5th wheel hitch and crew cab setup

[mfsray01]

Can anyone tell me what mods if any are needed to set up a '05 Chevy 1500 4-door crew cab with the Scamp supplied hitch? Scamp's site indicates the only 'critical' measurement is from the corner of the bumper to the hitch shouldn't be over 60". But I talked to a camper dealer and he immediately went into a dialogue about needing a slider hitch, etc for the short bed crew cab and then when I told him the Scamp-supplied hitch needed to be 'cut to fit your truck, he went off the deep end saying they wouldn't install a hitch that had to be modified out of the box. I hung up on him.


Because the location of the hitch ball cover actually extends out in front of the camper, it would appear to me the only thing I need to check is the minimum clearance of the sides of the bed (48 inches).

Ray in TN

[Mary F]

Hi, Ray, I split your question out into a new thread, so it will get more notice.

And now, I'm moving it from Problem Solving to Towing, where it just might catch the eye of someone who has direct experience with what you're going to do.

[Fran L]

We had a similar experience with our Frontier Crew Cab short bed (5') and our 2005 19' Scamp. The shop, which was in Texas where we purchased the trailer, finally did the work but made it explicit that they would not be held liable for ANYTHING that might happen.
So far our hitch setup has been fine - plenty of clearance and no unusual issues on the road with oscillation/bouncing. You have to make sure you have clearance both with the back of the truck bed hitting the Scamp when turning tight and also with the loft of the Scamp hitting the cab of the truck when turning tight....plus the clearance of the side rails of the truck bed and the underside of the Scamp loft.

What we did was call the Scamp welding shop - the fellow there was really helpful and was happy to supply the exact dimensions needed. He said, yeah we put one in a Frontier Crew short bed and this is what we did. So maybe they can give you direct experience information for your truck. Just call Scamp and tell them you want to talk to the welding shop.

Picture below.

Fran in NM

[mfsray01]

Thank you for your response. You're telling me what I have been able to guess. I will be calling Scamp tomorrow as I decided to buy late Friday after they closed. I figured the parts dept. could help but will ask for teh welding shop, too.

[Fran L]

Good luck with your Scamp! You may have to locate a more flexible shop to install your hitch...most places have NEVER seen anything like it and get really nervous! You can have the guys at your shop speak directly with the Scamp folks if necessary to ease their concerns.
Have fun!
Fran

[Darwin Maring]

The Scamp hitch requires U to drill holes through your fender wells and through the bed. It is basically crap (As far as I am concerned)

I purchased and installed a Putnman Firehawk hitch (Now out of business) in the bed and it is removable so I can use the truck as a truck if need be. I fabricated a sliding hitch to fit the Firehawk however I have not had to use the sliding option. If you want a picture let me know and I will email you one.

[Donna D.]

About six months ago, Scamp completely redesigned the 5th wheel hitch for the truck. If you're on Facebook here's a link to the pics: https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/se...0279431&type=3

[Fran L]

Thanks for pointing that out Donna! If I were doing it all over again I'd try to get hold of the new hitch that Scamp is selling. However, you probably have the old hitch from the used (I assume) Scamp you are buying and may not have the luxury of waiting to order the new style. If you do have time and circumstance it would be worth looking into.
Fran

[Darwin Maring]

Thanks Donna,

I Looked at the new Scamp hitch and it is professional. The bed rails remain in place and the hitch can be removed so you can haul stuff in the truck. This could have saved me much time, $$ and labor had they done it years ago.

[Fran L]

Does anyone know if they are actually selling this new hitch yet? Price?
Fran

[mfsray01]

Thanks for all your responses. I looked at the 'new hitch' and do like it. I am ordering a new one as the old one was set up for a Toyota PU so would be cut down. Hopefully,that is what Scamp is selling now (even though it doesn't look like it on the web site) and I will ask tomorrow when I call. All of you have been a great help. Ray

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Fran L

Does anyone know if they are actually selling this new hitch yet? Price?
Fran

I think so. It looks like the old stuff is still on their website. It would be worth a call...

[Cyndi B.]

This is what my husband is looking for. He improvised (Oh God) our scamp hitch so we can pull our sticky 5ver.

[Steve Hammel]

I asked about it on the Scamp facebook page and they responded that yes it is now available. Unfortunately it is in the upper $500 range while the old style hitch is approx $150.

On a standard 5th rig you want the center of the hitch to be at least 1 inch in front of the Tow Vehicle axle. Mostly because the bed weight on a standard 5th can be a thousand pounds or more. If it is behind the axle you will tend to pop wheelies when you hit a big bump loosing steering control while your front wheels are off the ground. On the Scamp 5th the weight is not so extreme thus it is not as important to mount in front of the axle. In fact I have seen Scamp 5ths with home made setups to convert them to bumper pulls, pretty weird looking.

[mfsray01]

Just called Scamp Parts Dept. and the new hitch is $495 plus freight but I'm going with it just for ease of mind. Thanks again for your hep on this subject.

Ray in TN

[Steve Hammel]

I went back and reread my previous correspondence with Scamp and you are correct they are $495+shipping. Not sure where I got the upper $500's number from. Also not sure if that included the rails. I am looking for a used Reese hitch and will then weld some 3" stock across the top to mount a ball on.

[Cyndi B.]

We are to going with a Reese hitch so that we can also pull our sticky 5ver. The beauty of your husband being the manager of a major trailer manufacturer.

[mfsray01]

Hitch is installed and did the first pull with it when I brought it home and everything worked fine. However, it is still 'nose up' when connected. I talked to Scamp about the sidewall clearance (48" max.) and they said I shouldn't have a problem but if I did, I might have to 'flip the axle' for some extra (3") height on the trailer. Can anyone tell me what is involved in 'flipping the axle?'

[Steve Hammel]

Is the hitch adjustable? I have the new style hitch "converted 5th wheel hitch" and it is height adjustable. If you can't adjust yours try going to 14 inch tires. I put on 205 r 14's and it raised it a good couple of inches.

[Darwin Maring]

Is it welded in place?