Fifth Wheel Hitch For a 2016 Ford F 150 5-1/2 FT Bed  

Question:

Helpful Expert Reply:

For your 2016 Ford F-150 with the 5-1/2 foot bed I recommend the M5 Series 5th Wheel Trailer Hitch - Single Jaw - 20,000 lbs item # RP30928 and the Reese Quick-Install Custom Installation Kit w/ Base Rails for 5th Wheel Trailer Hitches item # RP50087-58. This hitch is more than enough for your 7300 lb fifth wheel trailer.

For short bed trucks a rotating pin box like the Sidewinder 5th Wheel King Pin with Rotating Turret - 20,000 lbs Item # RP34FR is required to get the nose of the trailer back far enough away from the cab of the vehicle so it doesn't make contact during turns. I also recommend the Pollak 5th Wheel/Gooseneck Wiring Harness for Aluminum Truck Beds - 7 Way RV - 7-1/2' Item # PK11893-11932-010. This wiring harness allows you to have a 7 pole connector in the bed of your truck so you don't have to drape the wiring over the tailgate.

To make your ride quality better and help support your factory suspension when towing a fifth wheel it is always a good idea to add some kind of suspension enhancement.

If you have a 2-wheel drive truck I recommend Air Lift LoadLifter 5000 Air Helper Springs - Rear Axle Item # AL57268. If you have a 4-wheel drive truck I recommend Air Lift LoadLifter 5000 Air Helper Springs - Rear Axle Item # AL57385. Both have a 5000 lb load leveling capacity so you can get your truck back up to normal ride height when hauling a load. Keep in mind this does not add to your towing capacity it is just to help support the extra weight being put on your factory suspension. Both have a max psi of 100 and a minimum of 5.

If you are wanting to make inflating and deflating your bags easier I recommend Air Lift WirelessAIR Compressor System for Air Helper Springs - Remote - Bluetooth - EZ Mount Item # AL74000EZ. This kit comes with a wireless controller that can be used inside or outside the vehicle. You can also connect this kit to your wireless phone via blue tooth and use your phone as the controller. Instillation is fairly simple and does not require any of the wires to be ran inside the vehicle.

Hitch weight and tongue weight can be looked at as being the same in a sense. Most of the time tongue weight is described on trailers that are being pulled on a ball mount at the back of the vehicle. For Fifth Wheels and Goose Necks, what some would call tongue weight is typically described as vertical load limit because it is directly over the axle. Your trailers that are being pulled by a ball will have a tongue that sticks out and connects to the ball so you don't really have a vertical load from the trailer because the trailer sits back away from the ball. On fifth wheels and goose necks the trailer is typically directly over the connection whether that be a ball in the bed or a fifth wheel hitch so you would have more vertical pressure than you would with a trailer being pulled on a ball mount.

expert reply by: Shane H

1