Quote:
Originally Posted by cougarpelt
Thanks to suggestion by Travelin Texans, I was able to find that Camping World/Gander world of Dothan, AL has a distributor who offered B&W hitch adapter kits; they ordered and today they installed the kit in my 2020 1500 Silverado 5'10" (short bed) truck. (I have a "Sidewinder" installed on my trailer so I don't have issues with trailer hitting cab in tight turns; its and expensive way to go but back in 2012 when I got my first 5th wheel in a short bed Ford 150, it was the only one offered to me by RV Connections of Panama City, FL.)
The installation for the 2019 B&W kit was listed for 4 hours labor which they drew up a contract for me to sign prior to starting; HOWEVER, the 2020, even though the kit fits, required extra work cause the 2020 gas tank in in the way to thread the nuts on the driver's side adapter, SO they had to lower the tank, thread the nuts on and then raise the tank back up. LOTS of extra time (6.5 hours today) because there was a lot of head scratching before deciding that the tank had to be removed; Also, the B&W kit has center bolts that just fasten to the bed to prevent vibration noise; these nuts are VERY hard to thread because both of them come down in an area covered by heat shields; some companies simply cut off the heat shields but the general manager of this company would not let them destroy or cut off any part of this truck; instead required them to take the time to thread the nuts using long needle nose pliers which is a hit and miss job that takes lots of tries before getting it just right.
BUT the B&W KIT does fit and I am back in the 5th wheel hauling business!
I think that goose neck adapter kits may be replacing the king pin systems; you can get the ball installed at the factory now for the 2500 and the 3500 but NOT yet for the 1500; probably because of the weight of MOST 5th wheels these days and the NEED to have a slider or a sidewinder system which are MORE expensive and weigh more in the tongue area of the trailer; something I special purchase 10 ply tires to compensate for; tongue weights of 1400+lbs on 4 ply tires always worried me.
As has been driven home by some contributors, using a 1/2 ton pickup to pull a 5th wheel is not acceptable to lots of people but it works for me in the flat lands of Alabama .
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And this^^^^^ right here should serve, at least for now, as a warning as to why a 5th wheel adapter is not available. Drop the gas tank-Nope? Cut the heat shield-Nope? 8+ hours of shop time to install the adapter-Nope? Nope, Nope, and more Nope.