bironside

I have a new 2003 2500 CTD with 48RE Tranny and a new trailer that will arive in the spring. I was wondering what other fifth wheel guys with similar trucks are hauling and what mods for supension and braking and........

RHC

We have the same truck, except mine is the short box. How much does your 5th weight and what lenght?

What hitch did you use? Thanks

Great truck

bironside

They said, the dealer, that they would supply a Husky hitch, when the trailer comes in, I am supposed to take my truck up and leave it for a day. I 've been told not to let them weld or drill so I will be looking for some kind of underail package. I like those that leave the bed clean but I wonder about sand geting trapped under the the bed liner.

SuperGewl

Get rid of the drop in bed liner, they will ruin your truck bed.
Go and get a LINE-X or Rhino liner sprayed in before they install the 5VR hitch. They are well worth the money, make sure you go over the rail because the top of the bed is what get alot of damage from putto=ing things in the bed. Also the speray in liners hold things down much better

RATTLINRAM

I agree with SuperGewl,
There ought to be a law against putting those drop-in liners in a new truck! I had one in my 99 when I bought it and took it out when I put the fifth-wheel hitch in. Only three months with that bed-liner in there and it had worn spots in the paint down to the bare metal. Rather than cutting it up to go around the hitch, I opted to sell it and put the money towards a spray-in liner.
BTW, I've been towing a 30' Keystone Cougar Double-slide-out with my stock 3/4 ton and have had no complaints. No mods for towing other than a brake controller and I just installed an Edge EZ, but haven't had the chance to tow with it yet. I can't wait!

bironside

I know there is no such thing as a stupid question but under the rail over the rail what are we talking about? I am new to this stuff.
I thought the hitch that completely leaves the bed cleam just the fill in plugs which leave the bed clean was a good idea. Is this what you are saying I should leve alone? I would appreciate the imput. Any suggestions on how to go about selling the liner?

Oh Dry weight 8,000 lbs and fully loaded 10,400 lbs full load. It will be close to a tone of pin weight when loaded I have been looking at supension upgrades to bring it into the 3500 load rating.

DPG

bironside:

When talking about bed liners, over the rail and under the rail refers to the top rails of the bed itself, in other words, the top horizontal edges of the bed.
So going over the rails puts the spray-in bed liner over the top of the bed so that the liner covers the top edges of the bed. I you check out my member's photo gallery, you can "sort of " see the over the rail bed liner. And I wouldn't have it any other way. It really helps save the appearance of the truck by protecting the rails from scratches and dings when lifting heavy things in and out of the bed from the sides of the truck.

I hope that this helps explain things.

DeWain

Pickle

natstayl

Bironside,
Concerning "Over-the-Rail Sprayed-In". The Dodge bed is high when standing next to it with the tailgate up, and if you're like me, you occassionally haul PVC pipe and lumber and other materials that come in 10' lengths. Dragging the materials over the tailgate or over the side will scuff the paint even if you're careful. Getting in or out over the sides of the bed especially if you're wearing jeans with rivets can make deep scratches in the tops of the bed. By all means get a sprayed in liner. I chose Speedliner because it came already mixed to match my exterior color then shopped several dealers, asked for references and looked at their work. Like mine, I think all sprayed-in urethane liners are warranted not to peel for the life of the truck so I'm not pushing Speedliner over anyother but you'd be wise to shop as many dealers as you can and compare price and craftsmanship. Pay close attention to their masking techniques. My dealer removed the tailgate, and the tailgate panel that accesses the latch and sprayed them individually so as to keep them functional should I ever have to service the latch. He removed the tie-downs and then put them back for me after the 72 hour cure. I'm tickled with mine and I think you will be too.

eswartz

natstayl,

I've been looking at Speedliner also, my brother has had 2 trucks sprayed with Speedliner and it has held up very well. Just wondering how much you paid for the over-the-rail, color matched? The best price I've gotten is $450 with a kevlar additive. Do you know anything about the kevlar additive?

Thanks

Eric

Big dawg

Bironside,
I haul a 32' tripple slide Forest River. The mods are in my sig. Dry weight: 11,200, loaded 13,000 (+/- 500lbs). I'd go with Rhino or Line-X for a bed liner with over the rail coverage, I can't tell you how many times it has saved my truck bed.
Big dawg

natstayl

eswartz,
My Speedliner dealer cut $20.00 off the liner if I purchased 4 mudflaps and let them install same time. I had already purchased the wheel-2-wheel nerfs online and installed them. The Speedliner dealer said a customer of theirs wanted to see Putco nerf bars like mine on a Dodge blah, blah, blah, so they offered to keep it over the weekend locked inside for the 72 hour cure-time and they would reinstall the hardware during that time as well. $500.00 for 4 mudflaps and the liner. I hope this helps.

bironside

Okay, I get the liner deal now thanks for the Info talked to both the line-x and Rhino guys here. The Rhino guy is about fifty bucks more. The colour is expensive. Would you still recommend over the rail if I went black? The info on the liners was great but I was referring to the under the bed rails for the hitch or the hidden hitch, when you take out the hitch it leaves the bed clean. So spray in bed liner and
Valley/Husky Underbed System
http://www.torklift.com/063.htm

Chester

Bironside, I had a 99 2500 SO 47RE 4X4. Hauled the same fiver I have now. 8400lb dry, 10840 gross, 1620lbs pin. Hated the 47 RE but never had to upgrade any suspension. The trailer was easy to level and didn't sag the rear end when on the truck. Biggest problem with that truck was the 3.55 rear end, the 47RE and the short box. Had to use a slider hitch...just gives more slop in the mounting.

Also had this trailer on an 01 2500 HO long box 2WD. Still sat really well. No suspension issues.

Hope this helps...

bironside

Thanks Chester, what day are you going to be at the show? We have and afternoon play on the Saturday but it would be interesting to meet someone form the forum, I am sure that you would have plenty of answers to our questions. Andrea and I are brand new to the fiver deal wont get our first one till the spring. We have 240,000 km on the 3 litre minivan and plenty of those miles pulling a pop up both coasts a couple of times. The CTD has 3000 km now Moma wanted a toilet though by her fiftieth hence the 5vr.