Gooseneck Hitches

Another one of my main boetches about pop-ups and flip-overs is that the ball sets down under the bed where all the mud gets splashed on my dirt road. Every time I would pull it up, I would clean it with solvent then re-grease it. That got old. I don't like mud on my balls. :D The solid mount is always clean. If you weld the nut on the bottom, it will unscrew from the top in less than a minute.
 
My dad and I have always made our own hitches. Simple piece of 6'' and 4'' channel welded together with a collar in the middle for the ball to slide in. Weld the setup between the frame rails that way we can position the pulling point in relation to the rear axle how we want.

Sorry for the crappy quality.

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Bottom side. The shank on the ball will protrude far enough below the collar so you can put a pin in it from the bottom of the truck.
 
4x4dually said:
I don't like mud on my balls
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:hehe:
And a salty, rusted ball and hardware is no good. And who wants to use a pry bar to get it up LOL


I like the rail system. The gooseneck can be taken out by pulling four pins and all that is left are the rails. And, if you want to pull a 5th wheel, swap in the 5th wheel hitch.

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It was in the truck I used for Pulling, for towing competitors to the show LOL Now, I switched the hitch to another truck so I can tow my Puller :rockwoot:

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The rail system seems like to be to be the most versitile if you have gooseneck and fifth-wheel trailers. But I can' get over the fact of haveing all those rails and crap in the way all the time.
 
Ahh, the rails haven't been an issue yet. One neat thing about the rails. If you place something at the tailgate, it never gets out of reach when you reach your destination :woohoo:

If you're loading up with plywood and stuff like that, they don't mind the weight. I rarely take out the hitch to begin with, that 99's job is to tow that 05' :kick: :hehe: And it will like it LOL

And if I was back in the Winter Wonderland area, the hitch would never get seized in any position because it simply comes right out.
 
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Hey 4X4dually can I get a picture of your set up. I am leaning toward yours over a B&W, I think that its the same set up as my folks truck.
 
4x4dually said:
The rail system seems like to be to be the most versitile if you have gooseneck and fifth-wheel trailers. But I can' get over the fact of haveing all those rails and crap in the way all the time.
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Those two rails suck. My dad has them in his Dodge for the 5th wheel and you can't put anything in there without it sliding around. Random pieces of metal, coolers, ladders, crap in general, it all slides around.
 
If you put the plate on top of the bed, when you install a bed mat, the two will be amost flush if you use a good, heavy mat.

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The under side has a plate on each side of the frame that bolts to existing holes. Then on top of each plate, there is a tab that sticks up. A very heavy wall angle iron bolts from each tab across the truck to the same tab on the other side on top of the frame and under the bed. The plate on top has three bolts through the hitch plate, through the bed, and through the angle. It is solid as a dayum rock. Nothing moves and nothing wears and NO welding to the frame. I don't think I could bring myself to do that.

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Sorry for the crappy pics. I don't have our SLR here at work and it is raining outside.

It is my original folding ball installation kit. You can buy this and build the rest of just build it all.

Custom Trailer Hitch Products, Custom Receiver Hitch, Heavy Duty Towing, Curt Manufacturing

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But keep in mind...IF YOU BUY A INSTALLATION KIT.....the bolt parttern MAY OR MAYNOT match the file I provided for the plate. They all have their own dimensions. If you want to buy a kit, assemble it and provide me with the actual dimensions and I'll check the file and correct it as nessessary.
 
i have put in many, and i can fab up what ever i want. i just go and buy a b&w turnover ball set up.
 
Bw and then get an air hitch set-up like these guys http://www.codyhitch.com . I used to think it was all smoke and mirrors but after putting a few thousand miles on mine i won't go back to a rigid mount....
 
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Always put b&w's in my trucks and I load the crap out of them. And after seeing the pics of house's wreck with that rail system, I would NEVER put it in one of my trucks....
 
B&W or solid mount.

All of the flip over type hitches I've been around were too sloppy for my taste, you could feel when the ball slapped around when towing. Maybe they are good new, but they don't age well. I don't like 5th wheel rails in the bed, they are a huge pain in the ass when you put stuff in the bed, far worse than any other GN hitch system. I had 5th wheel rails in my truck when I bought it, I pulled them out and went with a B&W and couldn't be happier. The other B&Ws I've been around have always been awesome and the owners were happy.

If you don't get a B&W I would do what Jory suggested and build a solid mount.
 
ACFarmer said:
Always put b&w's in my trucks and I load the crap out of them. And after seeing the pics of house's wreck with that rail system, I would NEVER put it in one of my trucks....
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I had to look that up to see, but for everyone else here is the picture from that thread:
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And later in the thread there are pictures of a wrecked truck with a B&W. I'm not sure if inserting the pictures are going to work so I'll lnk the post too: click here
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The way a rail system mounts I dont see how the manufactures havent been sued out of business.
 
White Knight said:
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Not that I'll defend the rail systems, but how many bolts are supposed to be in each end. I only see on head left, were there originally two or four on that end?

You won't catch me hauling trailers with one with my kids in the back seat.
 
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