New problem

[Gubs]

Thanks to everyone regarding my hitching up blind questions. I finally went out and bought a IBall system which took care of that problem and I'm using with my old Husky slider hitch.

New problem: I've purchased a new BW 18k Patriot Slider hitch which gives me 12" more to work with when I'm in a tight spot. Problem is I've heard that once the slider is in the slide back position the 5th wheel hitch hits the top of the tail gate and you have to put the tail gate down in order to pull you trailer around or back it in to your site. Does anyone out there have a BW slider hitch (Patriot) and is this really a problem or not. I pull with a 2019 F-350 4x4 short bed XLT.

It's always something, right?????

[rohrmann]

Can’t imagine how you could hit the tailgate if you have your rig turned far enough to have a slider moved all the way to the rear. Once you are fully slid back, your trailer will be at a right angle to the truck and the pin box won’t even be close to the tailgate. Once you straighten out, the slider should adjust back to the forward position.

[JoeUSNRET]

Gubs, I have a B&W manual slider hitch on my 2020 RAM with a short bed. I've used the slider several times and found the back of the pin box would hit the top of the tailgate when the slider was used. Instead of dropping the tailgate fully, I was able to tie the tailgate slightly back, at about 45 degrees angle, which would ensure the tailgate would not hit the trailer when turning. I am able to use a short rubber tie down attached to the tail gate and one of the bed tie down locations which holds the tailgate at about 45 degrees. hope this helps.

[phillyg]

Nooooooo, don't put down your tailgate until you determine if you can turn the truck at all with the tailgate down!!!!!!! I think you're referring instead to the back of your pinbox possibly hitting the inside of the truck's bedrails during sharp turns. Yes, that has been reported with some setups, and the easy solution has been to cut off a couple of inches from the back of the pinbox (search here and other forums). I looked up your FW hitch and there's nothing unique about it that would cause a clearance problem during turns.

[Skw774]

The pin box will scrub the top of the tailgate.

[phillyg]

Originally Posted by Skw774

The pin box will scrub the top of the tailgate.

Maybe, maybe not. The possible fix is the same as I stated previously, which is cutting a couple of inches off the back of the pinbox.

[DQDick]

The reason to use the slider is that a tight turn might cause the front of the rig to contact the cab of the truck. With the tailgate down, a tight turn will cause you to have to replace the doors on your front storage at least. I've always used Pullrite sliders and never had an issue so I can't tell you about that specific one, but I would never back and turn with the tailgate down.