![]() No wonder these hitches are popular with short bed trucks! Unfortunately, there are consequences… In addition to this, the Andersen coupler itself (the part that attaches to the trailer’s pin box) introduces an additional 4-inch offset of its own, so that the total distance behind the axle is 9.4375 inches! For sake of completeness, I note that the Andersen’s coupler can be reversed (applying the 4″ offset in the other direction) which would locate the pin only 1.4375 inches behind the axle - essentially eliminating the “behind the axle” problem, but also eliminating the benefit for short beds! So in order to work in a short bed truck, the Andersen coupler has to place the pin 4-inches behind the Andersen ball, which itself is 5.4375 inches behind the axle for a total of 9.4375 inches. However, the Andersen’s geometry does a very interesting thing: it re-locates the pin over 9 inches behind the axle! To see this, note that the Andersen’s own coupler mount point (the ball facing upward) is located 5.4375 inches behind the hitch mount point (the rear axle). It is a very light hitch, which is fantastic for short bed trucks because these are the most likely to exceed their payload ratings due to weight in the bed. This is a pyramid style hitch that mounts up directly to the gooseneck mount point in the truck bed - which for me (and most short bed trucks), is directly over the rear axle. The Andersen hitch is a good example of doing this. I acknowledge that there are many who successfully tow with such solutions, but I decided that locating the pin behind the axle, by any amount, was not for me: Especially for my 101-inch “wide body” trailer, in order to really eliminate (not just reduce) the risk of striking the cab, the pin has to be several inches behind the axle - where these compromises aren’t so small anymore! These compromises are small, of course, if the pin is only a short distance behind the axle. In addition, such a solution gives some non-zero sway leverage to the trailer as well. The reason is obvious - the only way to avoid striking the cab is to move trailer away from it! Whatever the configuration or design, however, there is just no free lunch with this solution: If the king pin looks like it’s behind the axle, then the king pin is behind the axle - and no amount of marketing language will be able to change the laws of physics: The result is that the front axle is lifted slightly, which transfers weight to the rear axle. By far, the majority of short bed solutions today do this, whether there is a gooseneck type coupling, a traditional hitch head or a pyramid in the bed of the truck (even the venerable B&W Companions can go a small distance behind the axle, if you want). ![]() (1) You can place the pin behind the axle. The combination weighs in at 24,000 lbs fully loaded.īefore I purchased my hitch, I prioritized compromises in the order of their importance (to me) - at the top of the list are the things I just won’t accept: This heavily influenced my choice, as you will see.īelow is my 2018 Ram short bed truck, pulling the 35′ long Alliance Paradigm 310RL fifth wheel. I will even give a spoiler alert up front: My motivation in choosing a short bed hitch was to preserve the reason I bought a fifth wheel in the first place – the pin should be located over the tow vehicle’s rear axle (or even slightly forward). ![]() Make no mistake about it – all short bed hitch solutions make a compromise of some sort: One only needs to figure out which ones are important, so for this post I’ll take an inventory of the important compromises and show how they laid out for me. I’m talking about fifth wheel hitches for short bed trucks. My goal here is to cut though the emotion and get to the science that drove my personal choice. ![]() I do realize that there is room for nuance and personal choice here - simply because every combination of truck, trailer, expected terrain, and tolerance for risk is different. I’m going to tackle a difficult subject that is filled with a generous portion of emotion, not to mention the fervor that accompanies one’s choices and the marketing language one has been influenced by. ![]()
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