Is it Okay to Have More Than 5 - 6 of Clearance Above Truck Bed Rails for 5th Wheel Trailer

Question:

Thanks in advance for your time. I am installing the C16906 fixed legs on my Curt A20 hitch replacing the R20 Slider. With the R20, the A20 set at the lowest position I still retained about 10 inch of clearance to the box on my 2018 Ram. Since I have a sidewinder pin box I didnt really need the slider. So now I am installing it and find the medium bolt holes put me at about 8 inch clearance and I see you set a minimum as 5. It looks like if I go to the next set of bolt holes lower it will give me about 5-5.5 inch of clearance. Going down the road I am sure it will be fine, but will this positively be enough for 90 degree turns on very steep hills, up and down. I have seen what happens to truck beds when the trailer disagrees and they both loose.

asked by: Mark

Expert Reply:

Great question!

We recommend having 5" of bed rail clearance at the very least. If your 5th wheel trailer is level with the Curt # C16906 legs installed and your 10" of clearance then there is no harm in having more height clearance. If you have to adjust the pin box on your 5th wheel trailer and your Curt A20 # C16140 on your 2018 Ram 2500 then you need to make sure you have at least 5" - 6" of bed rail clearance. Now that being said, the Curt A and Q series hitches are no longer compatible with sidewinders, so you'll instead want the Curt E16 5th Wheel Trailer Hitch - Slide Bar Jaw - 16,000 lbs # C16115 with Wedge # C16991.

This clearance anticipates turns on steep hills so you should be just fine up and down. The Sidewinder pin box moves your turning point back 22" so you definitely have enough turning clearance for a 90 degree turn.

The most important things are that you have your 5th wheel leveled and you have at least 5" - 6" of bed rail clearance as noted in the picture.