For the most part, I have generally had good luck with factory tech support throughout my career. Good luck

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

You could try calling your campers tech support and ask if a slider is need for your camper truck combination.

Sounds plausible but that's a question tech support cannot answer without doing the detailed measurement & analysis I outline earlier in this thread. For reasons of legal liability, the tech agent can give a simple NO answer and has no choice other than to (1) give a lot of caveats or (2) say YES just to be safe.

 

[woof-n]

If you have a place with room to test, you can unhook the trailer and then back the truck slowly in at a 90-degree angle with a guide to watch and stop you when under the pin, or before you hit.

If you don't have a hitch to test. Use a tape measure to find the center of the truck bed and mark with a piece of tape. then find the axle center line. then mark, placing a piece of tape to cross the bed center line. take a string and tie a nut to it. Tie the other end of the string to the king pin. poor man's plumb bob. Then back the truck under the camper as Kirk suggested a lining the dangling nut from the king pin to the center of the tape X . This is not an exact test, but you will be able to see if there is a chance of not needing a slider. Good Luck

 

[SargeW]

My fiver does not have an angled front cap, and is 100" wide. I have been out on our current trip for 7 weeks that has taken us from AZ up to the top of Montana. I have had to crank several times on this trip to 90 degrees just to avoid obstacles like trees, rocks, or other campers RV or truck. I would have never made it without my slider hitch. Now that is my truck and trailer, and does not prove a thing compared to anyone else's set up.

What it does prove is that RV travel camp grounds vary WIDELY and circumstances are all different. For my two cents, any money spent on a hitch set up would be peanuts compared to even one cab strike.

So the best that you can do is to precisely measure the width of your intended fiver nose, and then the distance from your cab to the center line of your rear axle. That will give you a starting point on deciding on the type of hitch set up you want. Another variable I had to consider was the distance between the truck bed and the bottom of the RV. My Ram 4X4 2500 is very tall. Certain pin boxes and fifth wheel hitches may put your fiver really close to your truck bed, or in my case very high. My fiver with the slider hitch installed required me to raise the RV 3" to have a level riding trailer. The whole system now rides, tows, and stops perfectly.

All the considerations to comfortably set up an RV to tow safely are important. You are smart to ask all of the questions you can think of first.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Many (most?) new 5W owners with a 6.5 ft bed in their truck end up getting a slider hitch simply because figuring out if it is REALLY necessary is more effort/complexity than they are willing to invest. And of course the dealer encourages that POV as well. Peace of Mind, they call it.