I recently bought my wife an '06 CTD... Its a 3/4 4x4 4-door SWB. To quote my wife..."It's cute!, its got red shock thingies" Anyway, I'm wanting to install a hide a hitch and from what I've seen so far the B&W is the best. Has anybody personally installed one of these? I can have it installed, but I REALLY don't like people working on my stuff. Nobody cares about your ride as much as u do. I installed a 5th wheel hitch in her '04 Dodge, and swore I woulld NEVER do that again. But, the gooseneck says that their are no holes to drill other that the one 4" hole in the bed floor. Could it be that easy??? Any help/insight on the hide-a-hitch would be greatly appreciated. I'm not stuck on the B&W, if there are other brands that are similar is function and design, feel free to comment..

 

The B&W turnoverball gooseneck hitch is a good product. Built very well with great detailed installation instructions. Taking your time, the first time, should take a couple hrs or so to install.

 

B&W makes a good hitch. You are correct, the install anly requires you to drill a 4" hole in the bed. No other drilling. Measure three or four times before drilling the hole, and the rest of the install is very simple.

 

Wow, thanks for the quick responses!!!!.. Jordan brake control .. How do U like the brake controller? How does it rate against the Prodigy controller?

 

I've never had anything but the Jordan. I went on Fiverbobs word and bought one, so as far as comparisons go, I don't know. It does work good though. I'm happy with it. I'd definitely buy another one, if I needed one.

 

you have to drill 5 holes 4 for the safety u bolts .

 

I did mine and it really is not that bad. Like everybody will tell you, drilling that 4" hole is the worst part. You get one shot at it, but if you measure right you will not have a problem. It sounds like you know how to turn a wrench so go for it, you have just as good of a chance to get it right as the guy you would have do it.
I used a piece of 1x6 as a template like it shows in the instructions and that worked great. I used it just so the bit did not jump around. If you need any other help just let me know, I will be happy to help you through it.

 

I did mine myself, and it is pretty straight forward.

I'd have some sand paper or a die grinder to smooth out the edge of the cut, along with some primer to prevent rust. I also used high strength (red) locktite.

I couldn't get my drill in to do the safety chain holes on the passenger side, due to the tailpipe. I used a dremel tool to drill a pilot hole from below, then finished drilling from the top (so I could locate the hole through the pre-drilled hole in the hitch frame).

Anyway, take your time and it will go smoothly.

 

Measure 4 or 5 times, and then let someone else measure another 4 or 5 times before cutting the 4" hole! That's the worst part of the whole project. Mine came out fine, by the way!

Be sure to clean the bed thoroughly after drilling the 4" hole and the safety chain U-bolt holes. There will be steel dust all over the bed that will rust and leave orange stains, especially on a white truck like mine. Fortunately, I had my bed Line-Xed right after installing the hitch, so this wasn't a huge problem.

Rusty

 

Yeah Cowboy.... I turn them "ranches" for a living. I guess thats why I don't like anybody else touching my truck. It seems that once u start turning wrenches for a living, there is no way out except for the lottery!!!
RustyJC brought up my next question. The spray-in bedliner is already installed. When I drill thru it, i'm gonna have the edge of the hole(s) exposed metal. May look into some of that bed liner in a can to doctor up the holes. I Think I'm going to order the hitch next week, but its gonna have to warm up a little before the install.

 

Super easy, the only thing is I wish I bought one of the plugs for the hole (when hauling rock/dirt) and I do think with a shortbed It needs one of those offset *****. I have a full squarenose trailer and it comes way to close to the car for my comfort

 

i did mine post-bedliner. the lip is so small i wouldnt worry about it. i just put a little paint for rust prevention. FWIW, i ran the hole saw backwards to cut thru the liner just in case it might chip.

 

I dont know if someone has already mentioned this but, when I drilled the 4 inch hole I used a piece of plywood with the same hole over the mark in the bed, does that make sense. Pretty much a template. It keeps the hole saw from walking all around. Couldn't remember if it was in the directions but I know I read it here awhile back. Measure, re-measure and a little cutting oil and your good to go. Took me longer than most about 6 hours

 

Any way to drill the hole from under the bed, using the hitch bracket as a guide?

Anybody using the B&W 5th wheel companion in a short bed? I really want this hitch for my Megacab but worry a little about not having a slider. Thanks!

 

I have a friend in our RVing group that has a B&W 5th wheel companion hitch in his 2003 3500 SRW Quad Cab short bed. Both rear pillars on his cab are dented up.

Rusty