How to Determine Clearance for Towing a Fifth Wheel with 2016 Ram 2500 Short Bed with Factory Kit

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Question:

I have a ram 2500 short bed will the height and distance from king pin to end of tailgate down be enough to clear when coupling and will rear corner of truck clear in a turn with tailgate up? I have a 2014 cougar 30ft 5th wheel model #279rksw.

asked by: Tony

1

Helpful Expert Reply:

To determine if you're going to have clearance you're going to have to do some measuring. Since you have the factory rail kit on your 2016 Ram 2500 with the 6 foot bed, you can find the center point between the pucks in your truck bed. This will be where the jaws of the fifth wheel hitch will be. With your tail gate open, measure from this point to the end of your tail gate, and measure on your trailer from the king pin to the body of the trailer. This will tell you if you have the distance with the tail gate open.

The Curt Q16 Fifth Wheel Hitch # C16520-16021 has a range of 13 to 17 inches high. And you will ideally want about 6 inches of clearance between your trailer and the side rails of your Ram while towing to allow for uneven ground. So if you measure from the underside of your trailer to your truck's side rails with the king pin sitting within the 13 to 17 inches you will be able to tell how much clearance you will have between the truck and trailer.

Finally for turning clearance. You'll want to find the distance from the fifth wheel jaw center to the truck cab. So use that same point in the center of your truck's pucks and measure to the cab. This is figure A. Then measure the width of the nose of your trailer and divide it in half. This is figure C. And figure B is the offset, which in your case with the standard Q16 is zero. So the formula looks like this:

(A + B) - C

This gives you the turning clearance, and you will want at least 4 inches. If you do not have the 4 inches of clearance you may want to look at a sliding hitch like the Curt A16 # C16521 with the Adapter Rails # C16022. This will give you up to 12 inches of offset (Which you can plug in as figure B to determine the turn clearance) and will also be a taller hitch sitting between 17-1/2 to 21/1/2 inches.

Also, if you need a 7-way wiring harness installed into your Ram's bed to make it easier to hook up you can use # C56000.

expert reply by: Charles S

1

Answer 1

Thanks for the photo! For your Ram you currently have the Curt A20 #C16541 with the Adapter Rails #C16022. To fit this on your 2022 Ford F-350 Super Duty with the 8' bed and OEM package you can either use the Adapter Rails #C88KR or the Leg Kit…

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Answer 2

Great question! You will be happy to know that you can utilize your Curt A16 Slider #C16521 with the puck system on your 2022 Ram 2500. All you need is the Adapter #C16022, which fits the long and short beds, to accomplish this. If you have the short…

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Answer 3

The distance between the pucks on the Reese Adapter for Ram #RP30154 is 39-1/8 by 30-1/2 inches. I had to contact Curt for their Adapter Rails for Curt Fifth Wheel Sliding Hitches #C16023 that fits the GM, and according to them the pucks measure…

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Answer 4

You will have to go with a sliding hitch to allow the trailer to make tight turns. For a trailer 8 feet wide the only bed length that's going to allow 90 degree turns without a slider is a stationary hitch. That being said you have two options.…

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Answer 5

The OEM prep package consists of 4 "pucks" in the bed of the truck that will allow you to drop in puck style hitches for easy installation and removal, that gives you a completely clear bed when not in use. The B&W Companion OEM 5th…

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Answer 6

Choosing the right height setting for your 5th wheel hitch is a combination of a few different variables. First of all you want your towing setup to be as level as possible. With your Montana High Country 340BH level you will want to measure from the…

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Answer 7

As far as height adjustability and weight capacities the Curt Q20 #C16130 and the Curt A20 #C16140 are identical. They both have a Gross Towing Weight of 20,000 lbs, a Vertical Load Limit of 5,000 lbs, and a height range of 13-17 inches. When it…

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Answer 8

There are a couple of options that'll work great with your Lippert Turning Point Pin Box, however one hitch stands out to me more than others. Take a look at the: -Curt E16 5th Wheel Trailer Hitch - Slide Bar Jaw - 16,000 lbs #C16115 This 5th…

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Answer 9

In order to determine the torque rating for the lug nuts on your trailer you will need to know check out the chart I attached that shows all of the torque specs for all the trailer lugs available based on stud size, wheel material and wheel size.

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Answer 10

Even though I cannot comment specifically on the grease you used because I am not familiar with it, I can tell you the best grease for trailer bearings is a a grease with a rating of GC-LB, which just means it is made to withstand very high…

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Answer 11

To determine the size of the brake assemblies you need you have to measure the depth and width of the hub drum on the axle like what you see in the picture I attached. The most common size is 2-1/4 inch wide like the #T4071600-500 that you…

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Answer 12

Hi Rusty; the Dexter #84546UC3-EZ and etrailer #AKHD-5475-35-K will both fit a 3,500 lb axle but they have different bolt patterns. You already ordered the Dexter in the past so I'm assuming your wheels are 5 on 4-1/2. For the same bolt pattern…

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How to Determine Clearance for Towing a Fifth Wheel with 2016 Ram 2500 Short Bed with Factory Kit

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