Air Bag and 5th Wheel Hitch for 2011 Ford F-150 3.5 Ecoboost  

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For a 2011 Ford F-150 that will eventually tow a 5th wheel you'll need an air bag kit that will not interfere with the in-bed hitch installation brackets. If your truck is 2WD you can use AirLift kit # AL88228 as long as you don't have the Raptor. If you have 4WD instead use kit # AL57200, again so long as you do not have the Raptor. You can add a compressor kit # AL25592 if you wish for more convenient control of bag pressure. I recommend adding one. The Firestone kits for your truck won't work with an in-bed 5th wheel.

For a 5th wheel install kit and hitch choose from the two linked pages; one has install kits and hitches for the 5-1/2-foot bed and the other for the 6-1/2-foot bed.

The 5-1/2-foot bed must usually use a fixed hitch and a pivoting pin box to extend turning clearance. These pin boxes are known as a Sidewinder, Revolution or Turning Point. But there is one Demco slider hitch option that will work in the 5-1/2-foot and NOT require the pivoting pin box. This setup consists of under-bed install kit # DM8551001 and 13K Automatic Slider hitch # DM8550041 which has 22-1/2-inches of travel. This is the nicest setup for the 5-1/2-foot bed because you avoid above-bed rails getting in your way and the slider operates automatically! You also don't have to mess with swapping out the trailer pin box. Check out the linked video.

The 6-1/2-foot bed will use a sliding hitch and a standard pin box on the trailer. Again, the nicest option is from Demco, the same under-bed install kit # DM8551001 and their 18K automatic hitch # DM8550022 which has 14-inches of travel, plenty for the 6-1/2 foot bed.

Please note that the F-150 SuperCrew with 157-inch wheelbase and 3.5 EcoBoost has varying 5th wheel towing capacity depending on 2WD or 4WD and the axle ratio. The low side is 8000-lbs and the high side is 11,300-lbs with the Max Tow package.

expert reply by: Adam R

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