Bed liner and 5th wheel Hitch???

[Dora]

Can you mount a 5th wheel hitch in a bed that has a plastic bed liner in it?
Thanks

[Bob Boucher, Ontario]

Hi Dora:

What I did was cut the bed liner where the hitch rails were so that they had direct contact with the metal floor of the truck box. This was recommanded by Reese. I have had this set-up for eight years and it has worked fine for me.

You can not mount the rails over the plastic liner, I was told that would be very dangerous.

The bed liner was a bit of a beast to cut but my hitch installer did all the cussing and cutting while I cheered him on

Hope this helps.

Bob

[Jerry]

Bob is correct. If the hitch is mounted on top of the liner, it will wear into the liner and the bolts will loosen. Use only metal to metal contact and it is highly advised to use grade 8 bolts, hardened washers and self-locking nuts for the mounting.
Jerry

[RV Master]

Hi,

Its Not a good idea, the liner will flatten out and you will have loose rails. Put the Hitch in first and cut out the liner to go around it if you want the liner.

[Stoney]

A spray-in liner is the solution I used.
Install the hitch rails after the liner is in.

[Bob Boucher, Ontario]

Stoney:

As of 2000, Reese would not recommand your installation and said it would void warranty! I have not inquired since so anyone looking at this should check with their hitch manufacturer first, just to be on the safe side.

Bob

[Stoney]

That is some new info I hadn't heard about.

I installed it that way on my previous TV and also on my current TV, using the same hitch: a Reese 15K Pro Series Qik-Slide. I have not had any bolts loosen or any other problems.

I'm sure they have a reason to make the disclaimer, but I guess I'll leave it the way it is and just keep checking it often.

[Bob Boucher, Ontario]

Stoney:

May well have been over caution on their part! With Product Liability Claims the way they were at the time, and still are, manufacturers tended to err on the side of caution. This is still in evidence in most instruction manuals you get these days, one page of instructions following two or three pages of dire warnings!

Glad your set up worked well for you.

Bob

[camping dutchman]

Originally Posted by Stoney

A spray-in liner is the solution I used.
Install the hitch rails after the liner is in.

For our Pull Rite, I had the hitch installed, removed the hitch and had liner installed. Just my preference, didn't want someone drilling through my nw bed liner and maybe having an issue.

[tr4petty]

The folks that installed my B&W Companion Hitch told me to ditch the bed liner. They said you would have to cut a big hole out of the liner if I kept it and then I would have trouble later on caused by the water, snow, etc. getting trapped between the liner and bed. I asked them about a spray liner and they said that would be OK. I took the plastic liner out, drove the truck to a Line-X store, had them spray the bed. Then had the 5er hitch installed. That was 3 years ago and no problems. Plus, I like how the Line-X liner looks!