What's the Difference Between 5th Wheel Hitch for Short Bed and Long Bed 2018 Ford F-350 with Pucks

Question:

I purchased a 20k 5th wheel hitch for a 2018 F350 super duty. I received one for a long box and didn’t noticed and installed it in my short box What do I need to do to get it to work on my short box? Thanks

asked by: Sue

Expert Reply:

The only difference between the fifth wheel trailer hitch for a short bed truck and the fifth wheel trailer hitch for a long bed truck is the base. The base on a hitch for a short bed truck can slide back away from the cab so the trailer does not come into contact on sharp turns. The base on a hitch for a long bed truck is fixed because it does not need to slide back for clearance since the hitch is further away from the cab.

In most cases, you can swap bases and reuse the head but that's not the case for every hitch. I don't know which hitch you have as you didn't provide that information so I can't say for sure but if you have the Reese M5 5th Wheel Trailer Hitch for Ford Towing Prep Package part # RP30921 for example, there is not a slider base for this so you would either need to replace the hitch completely or look into a rotating pin box. For a new hitch, I recommend the B&W Companion OEM 5th Wheel Trailer Hitch part # BWRVK3370.

expert reply by: Conner L