I have the same trailer and TV as you do. I went with the B&W companion hitch because of it's strength. You're right that it is heavy, however, the head of the hitch comes off separately so that you're not lifting the entire unit. I've read that some gooseneck adapters will put additional stress on the fifth wheel, so make sure you buy one that won't void the warranty. Ask Grand Design what they think.

BobL Welcome to the family and the forum!
I can't touch the question at hand other than a personal preference, but I saw that this was your first post I will take this opportunity to share this with you. The Moderators have taken the time and effort to create a welcome letter to help the new members navigate the forum and get the most from it. The letter is at https://gdrvowners.com/forum/main-fo...to-new-members

Enjoy the new toy, but stay away from the mods compilation unless you have lots of $$$ and time.

You may want to look at the Reese Goosebox. It is the only gooseneck type of hitch that I am aware is approved by Lippert not to void the warranty. I have heard some good things about the Andersen as well but if we decide to go 5th wheel in the future I will very likely go Reese Goosebox so no lifting at all and have the bed free and clear when not towing. As well since I don't have the factory puck/goose neck in mine I will likely go B&W gooseneck hitch with the 4" offset ball.

Rob

BobL

Welcome to our owners technical forum.

You have found a rather complex set of parts to connect your 5th wheel to your truck .
I see several product names that Grand Design and LCI will not be comfortable with . . . check carefully as to whether this will affect your warranty.

The position of the trailer pin within the truck box has to comprehend several things. If you move it back to provide additional clearance to the cab while turning, the "wings" of the pin box will be at risk of impacting the side rails of the box in a turn.

Connecting to a ball in the bed of the truck is more complicated than connecting with most 5th wheel hitches. You have to position the hitch ball directly under the coupler and you can't see this from the driver's seat. A traditional 5th wheel hitch slides together with more tolerance for being out of alignment. The exceptions to this are the Andersen ball and socket (but at least this connection is high enough to see) or the auto slider hitch that needs more careful alignment when connecting because of the wedge that turns the hitch to move it back and forth.

There is a lot to be said for the KISS principle in hitches. I like my manual slider for this reason. I can connect the hitch from any direction and in the aft position, the hitch is easily visible out the back window of the truck. Hitching in this position leaves lots of room between the truck and 5th wheel for opening/closing the tailgate or the front storage compartment of the trailer. The two halves of this hitch are considerably lighter than a similar auto slider hitch.

Lots of pros and cons to any style of hitch . . . I am sure that others will weigh in!

Rob

I am going to straight out tell you not to use the Andersen Ranch adapter. That style of product puts tremendous torsional forces on the frame, and for that reason no frame manufacturer that I know of will approve them. Now that is a different product than the Andersen Ultimate hitch https://andersenhitches.com/Catalog/...onnection.aspx which will not apply torsional force to the frame. I and many others have used the Ultimate hitch to great success over several years. It does require a couple of minutes to take the bed frame in and out, but it weighs 35 lbs. Mine is hanging on the wall at the moment. The Reese Goosebox is another approach that Lippert actually endorses. It has its own loyal following and seems to be a solid product. I have considered it myself as the next step because it makes getting a clean bed even easier, but I have not satisfied myself that I will have good cab clearance with a Ram short bed. The Andersen Ultimate has quite a bit of offset available, and gives all the clearance I need.

I encourage you to search this forum and others on the Andersen Ultimate or the Reese Goosebox in conjunction with a Ram shortbed. Pay attention as to whether a poster has a long or short bed, and whether they use the OEM 5th wheel hitch option, or something like the B&W offset ball. They all affect the clearance you can expect.

I just switched from a goose neck set up on my old trailer to the Companion 5th wheel set up. I had the B&W turnover ball and just a basic goose neck on 5th wheel. Worst ride Ive ever experienced. Tensed up the whole time. If you do the goose neck I would try one of the couplers that provide cushioning. I've only pulled it from the dealership to storage, but the difference was night and day. My pin box is the basic rigid set up, but the companion provides some dampening. I am towing this weekend and hope that I continue to see a difference. If not I may upgrade my pin box to one that has dampeners .

tisonia Another one to welcome!

I run the Reese goosebox on my 320G and Megacab Ram (same bed as yours). No issues to date and the ride is plush with the airbag built into the hitch. I believe the Goosebox retains any frame warranty as well.

Do you have the factory 5th wheel option?

There was a good thread a couple weeks ago that discussed the Andersen vs the Goosebox. I've had both and outlined my experience there:

https://gdrvowners.com/towing-and-hi...reese-goosebox

I have the B&W turnover, but it puts the ball in the same location as factory.

Thank you for that info! So to recap, B&W but not the offset ball that is available. As long as the ball is in the same location as a factory OEM ball, I have more confidence that it will work for me. Very tempting now.

Correct. I used standard height ball, no offset. However, the 320G cap might be shaped differently. I have been careful on backing up and not going too much of an angle.

Just took delivery of my 303rls I have 2019 Ram 2500 Hemi, dealer installed the Anderson hitch we tried connection both ways and I have no clearance issues including I have rails for bed for bed cover. We did the turn test and were around 85 deg. We use our truck for other things so with 10 min to remove hitch and have the whole bed was great for us.