Hey everyone,
I thought maybe someone here might be able to help me. I'm about ready to purchase a Weekend Warrior LE-3105 fifth wheel but I have come to learn that you really need a long bed truck to tow a fifth wheel trailer. I have found a company that makes a automatic fifth wheel slider hitch called a Superglide from PullRite indust.. Does anyone have any info on this hitch or topic?? I did a search on this forum and a few of you are fimilair with the Weekend Warrior Toy haulers so i thought I'd ask, Thanks alot. Rich
P.S This was sad news after purchasing a brand new 2500HD for just this task [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

 

I HAVE A 35FT AND I PULL IT WITH A SHORTBED NO PROBLEMS.

 

Thx KingRaptor, I have a call into "Headinjury" now. I take it he's a salesman for WW?

Sam, Can I ask you what truck you own and the brand of hitch installed? Thx alot, Rich

 

The WW's are nice. I have seen a lot of 5th wheels pulled by short bed trucks, but I dont know what type of hitch they use.

 

i have a reese 20k hitch in a 2003 gmc hd2500 duramax with the juice 4step chip and 4" downpipe and exhaust and a k&n it pulls goooooood.

 

Hey Sam, I must be missing something here. You tow a 35' 5th wheel trailer with a short bed truck with a stationary 5th wheel reciever? not even a manual slide one? I didn't think that was possible. I heard without a slide hitch, "see yea later back window" [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

 

You can definitely pull a fifth-wheel trailer with a short bed truck. I have many years of towing experience, and have driven everything from 3 axle "Heavy Wreckers" to my 1-ton dually with a gooseneck trailer. It is true that the long bed would have been a better choice, but the short bed will work just fine. You will have to be a little more careful though. Since you haven't purchased the trailer yet, I would look into one that is set up with the hitch mounted further forward than most of the ones on the market. I am not sure who is making that setup right now, but I know they're out there. Whatever you do, enjoy that 2500HD. It's a heck of a truck.

 

Puttnutt24,
Go over and check out rv.net or irv2. They both have lots of good info about towing and types of hitches that will work with your 5th wheel and a short bed truck.

 

THE HITCH is mounted 3" toward the back and i dont think i can get it in the back window i have pulled this way for many years and many diff trucks no problems and no my hitch does not slide at all the hd has a little more payload so you can move the hitch back 3" and still pull very well.

 

There are really two questions here.

Can a short bed pull a fifth wheel. - The short answer is yes. The long answer is it depends. It depends on your trucks GCVW rating.

Should a short bed pull a fifth wheel - In my opinion NO. I used to be a RVIA Master Certified RV Technition, and I have installed literally hundreds of 5th wheel and gooseneck hitches. I would never recommend pulling a 5th wheel with a short bed. Not because you can't, but because you shouldn't. In order for your truck to handle the "hitch weight" properly the pivot point of the hitch must be no less than 2" forward of the axle centerline.

This ensures that the weight of the trailer at rest and in motion is on all four wheels. If the pivot point is not at least 2" ahead of the axle you could experience serious handling problems while towing, especially on hills and in cross winds. What happens is that the weight of the trailer actually reduces the weight on the front tires making the truck feel like the front end is floating. This greatly reduces your ability to control the vehicle, especially at high speeds. Standard tow trailers use a equalizer hitch to counter this problem.

Now you ask "where the hell is he going with this?". If the hitch is installed properly (2" or more ahead of axle), 90% of the trailers made WILL NOT clear your cab when turning. I have seen some mangled trailers and trucks for just this reason. It doesn't take much of a goofup when backing one up to really cause some damage. You can do it, but you must be very carefull. If the hitch is installed back further (or a slide hitch is used) it will tow like CRAP! You might as well buy a bumper pull trailer. (and dont get me started with pulling a trailer by actually putting a ball in the bumper).


This used to be a big battle between us technitions and the sales people at the dealership I worked at. All the sales person cares a bout is the GCVW. However, it's the tech's a$$ if something creates an unsafe condition by not following the hitch manufacturer's installation instructions.


here are some general rules of thumb to ensure your truck pulls the trailer comfortably.

1. piviot point of a 5th wheel/gooseneck hitch should be at least 2" forward of the axle.

2. there should be at least 4" clearance between the bed rails of the truck and the bottom of the 5th wheel over hang (6" is ideal).

3. the truck should be able to piviot completely perpendicular to each other without the trailer hitting the cab.

4. when the full hitch weight of the trailer is on the truck, both the truck and trailer should ride level. If the truck slopes a little down towards the front, that's ok. But not the other way around. If it does, get some RideRite airbags installed. If the trailer is not level, the hitch head can be raised or lowered to suit, as long as the minimum bed rail clearance is maintained. If you find out your truck is too tall (common on fords and dodges) to get a level trailer, you may have to consider an "axle flip". An axle flip is simply taking the axles off the top of the leaf springs and mounting them under the leaf springs. This typically adds 4"-6" to the trailer. Towing a trailer that's unlevel (this applies to 2+ axle trailers) puts enourmous strain on the leaf springs and messes up the geometry of the axles off a bit, causing the tires to wear faster. Assuming it has a normal leaf spring axle setup that is. If it has the tortion axles, then you are likely to wear out a the tortion bushings on one axle faster than the other.



Anyway, I'm rambling on a bit now, and that's probably more than enough to digest right now. So I'll shut up.
Hope it helps.
-Tom