bed rail clearance????

[carco]

Pulled a 38' enclosed gooseneck yesterday and found bed rail to trailer clearance problem the hard way! Backed into my driveway for the first time and contacted the bed rail, minor damage, but later in the day around a corner the trailer wheels found a lower place and dented the bed rail slightly. Does anyone have a minimum spec for bed clearance to gooseneck body, neck is fully enclosed over the bed?? bob........

[David Utz]

Assuming that a gooseneck is the same as a 5th wheel, Reese recommends a minimum of 6" clearance with 8" clearance being preferred. Depending on the terrene you cross, some can get by with less, others will need more. I was running 5" for a while and had no problems but it was too close for comfort. I am now running 7".

[carco]

Thanks David, I need to measure but I think clearance is about 5-6 inches. Todat I lowered the hitch raising the trailer another 2 inches but still did not measure. If needed I can go more and then I will modify the axles raiseing the trailer a little to level it out front to rear. This gooseneck front end is like a fifth wheel camper front nose aera over the pickup bed. bob............