Recommended 5th Wheel Towing Setup for a 2017 Ram 1500 with a 5-1/2 foot Bed

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Question:

Since your 2017 Dodge Ram 1500 has a box that is shorter than 6 feet you will actually need to go with a stationary 5th wheel hitch and then change the pin box on your trailer to a Sidewinder pin box. There are no sliding 5th wheel hitches that will allow you to make a 90 degree turn with a truck that has a box under 6 feet. The Sidewinder takes the pivot point on your towing setup and moves it from the king pin back 22 inches to the rotating pin box. We have a selection of Sidewinders that I have linked for you to filter through. Among them is the part # RP34FR rated for 16,000 lbs and replaces the popular 1621 or 0719 pin boxes. We also have the upgraded version with an airbag know as the 5th Airborne Premium # RP61422. If you let me know what your pin box number is I can make a replacement recommendation for you. The 5th wheel hitch that I recommend using for this setup is the Reese M5 20K # RP30928 which will fit on the Reese Quick-Install Custom Base Rails and Installation Kit # RP50142-58 for your Ram 1500. This is one of our most popular 5th wheel hitches due to the dual serrated jaws and the 4-way pivoting head. You will want to use the Sidewinder Wedge for Reese Select Plus 5th Wheel Trailer Hitches # SWW-01 for a wedge that fits properly with the Select Plus 20K. If you don't already have a 7-Way installed in the bed of your Ram then I also recommend installing part # 50-97-410 to make connecting and disconnecting your trailer much easier. I have attached some videos that you can check out as well.

asked by: Rob L

0

Expert Reply:

Since your 2017 Dodge Ram 1500 has a box that is shorter than 6 feet you will actually need to go with a stationary 5th wheel hitch and then change the pin box on your trailer to a Sidewinder pin box.

There are no sliding 5th wheel hitches that will allow you to make a 90 degree turn with a truck that has a box under 6 feet. The Sidewinder takes the pivot point on your towing setup and moves it from the king pin back 22 inches to the rotating pin box. We have a selection of Sidewinders that I have linked for you to filter through. Among them is the part # RP34FR rated for 16,000 lbs and replaces the popular 1621 or 0719 pin boxes. We also have the upgraded version with an airbag know as the 5th Airborne Premium # RP61422. If you let me know what your pin box number is I can make a replacement recommendation for you.

The 5th wheel hitch that I recommend using for this setup is the Reese M5 20K # RP30928 which will fit on the Reese Quick-Install Custom Base Rails and Installation Kit # RP50142-58 for your Ram 1500. This is one of our most popular 5th wheel hitches due to the dual serrated jaws and the 4-way pivoting head.

You will want to use the Sidewinder Wedge for Reese Select Plus 5th Wheel Trailer Hitches # SWW-01 for a wedge that fits properly with the Select Plus 20K.

If you don't already have a 7-Way installed in the bed of your Ram then I also recommend installing part # 50-97-410 to make connecting and disconnecting your trailer much easier.

I have attached some videos that you can check out as well.

expert reply by: Jon G

0

Rob L.

1/18/2018

Since your 2017 Dodge Ram 1500 has a box that is shorter than 6 feet you will actually need to go with a stationary 5th wheel hitch and then change the pin box on your trailer to a Sidewinder pin box. There are no sliding 5th wheel hitches that will allow you to make a 90 degree turn with a truck that has a box under 6 feet. The Sidewinder takes the pivot point on your towing setup and moves it from the king pin back 22 inches to the rotating pin box. We have a selection of Sidewinders that I have linked for you to filter through. Among them is the part # RP34FR rated for 16,000 lbs and replaces the popular 1621 or 0719 pin boxes. We also have the upgraded version with an airbag know as the 5th Airborne Premium # RP61422. If you let me know what your pin box number is I can make a replacement recommendation for you. The 5th wheel hitch that I recommend using for this setup is the Reese M5 20K # RP30928 which will fit on the Reese Quick-Install Custom Base Rails and Installation Kit # RP50142-58 for your Ram 1500. This is one of our most popular 5th wheel hitches due to the dual serrated jaws and the 4-way pivoting head. You will want to use the Sidewinder Wedge for Reese Select Plus 5th Wheel Trailer Hitches # SWW-01 for a wedge that fits properly with the Select Plus 20K. If you don't already have a 7-Way installed in the bed of your Ram then I also recommend installing part # 50-97-410 to make connecting and disconnecting your trailer much easier. I have attached some videos that you can check out as well.

Reply

Jon G.

1/18/2018

I am not sure where your RV shop got their information from, but you should never use a sliding 5th wheel hitch with a Sidewinder unless it is in the "locked" position. The reason being that the Sidewinder locks the king pin in the 5th wheel hitch and rotates at the turret which is attached to the mounting brackets on your trailer. This moves the pivot point back 22 inches and was developed specifically for trucks with a 5-1/2 foot bed. If you were to use a sliding 5th wheel hitch then it would put 2 pivot points between your truck and you trailer and would definitely cause control issues. We have a formula that we use to determine whether or not you will have clearance for when you are turning. Typically you would use then when looking at a sliding 5th wheel hitch, but you can apply it to this situation as well. The formula that we use is: (A + B) - C = Clearance A = Distance from center of fifth wheel hitch jaw to truck cab B = Length of kingpin extender C = Width of trailer divided by 2 (to get half) When running the numbers you will substitute "22" in for the letter B which makes the formula (A + 22) - C = Clearance. If you run the numbers using this formula you should find that you will have at least 4 inches of clearance which is what is recommended for you to be able to make a 90 degree turn.

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Recommended 5th Wheel Towing Setup for a 2017 Ram 1500 with a 5-1/2 foot Bed

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