Gooseneck Trailer Hitch Installation - 2011 Dodge Ram

Installation of a Gooseneck Trailer Hitch on a 2011 Dodge Ram

Today on our 2011 Dodge Ram well be installing the Blue Ox goose neck hitch part #: DH1102. Now before we get started weve already gone ahead and removed the spare tire, both rear wheels and the rear half of the exhaust. All this will just make it easier to install our goose neck hitch. To start the installation of our hitch well first need to mark out and drill a pilot hole where our goose neck will come up through the bed of the truck. Following the manufacturers instructions and measurements well mark the length and the center point of our bed and drill a small pilot hole. With our small pilot hole made Ill now go ahead and take a quarter inch bit which is the same size as the bit on my hole saw and make it a little larger.

Now we can go ahead and take the hole saw bit and drill out our 4 inch hole as per the instructions. Alright, now with the hole in the bed next well go ahead and remove the spare tire rock shield. There is a total of five fasteners holding it in place. Well need to remove the ground that runs up over the frame and attaches on the outside of the frame on the driver side. Well remove the nut securing the ground terminal to the ground stud, loosen any fasteners securing the ground wire so that we can relocate it to the inside of the frame.

This will be necessary as our hitch will be attaching to this location. It will be necessary to flatten out the tab that sticks out of the ground terminal first. Now well be reattaching our ground terminal to the bracket next to the brake line. Theres already a pre-drilled hole so well go ahead and take a one inch bolt, flat washer and lock nut and secure the ground terminal. It may be necessary to file or sand the paint off the bracket well be reattaching the ground.

Now with our ground terminal secured we can move on to the assembly and installation of the goose neck head. Well be using the half inch by 3 inch bolts to attach the Z-brackets to the head unit. Well leave each of these fasteners finger tight at this time. Now were ready to flip it over and drop the bolts in on the passenger side. With our bolts in place in the head well then take it and put our head up into the truck using an extra set of hands to then bring in the passenger side Z-bracket, securing it with the lock nuts.

Now the head unit assembly and then supported on top of the frame rail were going to take the table plate and slide it in on top of the frame under the Z-bracket. While installing the table plate youll need to make sure the four offset holes are facing the front of the vehicle. Also keep in mind, the insert of the table frame will face the frame to compensate for the offsets in the frame. Once we get the table plate lined up with the Z-bracket well install the half inch by 2 inch bolts, flat washer and nylon lock nuts. Keep in mind, with the Blue Ox fasteners youll need to apply Red Lock Tight to each bolt. Alright, now with all of the two inch bolts securing the Z-bracket to the table plate are installed well go ahead and tighten them down and torque to specifications as indicated in the instructions. Next, we need to relocate the emergency brake cable bracket. Well simply take a hammer and tap it towards the front of the vehicle to relocate it out of the way so that we can install the frame clamps. The frame clamps will be the black steel plate with two holes pre-drilled and our 8 bolts that run through the top of the table plate using the flat washers and half inch nylon lock nuts. With all four of the frame clamps in place we can go ahead and tighten them down and torque to specifications as indicated in the instructions. There is a total of four of the frame clamps, two on each side. Now with all of the Z-bracket to table plate fasteners tightened and the table plate to the frame clamps tightened we can go back to the Blue Ox goose neck head unit and secure our fasteners. Once theyre secured well go ahead and torque to specifications as indicated in the instructions. Alright, now with the goose neck assembly installed and torqued to specifications we can go ahead and reinstall the spare tire shield. Next well go ahead and draw for the chain loops or chain hold downs. Well be drilling out four half inch holes and for this application Ill be using a smaller pilot bit to start my holes and drilling them out to the half inch size and then install the U-bolts down to the top of the bed. Quick tech tip it can make it easier to install the hardware if you put a little weight on top of your U-bolt. Next well go ahead and install the hardware for the chain hold downs or U-bolts. First well install a flat washer, then a spring and a second flat washer and then the nylon lock nut. Keep in mind when you go to tighten down the nut that you want enough tension that the U-bolt wont rattle as the truck is going down the road, but not enough to compress the spring. In this case two to three threads showing from the end of the bolt looks like it will be perfect for this application. And that does it for the installation of our Blue Ox goose neck hitch part #: DH1102 on our 2011 Dodge Ram Power Wagon.