Where to mount 5er hitch

[SHOOT1SAM]

I will soon be mounting a hitch for my 5er. In the past, on a LWB, it was mounted DIRECTLY over the axle. On a SWB, it was about 4-6 inches behind the axle to allow as much room as possible up front.



I seem to recall reading someone's post recommending, on a LWB, to mount the hitch up to 6 inches BEHIND the axle for added stability. Do I recall this correctly? I've always thought that directly over the axle was the optimal point to mount it on a LWB.



Thanks in advance.

 

[brobeson]

where to mount a 5er

I have always heard, from several installers, that the hitch should be mounted straight over to 1/2 inch in front of the alex. LWB or Short. Never behind the axle



For a SWB you need the sliding hitch, which will slide back about 6-8 inches to allow for manuvering.



Truth is you should not tow a 5er with a SWB, but lot of people do it so people except it as OK, even though the LBW is what should be used.



Good Luck



Bob

 

[Bob Wagner]

always

You always mount over the axles.



Man that baby could sway @ 6" behind no thanks

 

[RustyJC]

Current thinking for a long bed truck is for the centerline of the 5th wheel hitch to be located anywhere from 1/2" to 2" ahead of the rear axle centerline - our hitch is about 2" forward of the rear axle centerline on a 3500 long bed. I think GM may even recommend 4" ahead of the rear axle centerline for the new HD's. This location is primarily to reduce "porpoising", but secondary advantages are that this forward hitch placement will tend to equalize pin weight between the front and rear axles somewhat and, by placing a bit of the pin weight on the front wheels, will reduce understeer or "plow" when towing.



Having the hitch centerline behind the rear axle centerline will mean that the rear of the truck is pushed down and the front is levered up (i. e. , porpoising) every time the front of the 5ver bounces down on a bump or expansion joint. With the hitch centerline ahead of the rear axle centerline, both ends of the truck are pushed down somewhat together when the front of the 5ver bounces down, so the truck doesn't get into the front-to-back "porpoising" motion that's guaranteed to give even the toughest traveler motion sickness.



Rusty

 

[SHOOT1SAM]

Thanks for the replies. On the SWB, I did indeed experience some porpoising, although I didn't know the term. I had always thought directly over was standard, but thought I'd toss it out for some suggestions. Thanks again.

 

[Ray Torresdal]

LOCATION

I bought Reese rails, in order to have the ability to go from gooseneck to fifth wheel. I also like being able to only have the rails in the bed, and not a ball sticking up. With the Reese rails, hitch centerline is about 3 1/4" ahead of the axle, in order to tie into crossmembers per the instructions. I would certainly recommend being a little ahead of the rear axle for weight distribution purposes. I haven't had opportunity to pull a heavy trailer and scale it out yet, or I would have axle weights for a given load. I do know that for hauling 3000 lb loads in the bed it scales about right when the load is 6-8" ahead of the rear axle. ray

 

[B.G. Smith]

Hitch mounting

If you will contact Reece, they will fax or mail you the mounting instructions which covers most situations. bg