Fifth wheel hitch installation kit

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Michol02

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Does anyone know if there’s a fifth wheel installation kit for the new body style 1500? I found kits for the 2019 “classic “ body, but not the new body style.
 

runamuck

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seems like the one for the classic ought to fit. the beds are the same size as my son's Bakflip exactly fit my '19. dont know if the depth is dif.

what are you thinking of hauling with a 5th wheel hitch. I have not been able to find a single 5th wheel travel trailer that wouldnt overload my 1500 laramie. the lightest I have seen at 1125# is over my max payload if I plan to ride inside the truck..just curious.
 
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kenwampus

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There are several 5th wheel manufacturers that offer suitable trailers, Rockwood and Arctic Fox are two that I know of which are within the towing and rear axel capacities of the 2019 Laramie, with room to load equipment. Has anyone found a 5th wheel sliding hitch that will work on the new 2019 1500 Laramie model? Reese told my installer that they are working on a bracket kit for it, but expects that it will be AT LEAST 2 months.
 

tourrider

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Have you researched B&W hitches?



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runamuck

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There are several 5th wheel manufacturers that offer suitable trailers, Rockwood and Arctic Fox are two that I know of which are within the towing and rear axel capacities of the 2019 Laramie, with room to load equipment. Has anyone found a 5th wheel sliding hitch that will work on the new 2019 1500 Laramie model? Reese told my installer that they are working on a bracket kit for it, but expects that it will be AT LEAST 2 months.

I looked all thru the rockwood and arctic fox sites and didnt see any that were under the max for my 1500 ram. which models are you seeing. the lightest rockwood I could find had a hitch wt. of 1130#. add the wt. of the hitch to that and fuel and my laramie would be at max without me or gear.
 

Siff

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A lot of people just buy a 1/2 ton and just overload it. The 5th wheel hitch manufacturers don't care as long as you pay them, and the 5th wheel trailer dealers will agree with you all day long that the manufacturers underrate their trucks due to bad government regs and it is perfectly safe to go a few hundred pounds over capacity.

I would not do it, but I know plenty of people that do and claim they do not have any problems (though some then turn around and claim the manufacturer is terrible because the truck was defective and broke down prematurely and then would not be covered under warranty).

BTW, I know someone who overloaded their truck, lost control, and ended up hitting someone who died. He is now serving a 10 year prison sentence for manslaughter. YMMV.
 

barr0208

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demco makes one and reese and curt are testing theirs.
 

slim chance

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went to Camping World the other day after i got the brake recall done .... looked at the Cougar 29RDB ... it is labeled as a "half ton" model ... they also had several other models that all weighed about the same but this is the one that most fit our needs .... afterwards i did some research, got an email from the salesman and here is my email back to him ....

i have been busy researching this since we were there the other day .... here is where i am so far ..
got the blk trk weighted on the way home at the landfill, certified scale ... 6420 #s with ann, me and the dog .. includes cap and wooden gun storage box ... door sticker payload sticker for the blk trk is 1577 #s .. Leer cap weights 300 #s .. wooden gun storage box weights 100 #s ... GVW for blk trk is 7100 #s ...B&W Patriot Slider Fth Whl hitch total weight 452 #s (etrailer) ... Cougar 29RDB dry weight is 8325 #s (CW site) cargo capty is 1975 #s which make the 29RDB GVW at 10,300 #s and keystone site says the hitch weight is 1520 #s ... so now to put these numbers together ....

Blk trk real weight = 6420 #s
Leer cap weight = - 300 #s
wood gun storage box = - 100 #s
blk trk real EMPTY = 6020 #s
blk trk GVW = 7100 #s
net payload blk trk = 1080 #s
B&W FW hitch = 452 #s
net payload after hitch = 628 #s
Cougar 29RDB hitch wt = 1520 #s
net payload w/ trl = 892 #s over payload weight

so, i looked at this from a different point of view .... and kept it simple

blk trk payload says 1577 #s
Cougar hitch wt says 1520 #s
net payload is 57 #s for all passengers and cargo in the trk

Ram says my trks GCVWR is 17,000 #s
Cougar say 29RDB GCVWR is 10,300 #s
that leaves 6,700 #s for my trk that has a GVWR of 7,100 #s
therefore loaded for dry camping i can expect the combined vehicle weight to be 400 #s overweight even ignoring the payload problem

the biggest problems is the over payload, the second biggest problem is over GCVWR ... in total review i do not see how ANY Ram 1/2 ton will LEGALLY be able to tow this Fifth Wheel trailer


note: i do NOT think this is what the salesman wanted to hear
 

Jus Cruisin

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Half ton..... 5th wheel .... I just say no.... If it were me I'd be thinking dually..... There are plenty of travel trailers getting hauled around in Florida right now and I can't recall seeing any 5th wheel hooked up to a half ton More times than not they're hooked to a one ton dually.
 

twooldfarmers

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seems like the one for the classic ought to fit. the beds are the same size as my son's Bakflip exactly fit my '19. dont know if the depth is dif.

what are you thinking of hauling with a 5th wheel hitch. I have not been able to find a single 5th wheel travel trailer that wouldnt overload my 1500 laramie. the lightest I have seen at 1125# is over my max payload if I plan to ride inside the truck..just curious.
$130 set of the new ''black' Air-Lift bags will fix that
An hour and they are in. Easy Peasy
 

mtofell

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$130 set of the new ''black' Air-Lift bags will fix that
An hour and they are in. Easy Peasy

Yeah, I hear they even come with a black Sharpie to change the payload rating on the door sticker.
 

0rion

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Yeah....this thread has several that need to do the research. My 5er is also rated "half ton towable". Find me a half ton that will handle 1400# hitch plus a family of 5. When you see that they're talking about the most stripped down lightest regular cab truck you can think of. The Ford Ecoboost with heavy tow package gets close but even then we're still several hundred pounds over payload.
 

twooldfarmers

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Yeah, I hear they even come with a black Sharpie to change the payload rating on the door sticker.
Used them for years on the farm and they haul 1500 # pallets of chemical with ease.

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hksvr4

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A lot of people forget the difference btw dry, wet, loaded and payload when it comes to TT. I saw one of those Half-ton “5th-wheels” at camping world. I think it was 8000 pounds dry. That right there is over the Rams half ton GVW already. Now you add people, food, water, beer, firewood, and what everything else, Im 100% sure the truck is overload and dangerous. I don’t understand why companies make them, but guess what, people will ignore all that because they want a 5th wheel.
 

mtofell

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Used them for years on the farm and they haul 1500 # pallets of chemical with ease.

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I run air bags as well on my truck but they don't "fix" a truck that is over payload rating. They just make said truck not sag. I'm a big proponent of air bags, but they have limitations.

To the question of "half ton tow-able 5th wheels" - This is one of the most misleading advertisements trailer manufacturers have ever put out there. Yes, it's technically possible with a stripped down truck and next to nothing in the truck. For 95%+ of people out there it is not possible to put a hitch in the bed (let alone a slider - mine weighs about 225#), people and gear, and stay anywhere close to the payload rating of the truck.

For anyone wondering how much a 5th wheel adds - mine is moderately light @ 9000# dry and after loading up the trailer, people in the truck, hitch in the bed and standard gear in the truck, my 3000# payload is gone. Good luck trying that on a truck with half the payload.
 

rellekt

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A complete fifth wheel hitch setup will add 250-300 pounds to load. I would consider using an Anderson Aluminum gooseneck hitch. You can have the ball mount installed, and the hitch weighs 35lbs. I pull a 18K-19K fifth wheel and it is the best pull i have experience (I have gone through 4 fifth wheel hitches). With that, I do agree you will be on the edge of limits if not over. It's all good until a disaster happens. I have a 2017 dually and thought I could switch over to a 2019 SRW 3500; the pull weight would have been no issue. It was the rear axle weight and GCWR that I would have went over. BTW, the only real way to know hitch weight is to get your truck on a scale empty and then fully loaded with fifth wheel on top. I did a lot of research on this issue and even had discussions with the RV 101 guy, Mark Polk. He asked me to send my numbers and he ran the calculations also. In the end, it was a no go for me. The truck would have pulled the weight; but the consequences should a wreck occur and someone got hurt far outweighed the need for a SRW. You are better served with a 3/4 or 1 ton truck.
 
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