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Old 03-30-2013, 05:34 PM   #1
warsw
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Slider hitch question.

I have a 16K lb Reese 5th wheel hitch with a slider. My problem is that the slide will allow the hitch to move rearward 10 inches and I only have 9 inches of room between the back of the pin box and the tailgate. Has anyone run into this problem? If so what is the solution or is there one? I probably won't need to use the slide much but I sure would like to be able to if the need arises. Thanks for any help.
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Old 03-30-2013, 06:35 PM   #2
SteveC7010
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Quote:
Originally Posted by warsw View Post
I have a 16K lb Reese 5th wheel hitch with a slider. My problem is that the slide will allow the hitch to move rearward 10 inches and I only have 9 inches of room between the back of the pin box and the tailgate. Has anyone run into this problem? If so what is the solution or is there one? I probably won't need to use the slide much but I sure would like to be able to if the need arises. Thanks for any help.
I just looked at the install instructions for both the round bar and square bar sliders. (You did not say which you have so I had to track down both of them.) I might be missing something, but if I understand the operation instructions correctly, the slider only moves between the rails. That tells me that any problem is not going to be down in the bed at the level of the sliders themselves.

If you mean that the backside of the pin box would strike the top of the tailgate when the slider is fully extended, that makes more sense.

I wonder if it is possible to limit the travel on the slider by a couple of inches. I did not see any info on that in the install instructions. I would strongly suspect that you'd have to contact Reese for anything like that.

The only thing I can think of is to get one of those fifth wheel tailgates that has the cutout for the pinbox.
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Old 03-30-2013, 06:49 PM   #3
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I believe the solution is to raise the hitch a notch or two and do same to pin box on fiver. This will elevate both assemblies without changing level if trailer.
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Old 03-30-2013, 07:26 PM   #4
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I believe the solution is to raise the hitch a notch or two and do same to pin box on fiver. This will elevate both assemblies without changing level if trailer.
Boy.....I thought you might have had the perfect solution so I ran out and looked to see if it might work.

Nope...it is actually the plates that are welded to the frame of the trailer that the pin box bolts to that hangs down low enough to hit the tailgate. Do you think it would take away from the strength of the pin box area if I just cut off the part of the plate that hangs below the pin box?
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Old 03-30-2013, 07:58 PM   #5
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How much do you need to clear the tailgate (inches)? How many inches from the trailer to the bed rails do you have? Reese says 6 to 9" so can you raise the hitch and still have the trailer fairly level?
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Old 03-30-2013, 08:32 PM   #6
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How much do you need to clear the tailgate (inches)?
I either need to stop the hitch from coming back about 1 1/2" or raise the hitch about 2".

Quote:
How many inches from the trailer to the bed rails do you have?
Right now about 6".

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Reese says 6 to 9" so can you raise the hitch and still have the trailer fairly level?
Not really sure. I just brought it home and don't really have any level place to check it out. I need to take it somewhere more level and really get some good measurements. I think it is about an inch or two nose high right now but like I said I’m not really sure. I'm also not sure how high I can go before I start affecting the weight I have on each axle. Right now I have about 125 lbs more on the rear axle than the front. Not sure how close this needs to be.
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Old 04-01-2013, 07:00 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by warsw View Post
Boy.....I thought you might have had the perfect solution so I ran out and looked to see if it might work.

Nope...it is actually the plates that are welded to the frame of the trailer that the pin box bolts to that hangs down low enough to hit the tailgate. Do you think it would take away from the strength of the pin box area if I just cut off the part of the plate that hangs below the pin box?
Do not cut any material off on the pin box or frame this will affect your warranty on the trailer--VOIDED.

I am not sure of what you are looking at on the rear of the pin box for clearance? Are you worried about the rear of the side plates clearing your tailgate as you turn?
If so make a simple sketch of the hitch at the rear position and the inside edge of the tailgate. Then measure the distance of the rear edge of the pin box plate from the center of the pin. Now draw an a circle from the center of the hitch using the radius (distance measured) where the king pin would be and to the rear of the pin box plate, this distance should open up, away from the tailgate as you turn.
If you still do not think you have enough clearance then you can purchase a V-shaped trail gate that some 5th wheel users use for their truck, I believe these are called 5th wheel trail tail gates.

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Old 04-01-2013, 11:28 AM   #8
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The solution I personally would pursue would be to cut new rear locking notches in the slide tubes, about 2" ahead of the ones you have now. Assuming the notches are 1" wide, a two inch spacing would leave one inch of material between notches for strength and still give you 8" travel.
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Old 04-01-2013, 06:38 PM   #9
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The solution I personally would pursue would be to cut new rear locking notches in the slide tubes, about 2" ahead of the ones you have now. Assuming the notches are 1" wide, a two inch spacing would leave one inch of material between notches for strength and still give you 8" travel.
Another great idea. I thought of this one myself. I actually called Reece to find out if there was anyway to limit the travel of their slider to 8" and I brought this up as maybe a way to do it. They told me "NO". I kinda expected that. They said it would weaken the slide and would void the warranty.

What I ended up doing was make a small S-hook out of a piece of aluminum rod. It will hold the tailgate open 4” and give me the room I need. Kind of a jerry-rig way to get it done but will work in a pinch until I can come up with something a little better.

What I am thinking now is if I find that I have not needed the slide in a couple of years that I will up-grade my hitch to something better and get rid of the slider altogether.

Thanks everyone for some really great ideas. I really do appreciate the response.
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Old 04-01-2013, 10:38 PM   #10
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Have you thought about a "bolt on sleeve" sort of like a super extra heavy duty "stop" to bolt around the slide tubes so the rollers won't travel past them? If you cut them 2" long and mounted them resting against the stops, then the rollers would stop when they hit the spacers rather than the current stops. I have a number of implements for my tractor that use a sliding clamp like device that attaches around metal parts and when the clamp bolts are tightened, they don't move. I know this is a terrible description, but it's late and I'm hoping you can understand what I'm trying to describe
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Old 04-02-2013, 03:00 AM   #11
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Just a thought. Is it possible the hitch is not installed correctly....? Installed to far back in the box?

I have the 16k slider as well and my pinbox is nowhere close to my tailgate when it's in the rear position.
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Old 04-02-2013, 03:14 AM   #12
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Just a thought. Is it possible the hitch is not installed correctly....? Installed to far back in the box?

I have the 16k slider as well and my pinbox is nowhere close to my tailgate when it's in the rear position.
That was my thought as well. Of course my is auto so it doesn't slide until I turn.
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Old 04-02-2013, 04:01 AM   #13
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We have the 16K round bar slider. I would NOT cut the plates to which the pin box is attached and I also would NOT cut into the round tubes to add a different indexing notch. The pin weight of your trailer rests on these tubes, not to mention the side to side stress when turning or backing. John's suggestion would limit rearward travel without compromising the tubes, however, there wouldn't be anyway to "latch" the hitch in that position and, when backing, the hitch would just slide forward again.
A previous post suggested that your hitch could be installed to far to the rear of your truck bed. The instructions call for the center of your king pin to be 2 5/16" forward of the center of the rear axle. That is the first thing I would check. If all else fails, you should be able to just open your tailgate when the hitch is slid back. Good luck
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Old 04-02-2013, 05:14 AM   #14
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Just a thought. Is it possible the hitch is not installed correctly....? Installed to far back in the box?
Well.....I think so. I did measure it the best I could and it looks like the center of the pin is 2 1/2" forward of the center of the rear axle when the hitch is in the forward position. This was my first thought. I thought maybe the dealer did a poor job of installing the hitch but it looks like they did OK.
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