Long bed 5th wheel tow guys (need your experience)

[IUEC135ELEVATOR]

I've decided I want to fabricate something similar to what you see in these pictures. I think I will be fine up front by what I can see from Google pics. But if I take the rails that attach to the bed and make them about 2 to 3" high and have them come back about halfway down the bed.(the handrail looking tubes on the top of the bedrail support is Is that going  to be removeable)Will this create any height issues on the fifth wheel when pulling especially when pulling in and out of places with not so level ground work. OR can I afford to loose 2 or 3 inches on bedrail clearance by adjusting hitch up and kingpin down?

 

The 22 f350 bed to top of rail measurement is 21½"

 

The 5th wheel hitch goes from 13½ to 18¾.

 

The top of rails sit at 56½ off the ground.

 

I have been reading that you should have minimum 6" minimum between your fifth wheel and bed rails while sitting on level ground.

 

So how high do fifth wheels normally sit (the over bed part) in their level neutral position on flat ground? What is the industry norm and what do end users prefer?

 

I have not ever towed a fifth wheel so I'm not sure how high off the ground the cabover part sits when trailer is sitting at ride level.

Edited October 31, 2021 by IUEC135ELEVATOR

[Ramrod79]

The vertical section would work with a fifth wheel as long as you don’t ever need to jackknife your trailer. The bed rail section would be a no go for me, when making turns on even ground you would probably make contact. I have a tri folding bed cover and have come really close to it making tight corners on uneven ground. Honestly I wouldn’t do either. Wait until you have your truck and trailer and see how close your trailer would be to cab on a tight corner before you start fabrication. 

[Rangers09]

Assuming the rails are about 6" high, it would reduce my clearance by more than half, which is something I would not be comfortable with.

 

When towing the 5'er, I stow our camping chairs and table fwd of the hitch. In addition, that is also where I stow the wooden blocks I constructed for each of the 6 hydraulic legs. These are the first things required, so the bed rails would restrict already difficult access to the front of the box when towing.

 

If I required that structure, it would need to be easily removeable when towing the 5'er.

[IUEC135ELEVATOR]

 

So how much clearance do you have between rails and bottom or trailer ranger? 

[Mirage Flatter]

What exactly is the purpose of a Chase Rack?  Not really comparable to a headache rack as the rear glass is wide open and unprotected.  Just wondering?

[IUEC135ELEVATOR]

Not really sure. Light bar for the top, lights for the bed?

 

I want to make one because I think it looks pretty?!

 

Belt fed machine gun mount?

[Rangers09]

15 hours ago, IUEC135ELEVATOR said:

 

So how much clearance do you have between rails and bottom or trailer ranger? 

 

I have about 8 to 10" clearance.

[IUEC135ELEVATOR]

Is that normal for fifth wheel trailers because I see the minimum is 6 to 7 in so 8 to 10 is that kind of the norm or are the measurements usually all over the place depending on Truck and trailer?

[ardvark666]

I have a 5th wheel. This is probably not what you want to hear but if you are serious and not kidding, don’t put that on your truck. Or put it on your truck and find out what happens when you go over uneven terrain. Not my truck or my camper. 

[GearheadGrrrl]

Take a look at a tractor-trailer rig- There's a reason why there's 6-8 inches between the frame and tires and the bottom of the trailer. 

[IUEC135ELEVATOR]

Yep got it.... don't understand the clearance Heights but I won't do it

Edited November 2, 2021 by IUEC135ELEVATOR

[AggieDad]

One other thing to consider.   While you could adjust your hitch to raise increase your clearance above the bed rails, at some point you've gone too far and have your trailer riding nose high.   Too much of a nose high attitude puts additional stress on your rear trailer tires/axles which your equalizers can't overcome.   At that point, you're eating tires at a higher rate.    FYI - I run 8" between my bed rails and the 5er.