Towing 5th Wheel With 2016 Ram 2500 Short Bed With Ramboxes  

Question:

Expert Reply:

There are 2 major obstacles you'll run into in regards to towing a fifth wheel trailer with a Rambox-equipped truck.

The first issue is that the rear corners of the pin box will strike the inside edge of the truck bed side during turns because the bed is narrower than what it would be on a truck without the Rambox option. The second problem is that because the bed is narrower, you won't be able to open the jaws of most 5th wheel hitches because the release handle will hit the inside wall of the bed before the jaws open.

The best solution we've found is to use a B&W Patriot hitch, part # BWRVK3200 for a 16K or
# BWRVK3255 for an 18K. The B&W Patriot uses a cam-operated latch handle that pulls toward the front of the bed to open, instead of toward the bed side so the handle will not hit the side of the bed before you can get the jaws unlatched. You'd also need the # BWRVK2602 bracket/rail kit.

To prevent the pin box from colliding with and damaging the bed side during turns, you'll need to use a rotating pin box like the Reese Sidewinder. The Sidewinder relocates the pivot point between the hitch and the 5th wheel 22 inches rearward so the pin box itself does not rotate. Because it doesn't rotate, it can't hit the side of the truck bed. The Sidewinder is pin box specific, so I'd need to know the manufacturer and part number of the 5th wheel's OEM pin box in order to recommend the correct model as the bolt patterns differ among pin box models.

The most common OEM pin box is the Lippert 1621. If that's the OEM pin box on your 5th wheel, you can use # RP61422 for a 16K capacity or # RP34FR for a 20K capacity. I'll link to a help article that explains how the Sidewinder works in more detail. The article also includes a table showing the various Sidewinder models we offer that replace a given OEM pin box. You'll also need a # SWW-06 wedge to prevent the king pin from rotating in the pin box.

I've linked to some helpful install/demonstration videos for the parts mentioned above.

expert reply by: Mike L

0