Sliding Fifth Wheel Hitch and Installation Kit for 2017 Ford F-250 Super Duty

Question:

Different question. I have a 2017 F250 Super Duty with a 6 ft 8 in bed. The trailer I will be Towing is a fifth wheel with turn tech technology. Do I require a sliding fifth wheel for this application. Ive heard horror stories of people denting their cab and or popping out the rear window. Thanks

asked by: Kirk N

Expert Reply:

For your 2017 Ford F-250 the fifth wheel hitch I recommend checking out is the Curt A20 # C16541, which has a 20,000 lb capacity. Removing the vast majority of fifth wheel hitches for bed access will be difficult because even though the head and base units can be separated, most head units are quite heavy; the A20's is 108 lbs, for example. To install this hitch in your F-250 you need the B&W Custom 5th Wheel Installation Kit # BWRVK2402.

If your F-250 was an 8 foot bed and you did not have to have a slider there is a perfect application for what you want to do. The Demco Recon # DM8550043 weighs only 100 lbs with its head unit and base each weighing 50 lbs, making it very manageable. The Recon has a 21,000 lb towing capacity and will fit in the Curt Custom 5th Wheel Installation Kit # C16428-204.

expert reply by: Kyle S

Kirk

6/18/2018

Kyle S.

6/18/2018

It may be possible for you to avoid using a sliding fifth wheel hitch on your '17 F-250 since you have a trailer with Max Turn Technology, though in order to find out for sure if you can make a 90 degree turn you can use the following formula: (A + B) - C = Clearance A = Distance from center of fifth wheel hitch jaw to truck cab B = Length of pin box (measured from attachment point to king pin) C = Width of trailer nose at the tapered points divided by 2 (to get half) To make a 90 degree turn you need at least 4 inches of clearance. The Turn Tech technology means your fifth wheel has a tapered or rounded nose, so instead of measuring the full width of the trailer, you need to measure from where the nose begins to taper across to the other point where it tapers.