[any4xx]

I’m heading up to pick up my new-to-me truck tomorrow. The seller is asking if she should remove the hitch and sell it with the fifth wheel trailer or leave it in the truck.

While I currently do not need it, I’m wondering if the mounting systems for these hitches are universal or would it be specific to the Gen-4 Ram. I am certainly willing to take it out and leave it with her, but what are the odds that she’ll sell the trailer to someone with this specific truck? I’d hate for it to just end up being useless to her. But if they’re basically a universal fit, perhaps it’s best that she does keep it with the trailer.

Also, if I remove it are there regular plugs I’ll need that will cover whatever holes are left behind in the bed? I know the truck was set up from the factory for the hitch, so guessing the bed came plugged???

Help?

 

[6.7L_MegaCab]

Best to keep and not have a use for it than to remove and have to buy one when you find the need.

Kind of depends on each trucks setup and whether or not it came from the factory with the mounts or owner installed.

Personally, I use Andersen hitches to pull my 5th wheel Toy Hauler, so perhaps for you, it'll be worth looking into that or other options and letting that hitch go or just hold onto it.

Before purchasing my toy hauler, every rig I looked at, the seller (whether dealer or private party) expected you to have a hitch to haul it away (or buy one from the dealer for dealer purchases). If she sells her trailer, no guarantee that hitch will work with another truck (for example, it's for the puck system, but the person buying the trailer uses a rail mount system).

Sent from my SM-G955U1 using Tapatalk

 

[any4xx]

Best to keep and not have a use for it than to remove and have to buy one when you find the need.

Kind of depends on each trucks setup and whether or not it came from the factory with the mounts or owner installed.

Personally, I use Andersen hitches to pull my 5th wheel Toy Hauler, so perhaps for you, it'll be worth looking into that or other options and letting that hitch go or just hold onto it.

Before purchasing my toy hauler, every rig I looked at, the seller (whether dealer or private party) expected you to have a hitch to haul it away (or buy one from the dealer for dealer purchases). If she sells her trailer, no guarantee that hitch will work with another truck (for example, it's for the puck system, but the person buying the trailer uses a rail mount system).

Sent from my SM-G955U1 using Tapatalk

Yeah... I’m waiting on her to send me some pictures of the hitch. I probably should have waited until I had those before asking here. Even though my daily was a Peterbilt until very recently I’m not at all familiar with the pickup bed mounted hitch systems. Hopefully I’ll have some pix soon. Thank you.

 

[SoCalAdam]

If the truck is using the factory puck system, the seller should leave the hitch with the truck unless they are selling their 5'r to a Ram owner with the factory puck system.

Otherwise, the hitch is useless to a non-Ram owner with the factory ram puck system installed.

 

[any4xx]

False alarm...

I picked it up yesterday near Provo, UT and drove it back to the CA central coast today. Made it without the slightest hiccup. BUT... the hitch system turned out to be an aftermarket unit that is just bolted through to the frame. I’ll be removing it and welding up the holes sooner than later then I will have a bed liner sprayed in.

I THOUGHT the option list I saw for the truck showed it as having the fifth wheel mount system and an 8’ bed. The truck has the 6’4” bed and obviously no fifth wheel mounting system. Both I consider to be a bonus. I REALLY didn’t want the 8’ bed but was willing to live with it just because the deal was so good.

When I am rested up from the drive I’ll check the window sticker printout again....

 

[6.7L_MegaCab]

Nice! Congrats on the purchase. So what is in your bed is the fifth wheel rails. The hitch pins down to those. Personally, I'd leave it as is, unless you know without a doubt you'll never get a fifth wheel or even a gooseneck trailer.

Post a pic of your new ride when you get a chance.

Sent from my SM-G955U1 using Tapatalk

 

[any4xx]

Nice! Congrats on the purchase. So what is in your bed is the fifth wheel rails. The hitch pins down to those. Personally, I'd leave it as is, unless you know without a doubt you'll never get a fifth wheel or even a gooseneck trailer.

Post a pic of your new ride when you get a chance.

I can say that I’m about 99.999% sure that any towing I’ll ever do will be ball hitch only. But now that I think a bit more, perhaps I’ll just leave the holes and just plug them with rubber plugs. That way it’ll be easy if I ever want to reinstall it. All I care about for now is that the holes don’t rust and if I ever want to haul some gravel I’ll not pour it out on the road through the holes. Maybe I’ll start out with a rubber bed mat. I haven’t owned a pickup for about 7 years. I’m looking forward to giving this thing a workout.

 

[6.7L_MegaCab]

If you get the bed sprayed with LineX then it'll protect the holes from rusting. Then throw in a rubber mat to keep dirt and gravel from falling through the holes and into the rails under the bed.

Sent from my SM-G955U1 using Tapatalk

 

[any4xx]

If you get the bed sprayed with LineX then it'll protect the holes from rusting. Then throw in a rubber mat to keep dirt and gravel from falling through the holes and into the rails under the bed.

Yeah.... I’m really a fan of spray in bed liners. This bed is already nice and scratched up so it’s ready. But I have to haul a few heavy things over the next few months so I’ll probably wait until those trips are completed before doing it. In the mean time I’ll be ordering the rubber mat.

 

[any4xx]

Just to follow up....

I spent this afternoon removing the hitch and mounting brackets from my truck. Holy Moly is that thing heavy! Luckily the only thing I had to remove to get to everything was the spare tire and it’s heat shield. I can say that this was one of the least pleasant jobs that I’ve undertaken in quite a while. The good news though, is that I got a nice long look under the truck. This thing is truly as clean as any brand new truck I’ve ever seen. Amazing for something seven years old.

I’m now looking forward to scratching up the inside of this bed up a bit more over the next several months then going with a nice spray-in bed liner.

 

[6.7L_MegaCab]

That's exactly why I went with an Anderson hitch. No way was I going to be handling a hitch that weighs upwards of a couple hundred pounds. At 40 pounds, it pulls my toy hauler very very well.

Enjoy your new truck and don't forget to get some primer on those holes to avoid rust getting to them before getting the bed sprayed.

Sent from my SM-G955U1 using Tapatalk

 

[any4xx]

That's exactly why I went with an Anderson hitch. No way was I going to be handling a hitch that weighs upwards of a couple hundred pounds. At 40 pounds, it pulls my toy hauler very very well.

Enjoy your new truck and don't forget to get some primer on those holes to avoid rust getting to them before getting the bed sprayed.

I was truly shocked at just how heavy that thing is. But considering what it’s expected to do it makes sense. I’m no lightweight, but once I got it off the rails I seriously considered calling a friend to help me get it off the back of the truck. In retrospect I could have saved a few $$$ on the Advil I dropped last night had I made that phone call.

Today’s job is to scuff up the areas around the holes and apply a good automotive seam sealer to each one from underneath. Let the rust try to get through that stuff....