Can Reese 5th Wheel Rails be Welded to the Bed of a Reinforced Service Body

Question:

Have 99 Ford 550, custom Douglas service body for slide in camper with Curt fold over ball mounted in bed. Bed 3/8 diamond plate with serious reinforcing under in support of the goose neck ball Rated 30k Service body bolted to frame at 6 locations with 3 x 3/8 channel and 5/8 bolts. Have older Reese 30033 20k hitch manufactured in 1998. Have been hauling nearly 5k lb Lance camper past 9 yrs. Is it possible to weld these rails to my existing diamond plate bed? Will be welding over top of the underneath 3 x 3/8 channel for the front and back rails. Certified welder to do the install. see custom hitch extension

asked by: C. I

Helpful Expert Reply:

You could have the Reese Universal Base Rails # RP30035 welded to the truck bed but you will also need to bolt them to that reinforcement under the bed. Usually for this type of installation there is a special hitch that is used, # RP30054, which must be bolted through the bed to a steel plate welded to the frame. This is a similar situation so the attachment to the truck will also have to be bolted to the reinforced parts under the bed.

There is another issue though. The service body on the truck is narrower than a standard pickup bed. That means that when you turn the 5th wheel trailer pin box could make contact with the sides of the bed. To avoid that the trailer would have to be fitted with a Sidewinder pin box. A Sidewinder allows the trailer to pivot at the connection to the pin box rather than at the hitch. So in other words the pin box will stay stationary while the trailer rotates.

To determine if there is a Sidewinder that will fit your trailer I will need to know the manufacturer of the pin box itself and its model number. This information is usually on a sticker or plate on the pin box. If that information is not available then we can identify the pin box by taking some measurements. I have included a link to a help article that shows the measurements we need.

I am assuming you will remove that hitch extension when towing a 5th wheel trailer. The 5th wheel hitch will need to be centered over the rear truck axle where it is the strongest. That may not allow for enough clearance between the trailer and the hitch extension.

expert reply by: Michael H