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Old 10-18-2016, 07:06 AM   #1
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Tailgate is right up against the trailer when connecting

Towed my 5th wheel yesterday for the first time. WOW what a difference than my '03 Ram. Nice smooth ride, plenty of power. Didn't even notice it was back there. Ran into a little issue when hooking up, the tailgate was right up against the trailer. The truck was straight to the trailer. Also notice that there is not a lot of room to walk between the bumper and the trailer. Has anyone else experienced this? Luckily I have a sliding hitch but this is going to be a pain to have to slide the hitch back every time I hitch and unhitch. I used the Reese 50026 No Drill frame brackets and are mounted at 32 1/4" per the instructions.

John

20161017_165619.jpg
In the towing position
20161017_165411.jpg
In the maneuvering position
20161017_165633.jpg
Hitch in the towing position
20161017_165421.jpg
Hitch in the maneuvering position
20161017_165722.jpg
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Old 10-18-2016, 07:31 AM   #2
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Wow! I thought mine was to close, but yours is a lot worse then mine.
I had more room with my 03 Duramax then I do now. Both were 6.5 ft. box. I wonder if they have more box behind the axle?
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Old 10-18-2016, 09:21 AM   #3
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Good thing you have a manual slider or you'd have to get a v-tailgate to get it off and on !

You're going to be back there anyway so not a biggee - just one small step

(and I see your were influenced to get a matching color truck ! Nice rig - you are gonna love that 6.7 !)
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Old 10-18-2016, 12:53 PM   #4
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Anybody out there that has a 2011 or newer F250/350 SD that can give me their measurement from the tailgate to the back rail. Would love to see some pictures of your hitch setup. Talked with Reese for over an hour this morning and they can't figure out why. There are two different styles of mounting kits, one that goes in front of the bed support rails (p/n 56016 and one that goes around the support rails (p/n 50026). The 56016 puts the center of the hitch 7/8" behind the center of the axle and the 50026 puts the center 2 11/16" in front of the axle. Very confusing.
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Old 10-18-2016, 01:18 PM   #5
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I always assumed on a short bed truck the hitch would have to be directly over or slighty behind the axle, not in front.
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Old 10-18-2016, 01:43 PM   #6
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On my 2010 GMC short boxI had no trouble opening the tailgate. I had app 8" from the trailer. From your picks it looks like the hitch is mounted in front of the axles. Moving the rails so the hitch is directly over the axle should give you the clearance you need
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Old 10-18-2016, 04:17 PM   #7
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I have a short bed 2009 2500 HD and a 2016 5er. My wife has to hold the tailgate up while I hookup to the 5er hitch so it doesn't hit the camper. If I'm exactly square with the trailer sometimes I have just enough room to drop the tailgate when hooked up. Most of the time it don't work out that way.
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Old 10-18-2016, 04:39 PM   #8
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Just spend the money for a v tail gate and not worry about it, hook up and un hook with out lowering the tailgate. Have had one on my trucks since 2007, makes hooking up easy I can see where the king pin is at all times
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Old 10-18-2016, 05:15 PM   #9
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My bed from front to tailgate is 80 inches. My back rail on universal rail is 35 inches to back of the bed. Hitch is Reese Elite with tube slides
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Old 10-18-2016, 08:14 PM   #10
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My hitch is installed just ahead of the rear axle. I have room to drop my tailgate when hitched up with no problem. It is hitched in the picture below.
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Old 10-20-2016, 02:41 PM   #11
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I have an 2015 F-250 SD Crew cab short bed and installed the Reese 16K slider hitch. This is my 3rd pick up and 2nd hitch install. I followed the directions and measurements provided by Reese to install the rails in the bed of my truck. http://www.towingproducts.net/applic...ons/N30035.pdf and my tailgate just opens and clears the trailer with the 5th wheel in the forward slider position.

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The truck was straight to the trailer. Also notice that there is not a lot of room to walk between the bumper and the trailer. Has anyone else experienced this? Luckily I have a sliding hitch but this is going to be a pain to have to slide the hitch back every time I hitch and unhitch.
Welcome to having a short-bed Ford. I've had to hitch up my trailer with the slider in the rear position every single time for more than 20 years now. There is no way of getting around it if you want the rear tail gate down when hooking up.

D.
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Old 10-20-2016, 04:19 PM   #12
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Here is the link for the Ford Body Builders Layout Book. https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas...5/maintoc.html
The dimension from the center of the rear axle to the bumper is the same for the F 2/350 whether it is the long or short bed.

Same for the F150. Both long and short bed dimension from center of rear axle to bumper is the same.

Also, the tailgate of the F 2/350 is only 2" longer than the F 150.

The long bed is longer in dimension from the center of the rear axle to the front of the box. From center of rear axle to bumper is the same for both.

If I'm looking at the layout book wrong, please let me know.
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Old 10-21-2016, 07:36 AM   #13
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I had two short bed fords, 2012 and 2013 and neither were 'too close', BUT, I bought a Pullrite superglide auto slider and maybe that (or the install) had something to do with the clearance ?!? dunno, I didn't install it, but maybe the pics below can give you a hint of how mine was installed ? It does look like mine was back further ??? but it worked fine - good luck !

if you want an very slightly used auto slider... I know a guy
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File Type: jpg Arlington-20130928-00227.jpg (261.7 KB, 2 views)
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Old 10-24-2016, 06:44 AM   #14
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johnboytoo, Looks like your rails were installed behind the bed support cross rails. That moves the hitch center back almost 3". Also from what I have read the pullrite hitch is adjustable and can be centered over the axle. My only concern with the pullrite is the truck and trailer need to be almost perfectly inline to unhitch. After being at a campground this weekend and talking with a few Ford truck owners I found that do not use a sliding hitch. They all had either the factory puck system or a regular A-Frame setup. None said they have ever had an issue with cab clearance. So I may start with changing the sliding hitch to a regular hitch. If I find that I am getting close to the cab I will most likely go with the Sidewinder pinbox.
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Old 10-24-2016, 08:33 AM   #15
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Good luck with your decision, always thought that seems a bit far back, but I didn't install it and it worked fine during the time we had it... with the 8 way pivot that head did, never had an issue with getting the pullrite connected or disconnected and I parked it in some ODD ways
most of the time, just put the truck in neutral and it rocked up or back a bit to relieve the pressure ...
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Old 10-24-2016, 10:28 AM   #16
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If you don't have tailgate to rv clearance, I believe the hitch is not installed in the correct position.
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Old 10-24-2016, 11:17 AM   #17
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Mark, I've been on the phone with Reese and everything is right where they say it goes. I found that there are 2 rail kits offered for the Fords. One has the pin 2 15/16" in front of the axle center and the other has it at 7/8" behind the axle center. Being that I am using the sliding hitch with the first rail kit, it placed the center of my pin opening at 3 1/2" in front of the axle center line. If I go with the non-sliding hitch, I will move my pin to be just in front of the axle center. Like I said before, others that have the same trucks I talked with are not using a slider. Without going to the Pullrite hitch that is adjustable my best solution is going with the non-slider. I've talked with others on the Ford forum and they are experiencing the same issues even with a 8' bed. Most companies only recommend using a sliding hitch if the bed is less that 6'. On my old Ram 2500 with a 6' 4" bed I never needed to use the slider, so I figured I'll be OK with the new Ford with a 6' 9" bed.
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Old 10-24-2016, 11:36 AM   #18
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If that is the case, then why does my 6.5' bed not have a problem with the Pullrite slider? Like I said, the distance from the rear axle to the bumper is the same on all Ford trucks 150 thru 350's. So what makes the difference from one hitch to another?
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Old 10-24-2016, 12:01 PM   #19
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Mark, the Pullrite hitch has adjustments on the side to set the pin opening over the center of the axle. My Reese slider has no adjustments so if I am not dead straight, my tailgate will be against the trailer compartment. What is the measurement from the edge of the bed (tailgate end) to the rail. The rail kit (Reese 50026) I have the measurement is 32 1/4". The other kit that Reese offers (56016) the measurement is 27 5/8". Looking up your no drill rail kit (56006) for the F150, your rear rail should be around 26 3/16" from the back of the bed. If you have the universal rail kit (58426) then the measurement will be around 29 5/16". Each truck and type of kit seams to have a different mounting location.
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Old 10-24-2016, 01:32 PM   #20
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to close . . .

Pin Box
Pin Boxes can be several different dimensions / lengths.
23 yrs ago had to get a longer Pin Box for a Skamper bunkhouse. Slider hitches weren't what they are n o w!!
Our Skamper was before Thor took them over.
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