Fifth wheel questions

JMO, if you move it that far and you won't like the ride.

Legal? Not sure. Was always told it was illegal to drill or weld a frame unless you're certified.
Safe? Not if your king pin falls on or behind the center of the rear axle.
Weaker? Without a doubt. Never heard of holes making something stronger.
Heavy? You better have some help.

 

I'd look into adding a track to the rear or replacing yours with the longer one ...so you have more travel ( like the heavy haulers have)

P.S. Less hassle to put a box or two on the trailer.....

 

Never leave a hole empty.



Put bolts in any unused holes to help keep the integrity.

 

That's what I say too^

 

Completely legal, I've moved the fifth wheel back on almost every truck I've owned. 2 feet is a bit much tho. You may have problems with weight. Completely safe to drill or weld to a frame rail. Not safe to drill or weld to the frame flange. That's the top and bottom part of the C channel. Make sure you measure right, while it's safe to drill holes in a frame, you don't want more than you need. Or to close together. And as mentioned above, don't leave holes empty. Put a bolt in them. The fifth wheel and slide assembly is freaking heavy. But a cheap come a long and a stout tree will move it.

Any quality hardware store or machine shop will have good drill bits. And you're gonna want Atleast a 3/4 horsepower half inch drill for this. Not a job for a cheap 3/8ths drill. And keep oiling that bit as you drill.

 

Drilling holes in a frame is a big job. I switched 5th wheels on my '85 359, and many of the holes didn't line up ( naturally) Can't tell you how many drill bits I went through, that's some tough metal. They make a tool that clamps to the frame with a drill ( kind of like a sideways drill press), that makes it a lot easier. And yes, those 5th wheels weigh a ton. Best to have a skid steer or backhoe ready, as I couldn't do it myself. Make sure it's worth what you want to do before doing it.

 

That's called a mag drill. I'd love to have one but can't find a decent quality one for less than about 750 bucks.

 

Oh one last thing. For what it's worth, the mechanics that come by our yard have to move back almost every fifth wheel of guys signing on and getting a step deck. can't believe how many guys buy a truck with no understanding of how valuable a sliding fifth wheel is.