Puck Systems and B&W 5th Wheel Hitches

[Dieselguy4]

Originally Posted by Rhagfo

Well I for one have never been a fan of the Companion 5th wheel hitch. I believe B&W builds a great hitch, what I don’t like is having the hitch weight being carried by the bed floor.
I personally would opt for the puck base as that puts the weight of the hitch directly on the frame.

The center pin that goes in your turn over ball carrys the weight. I had a B&W companion slider in my 06 Dodge Ram 3500 for 2 years towing my 41 foot Fifth wheel. When I pulled out the hitch you cannot tell it was ever in. I was concerned using the hitch in my 17 F350 dually since the bed floor is aluminum. . I finally pulled the hitch out. You cannot tell it was ever in the truck. I feel it is a better set up compared to the pucks. The 4 t bolts have to be locked and adjusted. I slide mine in torque the bolt to 60 ft lbs and good to go.

[Rhagfo]

Originally Posted by Dieselguy4

The center pin that goes in your turn over ball carrys the weight. I had a B&W companion slider in my 06 Dodge Ram 3500 for 2 years towing my 41 foot Fifth wheel. When I pulled out the hitch you cannot tell it was ever in. I was concerned using the hitch in my 17 F350 dually since the bed floor is aluminum. . I finally pulled the hitch out. You cannot tell it was ever in the truck. I feel it is a better set up compared to the pucks. The 4 t bolts have to be locked and adjusted. I slide mine in torque the bolt to 60 ft lbs and good to go.

You can say that all you want and believe if you want. When the first step in installing the hitch is to torque the center bolt to 60 lb ft pull the hitch tight to the bed, and pulling the ball assembly up, it doesn’t support the hitch weight, the floor of the bed does. They have had to modify the base as the metal in bed floors have gotten thinner.

[GPCPL]

I pull a gooseneck stock trailer and a 5th wheel rv, using the B&W turnover ball system with the B&W companion 5th wheel hitch. The under bed receiver portion of the hitch basically sits across the top of the frame rails and is bolted in place, through the frame. The receiver pocket is semi-blind, meaning it will allow water and small debris to fall through, but not allow the gooseneck ball, or the socket post on the Companion, to pass through. The under bed receiver section has a latch pin that passes through both sides of the receiver, and whatever is placed into the receiver pocket, preventing that item from coming free from the receiver. On the Companion 5th wheel hitch, the "socket post" drops into the receiver, the latch pin is allowed to close, and then the "draw down bolt" is tightened to 60 ft. lbs. Once the draw down bolt has been torqued on a properly installed latch pin, that latch pin cannot be removed, meaning the Companion stays put in the bed. If the proper procedures are followed when installing both the B&W turnover ball system and the Companion 5th wheel hitch, you shouldn't damage your truck bed.

[Bill Nourse]

Originally Posted by Rhagfo

You can say that all you want and believe if you want. When the first step in installing the hitch is to torque the center bolt to 60 lb ft pull the hitch tight to the bed, and pulling the ball assembly up, it doesn’t support the hitch weight, the floor of the bed does. They have had to modify the base as the metal in bed floors have gotten thinner.

The hitch is placed on the ball and a pin is ran through that fits right under the ball. The torque is then applied to the top bolt pushing down on the top of the ball. This pulls the base of the hitch up against the underside of the ball against the pin. It does not pull the hitch down onto the bed of the truck. If you read the instructions for Curt, Pull Rite, B&W, Andersen or any other hitch that uses this system you can see how it works.

[Rhagfo]

Originally Posted by Rhagfo

You can say that all you want and believe if you want. When the first step in installing the hitch is to torque the center bolt to 60 lb ft pull the hitch tight to the bed, and pulling the ball assembly up, it doesn’t support the hitch weight, the floor of the bed does. They have had to modify the base as the metal in bed floors have gotten thinner.

Originally Posted by Bill Nourse

The hitch is placed on the ball and a pin is ran through that fits right under the ball. The torque is then applied to the top bolt pushing down on the top of the ball. This pulls the base of the hitch up against the underside of the ball against the pin. It does not pull the hitch down onto the bed of the truck. If you read the instructions for Curt, Pull Rite, B&W, Andersen or any other hitch that uses this system you can see how it works.

Ok, the Companion comes with a square tube that replaces the turnover ball. It locks into the B&W base the same as the ball assembly, locking pin slides through it an locks in place. This tube is usually attached to the Companion base and the tube inserted into the B&W base, and the locking pin is inserted into the turnover ball replacement tube.

Then the "Drawdown" bolt in the top of the square tube is tightened to the specified torque I thought it was 40#, others stated 60#. The important part is when the torque is applied, it pulls up on the turnover replacement tube, until the little bit of slack between the locking pin, and base assembly is taken up, THEN as one continues to tighten the "Drawdown" bolt, the Companion base assembly is drawn down to the bed of the truck, with 40# to 60# of torque.

[tuffr2]

I saw on my factory 5th wheel prep had heavy steel pieces of metal bolted to the frame rails. This was where the wider 5th wheel fit.

In a gooseneck set-up there has to be a cross member that goes between the frane rails. I really don't see how this can be quite as good as the conventional 5th wheel set-up.

But I don't know everything.