F250 crewcab shortbed

[RBCCONT]

I have an f 250 crewcab.Purchasing a Larado 325rl. Going to use an Andersen ultimate aluminum. Anyone using one .How much of a turn do you get without hitting the cab?

[Cbrez]

I have a F250 supercab short box. Very happy with the towing characteristics, but ended up contacting the RV cap on two occasions during slow speed turns. Although no damage, it was enough for me to switch to a PullRite Super Glide. I can make a 90deg turn with no worries. I realize this doesn’t answer your direct question, but just offer as a data point.

[Howie]

F250 short bed, Anderson hitch, Cougar 5th, no problems 90 degree

[Frank G]

I have a 325RL and first pulled it with a F-250 short bed with a standard hitch, Now have a Ram short bed with the same hitch. We never had the occasion to use the slider feature. The wife always is outside when spotting the trailer, I keep asking her and she replies "You are not even close" I'll take her word.

I think you can reverse the setup on the Anderson and gain a few more inches of clearance. I comes at the expense of moving the load to the back of center over the rear axle. With a F-250 you are on the edge already so be careful.

[Howie]

I had to borrow Ram 3500 short bed to haul the 5er as the F350 is not available. I had to reverse the receiver? (Anderson part on the 5er) on the 5th wheel to move the 5er closer to the cab because the kingpin bracket was so close to the rear gate of the Ram. The Ram bed is slightly shorter than the F350 short bed but by reversing the receiver it worked just fine.

[RBCCONT]

I have Firestone airbags to help with the squat.I pull a lot of construction equipment around
The sticker on the door says 3200 .Was told the pin weight on 325 is 1950. But hopfully loaded should be no more than 2400?

[xrated]

I have Firestone airbags to help with the squat.I pull a lot of construction equipment around
The sticker on the door says 3200 .Was told the pin weight on 325 is 1950. But hopfully loaded should be no more than 2400?

GVWR on that trailer is 13K, so figuring 20% of that is 2600 lbs. If your door sticker says 3200 lbs, that would leave you with approx. 600 lbs for additional stuff.....driver's weight, passenger(s) weight, etc, etc.

[KOZKO]

I have no problems with my Laredo set up (see signature) and almost 90 turns. My street is small and my driveway is down hill - I twist that sucker all over to get it behind my house and everything is A-OK!

[jsmith948]

Just food for thought. If your trailer is the standard 96" wide, that's 48" on either side of the king pin. In order to get 90*, you will need 49" from the center of the pin to the back of the cab. If you have a short bed truck, you WILL hit the cab if you turn past 80 something deg unless you have a slider. If you can afford the extra weight, get an auto slider.

[wiredgeorge]

I have an F250 crew cab with short bed, an Andersen Ultimate and NEVER have even come close to a bump or touch even though I have to back in and turn very sharply to get into my home space.

[itat]

Just food for thought. If your trailer is the standard 96" wide, that's 48" on either side of the king pin. In order to get 90*, you will need 49" from the center of the pin to the back of the cab. If you have a short bed truck, you WILL hit the cab if you turn past 80 something deg unless you have a slider. If you can afford the extra weight, get an auto slider.

The goal is to get the turning point of the kingpin far enough away from the back of the cab so that you'll be OK. The Andersen Ultimate moves the gooseneck ball back 5.375 inches behind the one in your bed and the coupler can give you another 4 inches of offset behind that, so more than 9 inches total if you can set it up that way. If you have to turn the AU's coupler around, I've seen people use that in combination with an offset gooseneck ball from Curt (https://www.curtmfg.com/part/60602) that moves the ball back 4 inches. Some "short beds" are shorter than others.

The alternative, other than a slider hitch, is a Reese Sidewinder pinbox. Lippert has a similar pinbox but I'm not a fan of Lippert stuff.

[JRTJH]

Itat,

Be cautious of moving the Anderson Ultimate further back (turning it around) if you're close to your rear axle rating. Moving the weight further back or adding a hitch extension (like the Sidewinder) can leverage the pin weight and cause an overloaded condition on the rear axle or on the pinbox. Either sets up a "perfect storm" to damage the tow vehicle and/or the trailer frame.

Doing both, reversing the AU and adding a pinbox extension, compounds the problem and makes it even more likely that you could "screw up something".... Do so only when you know you're not overloading your components......

The last thing one should do is solve one problem by creating two or three other ones.......

[Pull Toy]

"The last thing one should do is solve one problem by creating two or three other ones.......

AMEN, John

Good Luck,

[RBCCONT]

Wiredgoerge ,What way do you have the ball and adapter set.

[itat]

Itat,

Be cautious of moving the Anderson Ultimate further back (turning it around) if you're close to your rear axle rating. Moving the weight further back or adding a hitch extension (like the Sidewinder) can leverage the pin weight and cause an overloaded condition on the rear axle or on the pinbox. Either sets up a "perfect storm" to damage the tow vehicle and/or the trailer frame.

Doing both, reversing the AU and adding a pinbox extension, compounds the problem and makes it even more likely that you could "screw up something".... Do so only when you know you're not overloading your components......

The last thing one should do is solve one problem by creating two or three other ones.......

The Curt product I linked to does not extend the pinbox. It does move the ball in the bed of your truck back 4”.

The Sidewinder (and the Lippert version) can’t be used (as intended) with the AU because you can’t lock the pin to the AU hitch with a wedge like you’re supposed to with a regular 5th wheel hitch. If you have the AU and a Sidewinder pinbox, you have to use the lockout bolts in the Sidewinder.

[itat]

Here is a video of what I was talking about. (Not my video.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_Iy4MrNIa8

[kfxgreenie]

If I remember correctly it was a transporter that uses a steel version Andersen that had weighed it both ways and it was a grand total of 75 Lbs removed off the front axle, on a fairly large 5er. Transporter uses a Andersen and moves 5er's from IN to TX. Wonder how many of those in the 350,000+ miles he's ran the last 5 years have fallen apart due to the hitch before the consumer even got their product.

[jsmith948]

One of the advantages of a fifth wheel trailer is the elimination of the sway caused by the "stinger steered" effect of a bumper pull trailer. The king pin on our trailer, when hitched for travel, is indexed 2 5/16" forward of the rear axle center line. Any side to side deflection of the rear of the trailer will exert side to side pressure on the pin/hitch point in the opposite direction. However, with the pivot point located ahead of the rear axle, this force must overcome the weight and rolling resistance of the entire tow vehicle. With a bumper pull, the side to side forces are actually amplified by the lever action of the hitch (the distance from the ball to the center line of the rear axle). This force will be transmitted to the tow vehicle which will actually try to pivot about the rear axle - rear of trailer moves left - trailer pivots about the axles and trailer tongue moves to the right - forcing the rear of the truck to the right - which pivots about the rear axle forcing the front of the truck to the left. Much, if not all of this is negated by positioning the pivot point forward of the rear axle. To me, it is better to have a sliding fifth wheel hitch that can be locked in the forward, travel position for towing and, when needed, moved back 9" or 10" for maneuvering. JMHO.

[JRTJH]

jsmith948,

Excellent explanation. Moving the fifth wheel "pivot point" behind the axle causes the fifth wheel to "become a travel trailer" to an extent and changes the forces leveraged by the hitch point from ahead of the rear axle to behind the rear axle. Adding a "pinbox extension" (sidewinder or similar) exacerbates the "push/pull". Keeping the hitch fulcrum above or forward of the rear axle centerline improves trailer handling, moving it behind the rear axle makes it worse. The further back it's moved, the more the "bumper hitch" action increases.

[KOZKO]

Look where my king pin is, I don’t see any issues

[JRTJH]

Look where my king pin is, I don’t see any issues

With a RAM 3500 you probably won't have any problems. Try it with a 2800 pound pin and a 250/2500 diesel or worse yet with a 150/1500 with a 4100 pound rear axle (see my post #12)...... Likely the only people who will have "issues" with leverage by turning the hitch so the attachment point is behind the axle are those who are at or very near payload/GVW/GAWR. You don't, from appearances, fit that category.

[rhagfo]

Look where my king pin is, I don’t see any issues

Looking at that picture, either you are towing nose high, or your pin doesn’t put enough weight on the TV to level it.

[KOZKO]

Sorry she’s still twisted up in my driveway- the photo was just to show kingpin vs axel position :)

[STIHLNTIME]

There are no differences in the axle between a F250 and F350 single wheel other than a single leaf and sway bar in some configurations. I use the Ford factory puck system and can turn as sharp as I want. I do not try to put strain on 5er axles pushing it laterally. I don’t mind on my implement or stock trailer as they are usually on grass or loose gravel and do not have the coefficient of friction as asphalt or concrete. I pull a loaded 3121 RL with zero issues. I did add airbags just to help with the ride, they are Airlift 5k and installation was ezpz no drilling or modifications necessary. Safety is paramount but on many of these forums nothing short of a Peterbuilt or Kenworth is worthy of hooking up, I believe you’ll be fine.

[Sdkls]

I have the 325rl on the f250 shortbed with a curt slider hitch. I’ve not had an occasion where I needed the slider.

[Rocketbuilder]

STIHLNTIME.... just a note, starting in 2017,the F250 with a Powerstroke and the "Trailer Tow Package - High Capacity" comes with a different rear end (Dana M275)than the F250 gasser(Sterling 10.5).

[SkiSmuggs]

2015 F350 SB with Andersen Ultimate and no problems at 90 degrees with my Cougar.

[Old soldier]

Only way you can not use the salider function is never make a turn, or not haul. An auto slide hitch moves independently going forward or in reverse. Whether you use a ground guide or not, your auto sliding hitch slides.

[Nailz]

I have an f 250 crewcab.Purchasing a Larado 325rl. Going to use an Andersen ultimate aluminum. Anyone using one .How much of a turn do you get without hitting the cab?

I have a 2013 F250 Crew Cab short bed, but I don't have the camper you are looking to purchase. I have been using the Andersen ultimate aluminum with the B&W turnover ball hitch. Love this combo! The Andersen is light enough that I can store it in the camper basement when not in use. My camper is a V-nose so I don't have any issues with turn radius. Here are some photos of my setup to give you an idea of how it would look. Hope this helps.

[rhaney]

I have a Sprinter 5th wheel and a short bed F-250. I use the Andersen Aluminum hitch after my son-in-law got one for his F-350 to pull a fully loaded Montana. I love it! It set my pin back about 8 inches so it gives me plenty of room to carry my 12.5' Porta-Bote on Yakamar racks on the roof of the truck. I have a picture of the rig in my Album on this forum if you want to see it. You will read about people boasting they can wrap their rig at a full 90 degrees. I find it amusing but my truck does not have that kind of turning radius. You can wrap it tight when backing but most RV parks don't require that type of maneuvering to get in and on the road I have never ran across any turns that steep. Just be sure to follow the torque instructions and everything will be fine.

[xrated]

STIHLNTIME.... just a note, starting in 2017,the F250 with a Powerstroke and the "Trailer Tow Package - High Capacity" comes with a different rear end (Dana M275)than the F250 gasser(Sterling 10.5).

There were differences prior to the 2017 models also. Axle size, number of splines on the axles, and a few other things that escape me right now. If you needed internal parts for the axles, the parts were ordered based on the vehicle V.I.N. number, which obviously differentiates between an F250 and a F350.

[Auggie Waterman]

I had to borrow Ram 3500 short bed to haul the 5er as the F350 is not available. I had to reverse the receiver? (Anderson part on the 5er) on the 5th wheel to move the 5er closer to the cab because the kingpin bracket was so close to the rear gate of the Ram. The Ram bed is slightly shorter than the F350 short bed but by reversing the receiver it worked just fine.

What year is that 3500? My 2017 's "short" bed is 6'6" and I can make 90 deg turns without using my Patriot's slider.

[Auggie Waterman]

Look where my king pin is, I don’t see any issues

Take the picture so we can see your wheels so we can see how far behind your rear axle the pin is...

[Frank G]

The Dark Side of Anderson Hitches.

[Auggie Waterman]

I have a 2013 F250 Crew Cab short bed, but I don't have the camper you are looking to purchase. I have been using the Andersen ultimate aluminum with the B&W turnover ball hitch. Love this combo! The Andersen is light enough that I can store it in the camper basement when not in use. My camper is a V-nose so I don't have any issues with turn radius. Here are some photos of my setup to give you an idea of how it would look. Hope this helps.

Yeah looks like the pin is definitely behind your rear axle.

[kfxgreenie]

Take the picture so we can see your wheels so we can see how far behind your rear axle the pin is...

He is in front of the axle with the pin. He has the coupler "reversed" from how most run them. His pin is centered with the "gooseneck tube". The ram frame has the gooseneck ball placed in front of the axle.

[travelin texans]

The Dark Side of Anderson Hitches.

That's exactly what I thought might happen when I was researching hitches & saw the aluminum Anderson, especially the one with the offset, basically only 2 - 1" aluminum tubes carrying the entire pin weight. Just my .02 cents! I went B&W Companion.

[KOZKO]

The Dark Side of Anderson Hitches.

The ONLY failure ever and there is much speculation that it was the owners misuse and NO proof it was poor design. I love mine!


:banghead:

[kfxgreenie]

The Darkside of the standard fifth wheel hitch. :facepalm:

Bet you can find a lot more of these pictures than you can find failed Andersen Hitches. One situation causes substantial damage to the truck and possibly the RV. But hey lets find the one failed hitch and post the heck out of it. Google "Failed Reese 5th Wheel Hitch" or any other manufactures hitch that you prefer. For shiats and giggles lets also do "Failed B&W Comapanion".

Here's just the first 1 on each.

http://www.redwoodowners.com/forums/f22/reese-hitch-failure-1687.html
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f44/b-and-w-failure-287912.html

It's man made product and man is using said product. There will be a few failures of and such product any brand any given day. ;)

[KOZKO]

Take the picture so we can see your wheels so we can see how far behind your rear axle the pin is...

I'll try to remember on Friday when I'm hooked up again, but if you look at that picture again and find the "divot" in the wheel well, that is the center directly above the axel. So you can see the Andersen is mounted to the ball in the bed and that's a few inches in front, so then if you make a line with the kingpin and that divot my kingpin looks directly over the axel.

[Nailz]

Yeah looks like the pin is definitely behind your rear axle.

You are correct by a total of 9". I could reduce this to only 1" of offset by rotating the pin block adapter. The dealer set this up when I purchased the camper. There is not any interference with the tailgate or bed rails currently. The camper pulls very well based on about 300 mile of towing so far. I intend to do some parking lot practice and will evaluate everything again.

[Nailz]

WOW! What caused this hitch failure?

[Frank G]

I posted the picture so I will respond the best I can. Some one posted a couple of pictures somewhere on the internet about a year ago and they stuck like glue. The best second hand information I found clams the failure occurred when turning into a parking lot. There were no other details provided. Will we, the consumers, ever find out the truth, I doubt it. Once the Insurance company filed suite against the hitch manufacture a gag order was part of the settlement. Do I know that this happened, No. but it usually does.


The intent of posting the picture was to say anything that man makes can and will fail. Do I think the Anderson Hitch is unsafe to use as designed, No.

I know these photos offend some loyal Anderson users, I am sorry for that. Again, my intent, was not to condemn Anderson as they make a unique hitch that solves many issues for us.

[kfxgreenie]

Once the Insurance company filed suite against the hitch manufacture a gag order was part of the settlement.

WOW JUST WOW

Why would an insurance company get involved with a product failure that caused zero damage to any physical property other than the hitch itself in what you described as a parking lot failure?

Was the Rotoflex locked out, who knows it is all speculation, but the above is just crazy talk.

[Frank G]

WOW JUST WOW

Why would an insurance company get involved with a product failure that caused zero damage to any physical property other than the hitch itself in what you described as a parking lot failure?

Was the Rotoflex locked out, who knows it is all speculation, but the above is just crazy talk.


It was speculation on my part that there was colleterial damage. You are speculating there was not. I am also not trying to analyze why or how the failure occurred, but it happened. I am not a lawyer and not trying to be one, but I have lived life and anytime there is a claim the insurance will pursue all avenues to minimize there looses. This is not crazy talk.

[SC Dreamer]

I do believe Andersen instructions say not for use with flexing pin boxes now.

[Nailz]

I posted the picture so I will respond the best I can. Some one posted a couple of pictures somewhere on the internet about a year ago and they stuck like glue. The best second hand information I found clams the failure occurred when turning into a parking lot. There were no other details provided. Will we, the consumers, ever find out the truth, I doubt it. Once the Insurance company filed suite against the hitch manufacture a gag order was part of the settlement. Do I know that this happened, No. but it usually does.


The intent of posting the picture was to say anything that man makes can and will fail. Do I think the Anderson Hitch is unsafe to use as designed, No.

I know these photos offend some loyal Anderson users, I am sorry for that. Again, my intent, was not to condemn Anderson as they make a unique hitch that solves many issues for us.


Thanks for the clarification Frank. I am a fanboy of the Andersen hitch only from my experience so far with actual use of the product. I did a lot of research before purchasing the hitch and selected the product that I felt would work best for me.

All that said, if I find reasons to suspect an issue with the product, either through personal experience or documented examples, then my fanboy status would absolutely change. I have had enough experience with selecting products/components to know that even products from a previously demonstrated quality manufacture could have defects or a badly designed model. I'm not affiliated with Andersen and this is the first product that I have purchased from them. I hope to have many years of trouble free use of the Andersen Ultimate hitch. If not, I'll document and share my experience with this forum as I have learned a lot from others on here who have shared.

[tech740]

I can go to almost 90 with a 6'4" short box Dodge.

[RBCCONT]

I pick up the camper Saturday so we shall see how it goes.

[notanlines]

Tech, "I can go to almost 90 with a 6'4" short box Dodge" I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you are a long, long ways from 90 degrees and the cab is a few inches from your RV. Draw two lines on the ground and find a twelve year old that knows how to use a protractor (impossible) and you'll see what I'm talking about.

[rhagfo]

Tech, "I can go to almost 90 with a 6'4" short box Dodge" I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you are a long, long ways from 90 degrees and the cab is a few inches from your RV. Draw two lines on the ground and find a twelve year old that knows how to use a protractor (impossible) and you'll see what I'm talking about.

I agree, looks more like 60 to 70 degrees.

[Javi]

I make my living drawing angles... that's as close to 90` as I am to 90 years old... and I was born in 1949.. :D

[KOZKO]

Kingpin is just a bit behind axel center

[Fishsizzle]

I have Firestone airbags to help with the squat.I pull a lot of construction equipment around
The sticker on the door says 3200 .Was told the pin weight on 325 is 1950. But hopfully loaded should be no more than 2400?


Man wish my F250 Short has a 3200 payload sticker. Mines no where close.

[RBCCONT]

Close enough for me.still had a few inches between the cab and front

[tech740]

I got a chance to take the pic from another angle. It’s not 90 but still tight for a short bed.

[KimNTerry]

close enuf IMO. I have not seen anyone out measuring with protractors.