[Delaine and Lindy]

Originally Posted by DutchmenSport

Some things to consider. If you position the hitch to far forward in the truck bed, you might not have enough clearance to open the truck tail gate to even hitch up.

In my opinion if you are able to make an adjustment like that, the closer to the rear the hitch is, the better it is. Closer to the rear also makes for a longer wheel base between the trailer tires and the pivot spot. The shorter the trailer the harder they are to back up.

The next thing you need to REALLY consider is the height of the hitch. If the hitch is too low, you run the risk of making contact with the bottom of the trailer and the truck bed rails, which will dent up the the rails of your truck bed, and bust up the fiberglass overhang bottom of the trailer. Higher is better. You should have a good 6 inches of clearance between bed rails and the bottom of the over hang of the trailer. But then, if you get it too high, the trailer will be nose high and the trailer will not ride level. This creates other problems when towing and also throws uneven weights on tandem axles. This a fine balancing act with a fifth wheel, unlike a bumper-pull trailer that has a lot more forgivness.

If you install a fifth wheel hitch now, just be prepared to make adjustments with both trailer and hitch when you finally get your own trailer.

I have a Chevy 3500 dually and never had a Ford. However, I understand from reading RV and camping forums the newer Ford trucks have high truck beds which causes folks a lot of problems with trailer being nose high with fifth wheel hitches and bed rail clearance.

Good luck, and hope everything works out jiffy-dandy for you!

Welcome!

Excellent points.