Can any one tell me what is involved in this task?

 

It really depends on which 5th wheel you are going to mount. It usually involves some type of mounting rails in the bed that are attached to the frame below. These leave the mounting rails in the bed when you take the 5th wheel out but most are not to high so you still have the use of the bed. There are several on the market that all of the mounting is under the bed and all you have when you take the 5th wheel out is holes in the bed. There is even one that mounts to a gooseneck ball socket that is mounted under the bed. My currant one is a Superglide which when taken out leaves just 4 holes in the bed. It is made especially for short beds and moves to the rear up to 14 inches when making sharp manuvers to keep the trailer from hitting the back of the cab. All I have been involved with came with pretty good mounting instructions.

 

Check out www.turnoverball.com

They sell the turnoverball gooseneck hitch and the companion 5th wheel set-up to go with it. I am a dealer for B&W and have many satisfied cutomers running with many trouble free miles of service from this set-up.

 

Make sure you use the correct hitch mounting kit for your year of truck. I use a Hijacker which has a sepeate kit for each manufacturer and some kits are vehicle year depedent. Also, I read somewhere on the DC site - sorry I do not have a pointer - warning against drilling addition holes "down" thru the frame. The brackets mount on the side - see diagram

http://www.hijacker.com

I would suggest a good RV dealer can give you some valuable info. It takes about 1/2 day to install a 5th wheel kit in a new 04 RAM.

I have a 21k Hijacker double pivot (the pivot is great).

Hope this helps

Cheers f