B & W Turnover Ball Hitch

[RopinFool]

Hey guys, after doing some research on here it appears that the B&W turnover ball gooseneck hitch is definitely the hitch of choice. What I have noticed however is that with the B&W you are not given any lee way on placement... you have to put it in a certain spot... I have a shortbed 2003 3500 truck and from what i can tell from the installation instructions the location is about 4 to 6 inches infront of the rear axle... this seems a little far forward to me for the shortbeds to provide adequate clearance for the trailer nose (i pull a gooseneck horsetrailer). On my old truck I installed the ball (a draw-tite) directly over the axle.



Has anyone had any clearance issues with the B and W location? I know that their location provides the best ride and is the optimal location for towing, i am just worried about clearance.



Any input from you all would be great. Thanks in advance!

 

[vciesielski]

It is 4" in front of the axle. I pull a 4horse elite with a 03 qc s/b 4x4 swr 1ton with no problem.

 

[kshimizu]

B&W has set the placement of the ball so you're not going to be able to cheat one way or the other with it. Clearance is going to depend on the nose of your trailer. What kind of trailer are you pulling? Does it have a tapered, full flat front or angled nose? B&W makes an extender ball for the truck and PopUp Hitch makes an extender for the trailer side. Lots of people tow horse trailers with your setup, some can turn tighter than others depending on their trailer or use of extenders.

 

[jelag]

The key to pulling with either a 5th wheel or goose neck style trailer is to move the weight from behind the rear axle to in front of the rear axle... this weight movement pushes some of the weight to the front axle... . and allows the truck to handle a lot more weight than with a trailer hitch... .



If you think about a standard trailer hitch and the leverage that's applied to the chassis when say 600 lbs is that far back of the rear axle and now much weight have you removed from the steer axle... and the front brakes... Remember that in a car's design... 60% of the braking is done with the front axle.....



Any of the 5th wheel or gooseneck hitches what you to have the best pulling experience possible... and they almost force the location of the hitch on you. .

 

[CPittman]

Get the Extender from B&W

http://www.turnoverball.com/extender



Allows you to move the hitch point back 4" - Me, I just make sure I don't turn too tight. My buddy has smacked his 5er into the cab of his Dodge on both sides... gotta pay attention!

 

[polarbull]

I have had two B&W hitches in long beds so no clearance problems . just wanted to mention it is very important to take a short pull after installation & RETORQUE!!! all bolts... mine were loose both times... have rechecked many times since but all bolts stayed tight after first retorque

 

[TerryLittle]

Call

1-800-700-1372

 

[jayhawktrailers.com]

b&w hitch

yes the B&W is the best gooseneck hitch on the market. I install them most every day. The short bed does make it tough. Like the other guys mentioned B&W does may make the extender that moves the ball back 4". pop up and convertaball make extenders that replace the stinger on your trailer. Convertaball's will move back 7". long bed trucks aren't a problem. The measure ment for the center of the ball is 45 1/2" on short box and 47 1/2" on a long box. Use hitch # 1306 instead of the older part # 1303. 1306 was produced to clear the exhaust on the mega cab and will move the ball back 3/8" farther than the older 1303. 1306 is the only choice for mega cabs. No drill or weld of the frame= no frame warranty violations. with experience you can do 1 hour installs or less w/ their products. Definetly the way to go, we run them in all our dodges. Got to go put one in an 02 2nd gen truck