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Old 10-18-2015, 09:01 AM   #1
TheSweetLife
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5 wheel hitch install

Looking for some honest feedback on installing a 5 wheel hitch onto a new to me truck. Looking at upgrading trucks this week. The new truck would be a 2007 Chevy 3500 DRW. That truck does not have a 5 wheel hitch installed. I know I can call Camping World to get a new hitch installed but am curious about how difficult the install would be. New hitch would use rail system. Am going tomorrow to test drive the truck so we'll see if I buy it or not. I am handy and have a solid collection of tools available. From looking at videos on install it looks doable for sure. Thanks in advanced for feedback. Also current hitch won't work on new truck so I would be buying new hitch.
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Old 10-18-2015, 12:57 PM   #2
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If you can slide in and out from under a couple of times, and can use a measuring tape +/- 1/4 inch, you should be fine. Of course if they have a "FREE INSTALL" its a no brainer!
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Old 10-18-2015, 02:03 PM   #3
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To help keep the install simple and minimize the drilling required , I'd use the No-Drill Fifth Wheel Bracket Kit .

- Works with Curt, Draw-Tite, Hidden Hitch, Reese, Valley and Husky 5th wheel hitches
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Old 10-18-2015, 02:09 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pull Toy View Post
If you can slide in and out from under a couple of times, and can use a measuring tape +/- 1/4 inch, you should be fine. Of course if they have a "FREE INSTALL" its a no brainer!

Sorry even if Free, I would likely do my own!

If you have the necessary tools and can follow instructions measure three times drill once, likely not a big deal.
Tools:
Power drill
Correct bits
Correct socket wrench set
Torque wrench!
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Old 10-18-2015, 02:46 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CarKath View Post
To help keep the install simple and minimize the drilling required , I'd use the No-Drill Fifth Wheel Bracket Kit .

- Works with Curt, Draw-Tite, Hidden Hitch, Reese, Valley and Husky 5th wheel hitches
The "no drill" kits are great. But the title is a little misleading. It's true that there is no drilling of the frame. That's a very, very, very good thing because drilling the specially treated steel of a 3/4 or 1 ton truck frame is an absolute terror. It eats drill bits for breakfast.

But! The sheet metal floor of the bed of the truck does have to be drilled in quite a few places to accommodate the bolts that hold the rails to the under frame brackets. On the kit for my F250, I had to drill 12 holes. Now, it is just sheet metal and there's no real precision to it. I didn't have a drill bit quite large enough by a 1/16" or so for the bolts, so I just hogged them out as needed with a grinding bit and a rough file. If a hole is off a tad, you just enlarge it. The sheet metal happens to be clamped between the rails and the frame brackets, but adds nothing to the strength of the install. Conversely, having fifth wheel rails really beefs up the strength of the pickup bed.

Once the rails are properly in place, installing the hitch itself is simple and straightforward. Even if it's one of the more complex hitches where there's some assembly required, the instructions that come with these hitches are very easy to follow and very complete.
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Old 10-18-2015, 02:58 PM   #6
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Many 2007 3500 DRW come with goose neck hitch. If this truck has it, you can drop in the B&W Companion. No drilling, no truck prep.
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Old 10-18-2015, 04:34 PM   #7
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I'd do a B&W turnover, then an adapter for the hitch. Pull it out and have a clean bed, no rails. I'll do whatever I have to to avoid the rails in the future.
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Old 10-19-2015, 06:34 PM   #8
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I love the Ford/Reese Elite 5th wheel/goose neck set up. Take either out of the bed and no rails to contend with. 5 minutes max to install or remove by one person. No hoist needed for my 25K hitch.
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Old 10-20-2015, 07:37 AM   #9
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http://www.etrailer.com/Fifth-Wheel-...16413-204.html I installed this kit for my 2013 duramax I didn't remove the tires may have been easier you would need to with DRW. The lower supports mounts are 3/8 steel and supports the top rails completely the measurements are right on for the bolt up. The air bags fit perfect around the mounting brackets.
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Old 10-20-2015, 07:57 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roadglide View Post
http://www.etrailer.com/Fifth-Wheel-...16413-204.html I installed this kit for my 2013 duramax I didn't remove the tires may have been easier you would need to with DRW. The lower supports mounts are 3/8 steel and supports the top rails completely the measurements are right on for the bolt up. The air bags fit perfect around the mounting brackets.
That installation is wrong he shimmed the front rail on top of the rib I think that would cause the rail to bow that rail needs to set flat on the bed . He should have moved the hole over where it fits in the rail not on top. I know its a pain to bolt under the bed but its right he took the easy way out for the video.
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Old 10-20-2015, 06:36 PM   #11
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You have to drill through the underbed brackets, and some go through the top of the ribs and some between the ribs. You use the provided shims either under the bed when bolting through the top of a rib, or on top of the bed when the hole ends up between the ribs. This is all spelled out in the specific instructions for the various models and brands of trucks the rails are installed in. If the instructions are followed, none of the ribs will be crushed.
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Old 10-21-2015, 03:10 AM   #12
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Not shown or emphasized in the video, look for and if needed, move wiring harness under the bed, where you will be drilling down through. Spillar Custom Hitches in North Austin failed to do that and drilled into the harness in multiple spots on my last truck. Upset doesn't begin to describe my state of mind when I heard. In the end, local Chevy dealer fixed things at Spillar's cost.

For current truck, I installed hitch myself, no screw-ups and the base rails in the bed are parallel and square to the bed allowing me to insert and remove the base of the hitch without having to resort to pry-bars and wedge blocks.

Enough of that.

Wire bolt guides ... my feedback to eTrailer was a request for 4 bolt guides in kits. As a first time to handle those, I failed to find a delicate way to remove from 1st bolts to keep a tight "spring" coil and it was touch-and-go using them a 2nd time.

Hope this helps!
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Old 10-21-2015, 07:49 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TomHaycraft View Post
Not shown or emphasized in the video, look for and if needed, move wiring harness under the bed, where you will be drilling down through. Spillar Custom Hitches in North Austin failed to do that and drilled into the harness in multiple spots on my last truck. Upset doesn't begin to describe my state of mind when I heard. In the end, local Chevy dealer fixed things at Spillar's cost.

For current truck, I installed hitch myself, no screw-ups and the base rails in the bed are parallel and square to the bed allowing me to insert and remove the base of the hitch without having to resort to pry-bars and wedge blocks.
The better way to start the rail bolt holes through the bed of the truck is from the bottom up. When I did mine, I drilled pilot holes from below, centering them in each bolt hole on the frame brackets. That way, I knew for sure that there were no wires or hoses even close to where I was working. Then drilling the full size hole from above was quick, safe, and easy.
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Old 10-21-2015, 12:32 PM   #14
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Thank for all the feedback. Everything was delivered today. Headed to store to get torque wrench and metal drill bits. Got the head and feet on hitch put together. Rails are layed out but will measure 3 times and drill once starting tomorrow. Ran out of time today. Looks like it's going to go fairly easily. I did see the brake controller module. It's fairly close as is gas tank. Will defiantly double check everything before drilling and also going to put metal skim to make sure don't drill tanks or lines. If it works out I'll have some pictures tomorrow evening of install.
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Old 10-22-2015, 03:00 AM   #15
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Great to hear. Good luck, keep up posted, send pics if you can!
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Old 10-22-2015, 04:34 AM   #16
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Just an added thought, a 'stepped' drill bit would probably work better than using several different sized regular bits. I didn't have a stepped bit at the time of my install and the flukes of the regular drill bit tend to jam in the thin sheet metal.

X2 Steve's suggestion of drilling the pilot holes from the bottom up.
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Old 10-22-2015, 07:20 PM   #17
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Hope the install went well. I'm guessing you didn't have to drill the frame at all because GM has predrilled holes in the frame for installing hitches, at least mine did, not sure when they started that. You already had all of the info you needed to line everything up and drill the holes for the rails. For me, the hardest part was torqueing the bolts above the fuel tank. They can be difficult to get to.

While you're at it and drilling holes, I'd add trailer wire connections inside the bed for hooking up your 5th wheel. You can get a connection that simply plugs into your existing wiring harness back by the bumper. All you have to do is drill the hole in the bed side, feed the wire harness down through, remove your spare tire, find the connection in the truck wiring harness, disconnect, place the trailer harness between and reconnect. I have two in the bed of my truck, one near the back about a foot ahead of the tailgate and one at the front of the bed. The one at the back I used the plug in harness. For the one at the front, GM has a wire harness taped up along the frame, all you have to do is drill the hole for the plug, run the wires up through it, strip the insulation back a 1/4" and attach them to the plug. Hope all of this makes sense, if not, PM me and I'll try to explain it better.
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Old 10-23-2015, 02:49 PM   #18
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Finished the install this afternoon. Was able to get the bolts torqued. Most challenging part was getting bolts torqued directly under fuel tank. Install went smoothly and thankfully only had to drill 10 holes through the bed as the frame was already pre-drilled. Here are some pictures of final product.
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Old 10-23-2015, 02:51 PM   #19
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Here are the frame brackets.
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Old 10-23-2015, 02:53 PM   #20
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One more angle. If anyone sees something that looks off please let me know. Thank you.
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