b&w gooseneck hitch

[swordfish]

has any one installed this on their eco diesel. it bolts under the bed and you can use a goose-neck extender to pull a fifth wheel trailer b&w 1309. i am thinking of purchasing a fifth wheel, but i do not want big iron monster in back of my truck, i called b&w and they said it fits all 1500 rams 2007-2017. they said it should fit the ecodiesel?

 

[Brokedownbutgood]

Yes it fits the ecodiesel Etrailer has confirmed that. Im going to advise being careful with the idea of towing a fifth wheel with a half ton. Fifth Wheels typically have a tongue weight of 20-25% so it would be very easy to overload your truck. Air bags or stronger rear coils would be needed as well.

 

[swordfish]

thanks for the reply and advice, it is a 23 foot nash 5800 lbs and i do have 4 corner air suspension, it should handle it, but i will look into heavier coil springs if compatible with air suspension.

 

[swordfish]

ok i finally found the correct hitch/tongue weight for a nash 23ft fifth wheel 780lbs , thanks for advice
it got me to do my homework, i had already ordered the under bed hitch. (cart before the horse) but i think its
going to work just fine, i also went with the Anderson aluminum tri-pod base connection weighs about 35lbs
with the under bed hitch at about 65 +780 =880 i think i will still look at some heavier coil springs that will work
with my air suspension..ps if you see any flaws in my thinking please reply, i'm still new at this trailer stuff...thanks

 

[Brokedownbutgood]

With factory air ride you dont have coils just air bags so no need to upgrade the suspension. Looks like all your numbers are lined up well and it should tow great.

 

[SLT]

Hi Swordfish,
I tow a small 5th Wheel, 23ft, 6500lb GVWR, 617lbs Pin Weight. Trailer Dry Weight is 3500lbs. My Truck is a Quad Cab, reg.Suspension but I added some Air Bags inside the Coil Springs. I wanted to try them but I don't think they are needed.
Here is what I have learned: You can not put a 5th Wheel in a Truck with Air Suspension. The brackets don't fit. The next thing is the Pin Wt. At 780lbs you are going to be way overloaded. Our Trucks have a Payload of under 1400lbs.
If you add up: Pin Weight + Weight of the Hitch + Fuel in the Truck + Drivers Weight + Passenger? + any other Cargo? You are going to be way overloaded. I'm not near my Truck right now, I have all the Weights there from the Scale. I can get it to you later if you wish.

 

[swordfish]

Hi Swordfish,
I tow a small 5th Wheel, 23ft, 6500lb GVWR, 617lbs Pin Weight. Trailer Dry Weight is 3500lbs. My Truck is a Quad Cab, reg.Suspension but I added some Air Bags inside the Coil Springs. I wanted to try them but I don't think they are needed.
Here is what I have learned: You can not put a 5th Wheel in a Truck with Air Suspension. The brackets don't fit. The next thing is the Pin Wt. At 780lbs you are going to be way overloaded. Our Trucks have a Payload of under 1400lbs.
If you add up: Pin Weight + Weight of the Hitch + Fuel in the Truck + Drivers Weight + Passenger? + any other Cargo? You are going to be way overloaded. I'm not near my Truck right now, I have all the Weights there from the Scale. I can get it to you later if you wish.

 

[swordfish]

Yes that would be good, i went to the b&m website and watched a video on the installation of the undermount hitch i purchased, and it was for a 2015 ram 1500 6.4 bed and it says it will work with 4 corner air also. but 780lb tongue weight is maxing me out when i add fuel and cargo, and bdbg was right in pointing out about no coil springs, this could present a problem because i think max specs on my truck is 7800 towing and 1180 payload. i wonder if there is some kind of helper springs or something out there to beef up the rear air suspension. i have gone to far to turn around, all i can do is go forward at this point any help would really appreciated...thanks

 

[Brokedownbutgood]

Your 1180 lb payload capacity includes 300lbs of passengers and full fluids. If your going to have more than that move it to your trailer if possible. Ive had as much as 1400lbs on the ball of my truck (bumper pull) which I wouldn’t recommend but it worked fine. The factory air ride well handle it well. Worst case it well display a message briefly and lock itself into normal mode.

 

[SLT]

Here are my Weights: Front Axle 3594 lbs., Rear Axle 3550 lbs. Trailer Axles 3704 lbs. Truck 2 Persons, Tank Full, Trailer empty except some Bedding and a few Dishes. Our Trucks Axles, Front and Rear, are rated at 3900 lbs.
One good thing is that your Hitch is going to fit on your Truck and it is very light. ( My Husky Hitch weighs 150+ lbs.)
Your Air Suspension should handle the weight just fine. One of our Forums Members hauls heavy Loads all the time.
You might be just at the limit, keep your Truck light.

 

[SLT]

Just noted on Post #9. Payload is Payload, it can not be changed by upgrades! Anything added to the Truck reduces Payload, whether it's People, Cargo, Fuel or Options (add ons).

 

[Hundo]

Everyone forgets, once we get rolling it will tow just fine. Stopping when we are at max payload can be a problem. I know some guys like to use a lot of trailer brake stopping the rig. My 2016 CC 4x4 6’4 bed with a 3:92 is stated 9000k towing with 1260 payload. Looking at a 25 foot toy hauler, 5-6k weight. I’d prefer to stay closer to 5,000. These dealers, people in general saying “oh you’ll be good, you’ll have the weight distribution on it. Hello! “Weight distribution” not weight reduction.

 

[Brokedownbutgood]

Actually our trucks have very strong brakes I towed my airstream home with no trailer brakes. Thats a 6700lbs travel trailer and it still stopped excellent. The limiting factor on our trucks is the cooling system.