5th Wheel Base Rails/Install Brackets for 2021 Ram 1500 6-1/2 Foot Bed

Question:

I would like to move the Reese 16K pro series 5th wheel hitch from my 2011 Silverado 2500 to a 2021 Ram 1500. My 2500 has a standardinch bed 6 ft 6in and the Ram will have a standardinch bed 6 ft 4 in the hitch is fixed and works well with our 2013 Elkridge 22E 5th wheel. I dont seem to be able, however, to navigate to the appropriate mounting kit for the Ram truck, or the Silverado for that matter, on your web site, I always seem to get steered to the sliding hitch. Is there a above bed rail mounting kit for my fixed hitch available for the Ram and if so do you stock it and what is the part number. Thank you

asked by: AJ

Expert Reply:

For the 2021 Ram 1500, the kit needed will depend on if you have a Ram 1500 or a Ram 1500 Classic-they use different kits.

For the Ram 1500, use # RP56018-53. For the 1500 Classic, you'd use # RP50142-58 both will place the 5th wheel king pin roughly 2-3/4 inches forward of the centerline of the rear truck axle.

After looking at the placement of the rails in the Ram 1500 and 1500 Classic versus placement in the 2011 Silverado, the rails will sit almost 4 inches closer to the back of the cab, so unless your 5th wheel is pretty narrow, you'll likely have a clearance issue between the front of the 5th wheel and the rear of the truck cab that you didn't have before.

You can go ahead and install the kit for the Ram, but you'll very likely need a sliding hitch. If your Pro Series 16K 5th wheel hitch was manufactured after 2006, you can simply purchase the slider itself, part # RP50024 without needing to replace the entire hitch.

If you'd like to install a 7-way trailer connector in the bed of your truck so you don't need to run the trailer connector cable up over the tailgate, you can do so using part # 41157.