Fifth Wheel Hitch Solution for Steep Driveway with a 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 2500  

Question:

Expert Reply:

Hey there!

Yes, this can be doable, but the hitch itself won’t guarantee that you’ll maintain 6" of clearance between the 5th wheel and the bed rails while backing into a driveway with that much angle and grade change.

For normal towing, we recommend setting the 5th wheel up with at least 6" of clearance between the underside of the trailer and the top of the truck’s bed rails while the truck and trailer are sitting level. With your driveway, though, the truck and trailer will be articulating in different directions as you back in at roughly a 45-degree angle and transition onto the 10% grade. That can temporarily reduce the clearance on one side of the bed.

Since your 2024 Chevy Silverado 2500 has the 6-1/2' bed, I would recommend a sliding 5th wheel hitch to provide additional clearance between the front of the trailer and the cab during tight turns. An automatic slider like a Demco Hijacker Autoslide can make this especially convenient since it moves rearward automatically as you turn.

The important thing to keep in mind is that a sliding hitch helps with cab clearance, but it does not increase the clearance between the trailer and the bed rails. Bed-rail clearance is determined by the height of the hitch, the pin box position, and the height of the trailer overhang.

If you can let me know whether your Silverado has the factory 5th wheel puck system, I can recommend the correct sliding hitch for your truck. For the driveway clearance, I would also measure from the ground to the top of your bed rails and compare that to the height of the underside of the 5th wheel overhang when the trailer is level. That will give us a much better idea of how much clearance you have to work with.

expert reply by: Jerry B

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Jeffrey C.

10/1/2026

My truck does not have the factory puck system. I measured the bed rails and they are about 58”. From what I could see based on the 5th wheels I have researched, they are in the 60” to 62” range

Jerry B.

10/1/2026

@JeffreyC I'm finding that the 2024 Chevy Silverado 2500 came in a standard bed length (around 6-3/4') and a long bed (around 8'), so the options that I have don't come that short. Do you for sure have a 2500, and if so, how are you getting that measurement?

Jeff

10/1/2026

@JerryB Sorry. I was talking about the height of the bed rails. The actual length of the bed is the standard 6’9”. Thanks

Chris R.

10/5/2026

@Jeff That makes much more sense, thanks for clarifying. So the 58" measurement is the height from the ground to the top of your bed rails, and the 60"–62" measurements you're seeing are the approximate heights to the underside of the fifth wheel overhang. If those numbers are accurate, that would only leave you around 2"–4" of clearance before accounting for suspension squat, hitch height adjustment, trailer leveling, or the extra articulation you'll get backing into that 10% grade. That's the part I'd be concerned about, since we normally like to see at least 6" of bed-rail clearance. The most useful next step would be to get the actual ground-to-overhang measurement on the specific fifth wheel you're considering while it's sitting level. That will give us a much better idea of how much clearance you'll really have to work with, although with the angle and grade of your driveway, I still wouldn't want to guarantee clearance without seeing how the truck and trailer articulate through that transition.