"08 issue

[evan0810]

We picked up our new E33TKE last week and loved everything about it until we went to hitch up. Because of the 11" added to the basement, there is only about 1 3/4" clearance between the basement and the tailgate when it is down so the truck/trailer have to be perfectly aligned. This means I either always have a "spotter" when hitching up or take the tailgate off. I emailed PI about it. Jack responded saying it was to provide more storage and make it in line w/ the competition. This is my 3rd 5th wheel and have never seen a situation like this. He said I should by an extended pin box. I told him that nowhere in the brochure does it say these can't be towed w/ the tailgate in place. I wish I'd kept my 3/4 ton w/ the Superglide hitch.
We love our Excel, but don't know what is the best thing to do. We are using the B&W Companion and there is nothing different about the position of the hitch. In fact, it is in the furthest position to the rear.

[evan0810]

We picked up our new E33TKE last week and loved everything about it until we went to hitch up. Because of the 11" added to the basement, there is only about 1 3/4" clearance between the basement and the tailgate when it is down so the truck/trailer have to be perfectly aligned. This means I either always have a "spotter" when hitching up or take the tailgate off. I emailed PI about it. Jack responded saying it was to provide more storage and make it in line w/ the competition. This is my 3rd 5th wheel and have never seen a situation like this. He said I should by an extended pin box. I told him that nowhere in the brochure does it say these can't be towed w/ the tailgate in place. I wish I'd kept my 3/4 ton w/ the Superglide hitch.
We love our Excel, but don't know what is the best thing to do. We are using the B&W Companion and there is nothing different about the position of the hitch. In fact, it is in the furthest position to the rear.

[ChiefJohn]

Evan,
I don't have any knowledge of the 2008 models and their pin to trailer distance. That said, 1 3/4" sure does not leave any room for error when hitching. The 'Superglide' hitch that you had on your previous tow vehicle is probably your best solution.

[D and J]

how would the superglide have changed this??

tail gates are highly overrated. . .I would get rid of it

[evan0810]

They sure are nice if you want to keep something in the truck instead of seeing it bouncing down the highway.
The superglide automatically slid to the rear when angling the truck to the trailer. Too bad they don't make a mounting kit for a long bed.
I don't have the Glide Ride pin box and I wonder if the other has the same dimensions.

[clspds]

One solution may be a v notch tailgate. That way you won't need to drop the tailgate to hitch up. I can see where hitching up with your tailgate down could be a problem.

Paul

[rockintom]

Evan,

You don't say if you have a short bed truck? If so, you need the extended pin to give you the distance. I guess we need to know that before going any further. Tom

[evan0810]

Tom,
I have a K3500 long box. I have looked at the pin box extension that Popup Industries makes, but it would raise the front of the unit 3.5" and it is so long that I wonder if it would make contact w/ the bedrails in a tight turn. I'm thinking that the V-type tailgate would be the way to go. It is upsetting because this shouldn't be an issue.

[rockintom]

Darn Evan. Your exactly right....the long pin would get into you bedrails on a sharp turn. Your best bet may be with the V gate. What a bummer! I'm glad you mentioned this....as we were lookin' at the 33 TKE as a option and didn't realize this was an issue. Tom

[evan0810]

Tom,
I think this would apply to any floorplan.The TKE is by far our favorite floorplan. The Limited has a nice overhead wine cabinet also. I just wish they would let us know ahead of time that this is an issue. Or better yet, make some change to the pinbox to make it so you didn't have to spend more money to prevent tearing something up.

[unfinished91]

We have had our '08 35RSE for 3 months and the closeness of the basement has not been an issue. We have a '07 F350 dually and it has 2.5 inches of clearance. I have discovered that I can be out of line as much as 10 degrees and be ok. It was kinda scary the first couple of times I hitched up. Now, I am careful not to miss the pin and all is ok.

[evan0810]

A whole 10 deg. You can imagine how close I have to be. And I think you mean it hasn't been an issue YET.

[Highgturn]

When the king pin clears the tail gate, why don't you just close it?

[D and J]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by evan0810:
They sure are nice if you want to keep something in the truck instead of seeing it bouncing down the highway.
The superglide automatically slid to the rear when angling the truck to the trailer. Too bad they don't make a mounting kit for a long bed.
I don't have the Glide Ride pin box and I wonder if the other has the same dimensions. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

No evan, my answer was too short. I did not mean to just remove the gate. I put a V gate on my old GMC 2500HD. I bought the V gate for 295 bucks, and sold the tailgate on craig's list for 500 bucks. A few years later I bought a F350 and did the same thing. I bought a V gate for only 275 (don't know why the ford cost less) but I got 600 for the tailgate.

One thing I do recommend is that if you go with a V gate, get one that has a lock handle. It only takes someone about 20 seconds to rip off your V gate if you don't have the handle lock.


One other thing. . .sounds like you went from a 6 foot bed to an 8 foot bed. Of course, the rear end of your bed is closer to the trailer on an 8 foot bed than it was on your 6 foot bed.

Is there any chance that the person who mounted your hitch mounted it too far in front of your rear axle?? This will place your tailgate closer to the trailer.

Doug