5th wheel set up on a wood bed? - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

Old Chevy Mech · 06-17-2008, 02:44 PM

Has anyone installed a 5th wheel setup in an 8' wood bed before? Just curious how it worked and if you did any extra reinforcing for it.

Thanks!

Frank

c10addict · 06-17-2008, 03:08 PM

The fifth wheel set ups I always run bolt mostly to the frame and the ball just sticks out of the bed floor... I have seen the ones that mount to the frame and the bed floor.... I would almost think the wood would be stronger in some ways if it was good wood...

bwright · 06-17-2008, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by c10addict

The fifth wheel set ups I always run bolt mostly to the frame and the ball just sticks out of the bed floor... I have seen the ones that mount to the frame and the bed floor.... I would almost think the wood would be stronger in some ways if it was good wood...

I believe that would be a gooseneck hitch (with the ball sticking up out of the floor).

To mount a fifth wheel, I wouldn't bolt anything to (or through) the wood bed floor. I'd reinforce the framerails and bolt the hitch frame directly to the frame. You'll probably have to cut a portion of the wood floor. If you go through the wood and it begins to rot (or contract), the fifth wheel mounting could loosen up.

**El Jay** · 06-17-2008, 04:50 PM

I've never seen a fifth wheel mount that wasn't bolted, or welded to the frame rails.

Olden Days · 06-17-2008, 06:16 PM

Typically, heavy "L" brackets are bolted or welded to the frame and butt up against the bottom of the bed and bolts just pass through the bed into the L brackets. Since you have wood, find a pipe (not thin wall tube) that fits over your mounting bolts real nice close fit, cut them to length (thickness of your wood) and drill your holes in the wood large enough for the little pipes (now called crush sleeves) you made to fit in. That way when you tighten those mounting bolts the crush sleeves and bolts are taking all the pressure and not your wood. Your wood could completely fall out and it wouldnt matter because it is not being used to support any part of the hitch

**El Jay** · 06-17-2008, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Olden Days

Typically, heavy "L" brackets are bolted or welded to the frame and butt up against the bottom of the bed and bolts just pass through the bed into the L brackets. Since you have wood, find a pipe (not thin wall tube) that fits over your mounting bolts real nice close fit, cut them to length (thickness of your wood) and drill your holes in the wood large enough for the little pipes (now called crush sleeves) you made to fit in. That way when you tighten those mounting bolts the crush sleeves and bolts are taking all the pressure and not your wood. Your wood could completely fall out and it wouldnt matter because it is not being used to support any part of the hitch

Very well put.
I wish I was as articulate.

Old Chevy Mech · 06-18-2008, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Olden Days

Typically, heavy "L" brackets are bolted or welded to the frame and butt up against the bottom of the bed and bolts just pass through the bed into the L brackets. Since you have wood, find a pipe (not thin wall tube) that fits over your mounting bolts real nice close fit, cut them to length (thickness of your wood) and drill your holes in the wood large enough for the little pipes (now called crush sleeves) you made to fit in. That way when you tighten those mounting bolts the crush sleeves and bolts are taking all the pressure and not your wood. Your wood could completely fall out and it wouldnt matter because it is not being used to support any part of the hitch

I understand, thanks for taking the time to explain it. I am going to be replacing the wood and overhauling the bed and was planning ahead. I was even thinking of modifying the bed and where the goose neck goes, manufacturing a steel plate to take the place of the wood and having it a permanent fixture in the bed. That would be allot more work and it sounds like its not necessary.

Thanks again!
Frank

06-17-2008, 02:44 PM	#1
Old Chevy Mech Keepin it runnin! Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Deep River, CT Posts: 1,036	5th wheel set up on a wood bed? Has anyone installed a 5th wheel setup in an 8' wood bed before? Just curious how it worked and if you did any extra reinforcing for it. Thanks! Frank __________________ 1970 K-5 4X4 Blazer 1970 K-20 4X4 Long Bed "Liberty Means Responsibility, that is why most men dread it"

06-17-2008, 03:08 PM	#2
c10addict Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: pittsburgh pa Posts: 1,970	Re: 5th wheel set up on a wood bed? The fifth wheel set ups I always run bolt mostly to the frame and the ball just sticks out of the bed floor... I have seen the ones that mount to the frame and the bed floor.... I would almost think the wood would be stronger in some ways if it was good wood... __________________ 68 C10 Shorty TPI,Bagged, and all the good stuff. Classic trucks feature June 06, On the cover of Jegs Christmas Catalog 08 67 C10 Shorty Shop truck project Bagged and Z'd under destruction and getting nowhere fast. 64 C10 Shop Truck/Daily driver, Bagged, Dropmember, SOLD!!!! Gone but not forgotten.. 54 GMC under the knife getting a S10 chassis swap and bagged. See my build thread... 07 GMC Sierra 5/7 drop, 22's and 24's Air ride on my mind.. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=339340 See pics of my trucks in my profile

06-17-2008, 04:50 PM	#4
El Jay Gone to greener pastures Join Date: May 2007 Location: Gateway to the Delta Posts: 7,354	Re: 5th wheel set up on a wood bed? I've never seen a fifth wheel mount that wasn't bolted, or welded to the frame rails. __________________ '69 Chevy 1/2 T LWB Stepper: Daily Beater '72 GMC 3/4 T Fleet: Another Daily Beater '72 Plymouth Gran Coupe: ? "Ah women. They make the highs higher and the lows more frequent." Friedrich Nietzsche "Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day." Harry S. Truman GUN CONTROL: Never having to say, "I missed you." Always fire two warning shots into your attacker's chest area before putting a bullet between his eyes. Paraphrased from Louis Awerbuck Last edited by El Jay; 06-17-2008 at 04:51 PM.

06-17-2008, 06:16 PM	#5
Olden Days Living In The Past Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Rockies Posts: 709	Re: 5th wheel set up on a wood bed? Typically, heavy "L" brackets are bolted or welded to the frame and butt up against the bottom of the bed and bolts just pass through the bed into the L brackets. Since you have wood, find a pipe (not thin wall tube) that fits over your mounting bolts real nice close fit, cut them to length (thickness of your wood) and drill your holes in the wood large enough for the little pipes (now called crush sleeves) you made to fit in. That way when you tighten those mounting bolts the crush sleeves and bolts are taking all the pressure and not your wood. Your wood could completely fall out and it wouldnt matter because it is not being used to support any part of the hitch Last edited by Olden Days; 06-17-2008 at 06:20 PM.



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