Gooseneck towing with 5.5’ bed

[Tom Williams]

hey guys! New here, I just purchased a 2013 ram 1500 Laramie longhorn 4x4 and it has the 5.5’ bed. My question is can I pull a small gooseneck trailer with it? It will not be loaded heavy and my maximum towing distance will be under 100 miles a few times/year. Does anybody have experience with a gooseneck setup in the short bed?

 

[tjfdesmo]

What's your payload sticker on the door jamb? Goosenecks are heavy on the hitch, so you may not have any payload left. Plus, if the trailer has an width at the nose you'll have to worry about cab clearance.

 

[BWL]

Not worth it. Yes your truck has front axle weight to spare so you could register a bit higher to stay legal, but guys with short box hds still find a lot of 5th wheels a little close to the cab for comfort. Shave 8" off and you will have "very limited" trailer options. Better to just go bumper pull and wd hitch on the heavier trailers

 

[Tom Williams]

I can’t seem to find my payload, all the door jam showed was the gvw at 6800lbs.

 

[JRogers]

I was wandering the same thing, doing some research online and they seem to have everything you would need, Curt 60730 Gooseneck Hitch, I know nothing about them but they seem to make it work. Or how the truck would handle it, the only thing I keep hearing about is the trailer hitting the cab. I have seen a few around vegas here and they seem to be handling them fine.

https://www.autopartswarehouse.com/...SXOy_dx6i8-B438HM8AaAkUSEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[crash68]

I can’t seem to find my payload, all the door jam showed was the gvw at 6800lbs.

On that same sticker is the GAWR which should be 3900 front and rear, those are the ones you really don't want to exceed.
Payload is the difference between the GVWR minus the actual weight of the truck(trailer not hitched).
Goosenecks and fivers are usually more "tongue heavy" than a tag along counterpart with no way good way to adjust the front to rear axle (truck) loading. You also have to contend with clearance to the back of the cab issues, being a 5.7' bed you have even less clearance.
I can't remember which bed the person had, but there was another thread a while back about someone putting a gooseneck hitch in for transporting empty trailers around. The payload police all said no then too without taking in any actual weights.

 

[Elkman]

Better to ask the guys at etrailer.com and also check the RV forums where people are much better informed. Bugs me when people who are ignorant feel compelled to offer an opinion and think that they are being helpful.

You can buy a slider base for the 5th wheel mount for your short bed. They provide 12" of travel. Still may be cutting it close with your 67" long box, but then it is not that much shorter than the 78" in length for the standard bed. With either bed a slider would be a good idea.