Ram box on short bed - ill-advised for towing a 5th wheel?

[DesertDogs]

I'm looking at Ram 3500 Mega Cabs with short beds for 5th wheel towing.

Does having Ram boxes on the sides of the truck bed present any kind of problem when it comes to towing a 5th wheel?

[Allworth]

20% of length added between the axles equals 50% improvement in overall ride comfort.

Try it! You'll like it.

I'll never go back to standard bed.

A

[Cummins12V98]

"Yeah - with a 43' 5er, and traveling all over the country all the time, you'd best stick with a long bed dually - at MINIMUM. Actually, you'd really be better off with a SportChassis, given a rig that huge and heavy.

For myself... I'll never want to haul more 5er than a 35'. And even that is a pretty huge beast to pull behind a pickup truck."

You simply don't understand the capabilities of the modern 3500 DRW. My DRV is 41' and 24k. I also tow a MC trailer behind. ZERO difference in current combo compared to last 36' DRV.

[Cummins12V98]

"I refuse to ever get a handicapped placard for as long as I live"

Good Man!!!

[DesertDogs]

AirSupport wrote:

MarkTwain wrote:
Just curious, what is the advantage of a 6' bed VS an 8' bed. The 8' bed eliminates all the issues of the trailer hitting the cab of the truck.

Well after towing a fiver with a “standard” bed 2500HD for 11 years, we just bought a new 43’ fiver and a 3500HD diesel dually with the long bed. We travel all over the USA. I can tell you that the long bed dually towing is far nicer than my short bed towing. Yeah it’s long, but we travel without white knuckling and just go to places that will accommodate us. Nothing is perfect, but we are content.

I’d NEVER go back to a “standard” (short) bed dually ever again. Besides, we enjoy walking further in parking lots when we are unhitched. Walking forces us to stay youthful. I refuse to ever get a handicapped placard for as long as I live.

Yeah - with a 43' 5er, and traveling all over the country all the time, you'd best stick with a long bed dually - at MINIMUM. Actually, you'd really be better off with a SportChassis, given a rig that huge and heavy.

For myself... I'll never want to haul more 5er than a 35'. And even that is a pretty huge beast to pull behind a pickup truck.

[AirSupport]

MarkTwain wrote:
Just curious, what is the advantage of a 6' bed VS an 8' bed. The 8' bed eliminates all the issues of the trailer hitting the cab of the truck.

Well after towing a fiver with a “standard” bed 2500HD for 11 years, we just bought a new 43’ fiver and a 3500HD diesel dually with the long bed. We travel all over the USA. I can tell you that the long bed dually towing is far nicer than my short bed towing. Yeah it’s long, but we travel without white knuckling and just go to places that will accommodate us. Nothing is perfect, but we are content.

I’d NEVER go back to a “standard” (short) bed dually ever again. Besides, we enjoy walking further in parking lots when we are unhitched. Walking forces us to stay youthful. I refuse to ever get a handicapped placard for as long as I live.

[camp-n-family]

.

[DesertDogs]

Thank you. I will avoid the Ram box! Don't need them anyway.

[rhagfo]

Learjet wrote:
I see lots of people don't know what a Ram box is...it's the tool box built in the sides of the pickup bed which makes the inside of the pickup box narrow side to side.

The answers is yes, it is a problem with a 5th wheel...you'll need a Side winder pin box (or similar brand) on your trailer to have clearance inside the pickup box for turning....This would also give you clearance for tighter turns with the short pick bed and the cab. Two different issues "Ram box" and Short bed.

Wow, not until last post on the first page did OP get the answer to the Ram Box issues.

[Allworth]

Yes!

[camp-n-family]

The bed opening is narrower with the Rambox. I have read of issues with the pin box hitting the sides of the bed while turning. You will need a short style pin box to avoid this but that will cause problems with the short bed.

[Cummins12V98]

MarkTwain wrote:
Just curious, what is the advantage of a 6' bed VS an 8' bed. The 8' bed eliminates all the issues of the trailer hitting the cab of the truck.

YA don't say!!!!!!!

OH they are easier to park, OH they fit in my garage, Whatever.:B

OP, the RamBox is NOT designed for a 5er!!!

[Learjet]

I see lots of people don't know what a Ram box is...it's the tool box built in the sides of the pickup bed which makes the inside of the pickup box narrow side to side.

The answers is yes, it is a problem with a 5th wheel...you'll need a Side winder pin box (or similar brand) on your trailer to have clearance inside the pickup box for turning....This would also give you clearance for tighter turns with the short pick bed and the cab. Two different issues "Ram box" and Short bed.

[MarkTwain]

ACZL wrote:
I think what OP is wondering about is opening up the RAM boxes on top of pick up box itself and not so much hitting back of cab. If I'm wrong, I apologize in advance.

Thanks for the clarification. What are RAM boxes?

[ACZL]

I think what OP is wondering about is opening up the RAM boxes on top of pick up box itself and not so much hitting back of cab. If I'm wrong, I apologize in advance.