Gooseneck in a CC short bed???

[Arkansas Crew]

The problem is:

The Sundowner horse trailer dealer says we need the centerline of the gooseneck ball to be 36" back from the front edge of the bed. This puts the centerline approximately 2" ahead of the rear axle.

All of our local hitch places only have the Drawtite brand underbed mounts that put us at 33" and 5". We want the removeable ball and don't want anything sticking up in the bed.

The Drawtite mounts 5" ahead.
The B&W mounts 5" ahead.
The Una-Goose mounts 36.5" back, but nobody installs it locally.
Curt Mfg's website doesn't specify.
Cody Hitch's website doesn't specify.
All cost about the same.

The truck is a 2002 2500HD Crew 4x4 short bed.

Who am I missing and what have you done? HELP!!!

[windhorse]

Hi,
What did you end up doing? I am having same problem.

[APR2000]

You really aren't locked in to where you locate the ball in front of the axle by the hitch. Turning the trailer sharply if it doesn't have a tapered nose is another issue the closer you are to the cab with a short bed. If you use a platform mounted gooseneck ball, such as Una-Goose or Turnover, you can mount the ball at 36" or 38" as long as there is nothing blocking under the truck. Just get the mounting plates for your hitch and make sure that there is no frame interference with where you need to mount the platform. Go to a horse show and look at a few rigs.

[Rilo]

Have you looked at the Popup Industries ball? I have one and it's great. I beleive it will solve your problems. Look for them at WWW.POPUPHITCH.COM

[Ranger354]

Just got thru installing a self manufactured GN hitch in my long bed. It is 49" from the rear of the bed. I would just look at your cross rib supports and make sure it is clear of them and is an inch or two in front of the rear axle. Go for it. Mine is made of 8" and 6" channel iron. With a 20,000# threaded ball. The channel extends over the frame on either side and is welded to a custom cut piece of plate. The plate is inturn bolted to the frame.

The more moving parts you have the more grease you need.

Anyone interested in pictures just email me.
Rangerjbf@aol.com

[pullinpower]

Welcome to the forum fellow arkansan,I have the B&W turnover ball in mine,love it.Just make sure the trailer doesnt hit your cab or the rear glass.

[Diesel Girl]

I had a B&W turnover ball hitch mounted in my short bed truck. I never measured it's exact location but I'm assuming it was installed according to manufacturer's specs (by an outfit who installs alot of this brand of hitches). My Sundowner trailer (2 horse straight load with 6 ft. dress) has no interference problems with the cab of the truck and I can keep the tailgate down while hitching up. I lucked out when I got my Sundowner with it's coupler configuration and I'm in the process of upgrading to a 2003 model and stayed with Sundowner because of that. (meaning that the nose is angled at 30-degrees and the coupler is all they way in the nose angle)

I can measure it tonight if you'd like.