Equipping a 1997 Ford F150 Flareside for 5th Wheel Towing
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Question:
I just bought a 1991 5th wheel camper and it came with a 15k Reese hitch thingy but not the rails or whatever I would need on my truck to be able to pull it. Si my question would be what fo I exactly need for My truck which is a 1997 FORD F150 4.6L 2WD and it is flareside. Thank you do very very much for taking the time to read and answer my questions.
asked by: Crystal
Expert Reply:
A truck with a stepside or flareside bed (as Ford calls it) won't generally work for fifth wheel towing because of the narrowness of the truck bed. The sides of your pin box would collide with the top of the bed sides during turns beginning when the trailer is about 40-45 degrees to the truck, not very far in other words.
Reese tells me that they have heard reports that using a Sidewinder replacement pin box that locks the pin box together with the fifth wheel hitch and moves the point of rotation 22 inches rearward will allow folks with flareside truck beds to successfully tow a fifth wheel trailer, but they cannot officially confirm it because they haven't tested it.
So this being said, your best chance for being able to tow a fifth wheel would be to install a stationary fifth wheel hitch in your truck using the Reese # RP50042-58 fifth wheel hitch install kit. If the hitch you currently have is a sliding model, you'll need to lock it all the way forward into the towing position and leave it set there.
The Sidewinder you need will depend on the manufacturer and model number of the pin box on your fifth wheel. This information should be provided on a sticker somewhere on your pin box. I'll link you to an article with more information about how the Sidewinder works.
You'll also want to install a 7-way in the truck bed, using part # HM40147.
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