Community Forums

Deck · 03-18-2006, 08:46 AM

Hello all,
I have a Reese fifthwheel hitch in the bed of my Dodge diesel. The hitch is mounted in such a way that only one bolt on each end of the mounting rails is bolted into the frame. The second bolt on each end is simply mounted through the bed.
Based on your experience and knowledge, is this sufficient??
I tow a 27 footer Alpenlite with a slideout.
Thanks in advance>>>

Deck · 03-18-2006, 08:46 AM

Hello all,
I have a Reese fifthwheel hitch in the bed of my Dodge diesel. The hitch is mounted in such a way that only one bolt on each end of the mounting rails is bolted into the frame. The second bolt on each end is simply mounted through the bed.
Based on your experience and knowledge, is this sufficient??
I tow a 27 footer Alpenlite with a slideout.
Thanks in advance>>>

Jim Gehlen · 03-18-2006, 05:36 PM

NO by all means NO. What is to keep the rails from coming up in the event of an accident. The metal in the bed is not heavy enough to hold the rails in place.

Ray,IN · 03-18-2006, 06:37 PM

You should have a Reese bracket kit bolted to the frame, 2 on each side, for the hitch rails to bolt into. Reese has carefully engineered each model truck's hitch hardware to be safe and mount to the truck frame in the correct position. The bolts holding the rail to the bracket all pass through the bed and are fastened securely to the frame brackets if installed correctly. I suggest visiting a professional hitch installer for an inspection of your setup before your family is placed in danger.

twc88 · 03-19-2006, 04:23 AM

Don't sound good to me. I have seen it done with one bolt on one bracket, and I didn't like that either. I made my own brackets last time and I can tell you the frame will break before it let's go. If I was to do it again I would use these.

http://www.etrailer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PR...0&Category_Code=5WHI

Tom

Rick A · 03-19-2006, 09:24 AM

I have a 16K Hidden Hitch 5th wheel hitch. It has one bracket at each end of the two rails. One bolt goes through the rail through the bed to the bracket. There is a second bolt at the ends of each bracket that bolt through the bed. So there are 4 bolts holding it in place via the brackets, and 4 more bolts that are bolted directly to the bed. This is installed according to the manufacturers specs. I have several thousand miles over the past three years and two different trucks with no problems. I woul djusy ensure it is mounted according to the manufacturers specs, and you will be okay.

twc88 · 03-19-2006, 10:14 AM

Rick

I may be wrong, but I think what Deck is saying is he only has one bolt going to the frame rail of the truck. You are correct that at the top bedrail one bolt is ok but two is always better.

Tom

Nat · 03-19-2006, 11:57 AM

I put a Reese 15,000 in my truck and an RBW in my son's and the directions for either call for 1 Bolt on each end to be bolted to the frame and one on each end to be bolted to the bed just like you describe. I've pulled many miles and never had a problem. That is what the factory says to do. Later, Nat

Deck · 03-19-2006, 04:38 PM

hi guys.
thanks for all the input. to clarify a little better, i have my rails bolted in as rick a. mentioned. there are two rails. each rail is bolted into the frame on each end. so, there are a tootal of 4 bolts into the frame, and 4 into the bed.