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Old 01-23-2022, 10:09 PM   #21
Hit The Road
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Hello everyone, fairly new to the site but hope to be a regular. My wife retired in August, and I plan to do so in July to start living our dream of traveling the country (and Canada) in our 1st RV. We just took delivery of a 2022 F350 Dually, my first ever truck, and early December we placed an order for a 2022 3231CK with pretty much everything including Cobalt paint and 1,200 watt solar. We have never towed anything before, so to be able practice first with a small rental 5th wheel, I just bought a BW Companion hitch, and mounted base in truck.

My question is setting up the vertical support arms. As you know, I can mount them so the RV is closer to cab a few inches, or closer to tailgate. Since truck is 8’ bed, is it safe to assume no issues setting up so RV is closer to cab (so cut down overall length) in terms of adequate space to turn etc? Also, there are 3 height positions, high, medium and low. My RV won’t be built until maybe April, but what height seems to be best for a 2021-22 F350 dually and a Montana? Should I just mount at middle height for now?

Thanks everyone, hope to meet many of you this summer and beyond.

We have a 2021 Montana 3121rl towing with a Chevy 3500 dually and a B&W Companion hitch. I set it at the 1/2 way mark. I want to say 17 3/4. I think the lowest is 16 3/4 and the highest is 18 3/4. Ours rides perfectly level, very little chucking and the trailer is very easy to tow! Good Luck!
 
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Old 01-24-2022, 06:18 AM   #22
Mikendebbie
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Practice right hand turns. Guaranteed you will get intimate with the curb until you figure out you need a wider turn. Learn to drive centered in your lane. (That was a big one for me as I tended to drive near the center line) Forget about most drive-thrus. Get used to parking in the north forty of a parking lot. Just saying. Happy trails.
Sage advice. Put this quote on the fridge with a happy face magnet!
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Old 01-24-2022, 07:12 AM   #23
Delaine and Lindy
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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.
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Old 01-24-2022, 07:40 AM   #24
Montana Man
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Did not know you can mount the fifth wheel hitch in any other position than one when connected to the puck system in the truck bed. Height depends on whether you have a 4x2 or 4x4 since a 4x4 bed will sit higher.
With the B&W puck style hitch the base does mount in a fixed position. Fore, aft, and up/down positions are adjustable as the hitch head assembly has various locations in which to bolt to the base. Other brand puck style hitches may differ.
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Old 01-24-2022, 09:41 AM   #25
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Congrats! Been several years on the road. Huge learning curve ahead. Double check hitch lock with tailgate down before retracting front landing gear! Pull fwd slightly - rig should stay in hitch. Yup. In a hurry, missed doing that 100% and paid for it. Last time our generic "Yeti" cooler saved us & held weight.
Practice water conservation & tank capacity while in rv parks with full hookups available. So you know how long you can 'dry camp' when possible. Also monitor propane. We leave one tank off until other is empty. This prevents learning when both are empty in middle of no where. Expensive electronic Bluetooth sensor works best from our experience.
Finally, get a decent pair of two way radios to communicate when backing into spots especially to stop before crunching posts, rv rear-end. Costco warranty is best for defects even internationally.
Safe travels!
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Old 01-24-2022, 07:45 PM   #26
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2019 DRW Ford with the 25k Companion Hitch puc mounted. I have mine mounted in the forward position. Can’t remember which position on hight but have over 6” of clearance. Tailgate has plenty of clearance to open even at moderate angles. I always try to be as strait inline with the unit as possible when hitching. I obviously never back the unit in with the tailgate down. You should have no problem with your setup. Congratulations on your truck and trailer.
Happy and safe roads to you.

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Old 01-26-2022, 05:35 PM   #27
Robokatz
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Smile

I want to thank EVERYONE that has chipped in with advice on my question, really makes me feel at home in the Montana community and I am still months away from even taking delivery! Several of you raised some points I had not thought about (like tailgate clearance), and it's clear that most of you have different solutions that work for YOUR TRUCK/YOUR RV, which makes sense. For now I have mounted mid-height/forward position (just for rental use over the next few months) and I will make all the final adjustments when I pick up my actual RV.

I did speak with the dealer this week who so far, during the purchase/ordering phase, has been fantastic, and I have high hopes that the great service will continue long after the RV leaves their lot (Sky River RV in Pismo Beach CA). The dealer told me they will take care of doing all the hitch adjustments and fully setting up the RV when I pick up, and I will update you down the road.

Anyway, again just want to thank all of you for your assistance and support, very scary buying our first Truck and RV (which cost more than our 1st house), and I look forward to meeting as many of you as we can.
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Old 01-26-2022, 05:41 PM   #28
Camp CA
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Purchased 2 fifth wheel trailers from Sky River in Pismo Beach, latest a 2020 Montana 3780RL 41 ft'er.
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Old 01-26-2022, 07:28 PM   #29
Robokatz
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So I have to ask even though the answer appears obvious: how does Sky River treat you post-purchase? How were/are they with warranty claims? Long waits for service or preferred treatment for people that bought there?

Getting service is one of my biggest concerns, especially when on the road, but we plan to go back to Sky River for all warranty work. Thanks
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Old 01-26-2022, 07:35 PM   #30
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Sky River RV Pismo, CA is great!! First class PDI and they arranged for a camping spot with 30-minute notice at Coast Village RV Park in Pismo Beach (that reportedly was full) after I left. Only warranty issue we had (in 18 years owning 3 fifth wheel trailers, 2 from Sky River) was a stress crack in our 2020 fifth wheel trailer cab below the slider. They repaired it under the structural warranty per Montana factory instructions. A friend had the same issue with his Cougar fifth wheel and his dealer had to ship the trailer over 500 miles way for repair. By the way, I purchased a 6-year service plan with $0 deductible with repairs anywhere (shop or mobile) for a reasonably low cost for the 2020 Montana and used it once to date to replace black tank valve and cable at a local rv shop at no cost to me.
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