Can Chest Style Toolbox Lid be Opened when Towing a 5th Wheel Trailer with 2004 Dodge Ram 3500

Updated 02/24/2015 | Published 02/23/2015

Question:

I have a 2004 Dodge Ram 3500 Long Bed. With this box mounted in the front of the bed and a 5th wheel RV hitched to the truck, will the nose of the trailer interfere with opening the lid of the box, or is there sufficient clearance?

asked by: Ron

Expert Reply:

If you were to measure from the top of the bed corrugations up approximately 42-1/8 inches that should be about where the top of the lid would be on toolbox # DZ8560WB when opened.

I took the height of the box measurement, minus the height of the lid, which is 18-1/8 inches and then added the width of the box, 24 inches to get 42-1/8.

But really, the lid is less wide than the footprint of the box by 2 inches. So technically you could say 40-1/8 inches from the top of the bed corrugations in your 2004 Dodge Ram 3500. And that is only if you were to have the lid straight up and down. The lid will not actually go that high (maybe an inch or so less) but you always want a slight buffer because if the truck or trailer is at an angle that can cause the trailer to be closer to the truck bed on one side or the other.

In the event that it will be too tall to open the lid what you could do is raise the height of the trailer a little by adjusting the head upward on the 5th wheel hitch or by lowering the pin box on the trailer one notch. Most 5th wheel hitches and pin boxes are height adjustable.

expert reply by: Michael H