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5th Wheel Towing Prep Group Problem

AWWW TC

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I need a favor from those who have the 5th wheel prep group. How far apart (side to side) are your pucks when you measure from center to center of the holes? I need to know a fairly specific measurement if possible.

Now, if you care to read the reason why you can proceed to read (the book) below:

I bought a Reese 5th wheel hitch adapter and it does not fit. I have made every adjustment possible to the bracket and have contacted the company about fitment. They had me take measurements and then reported back it was measuring exactly as it should. They then had me measure the distance between the pucks on my truck and said it was a Ram issue. As you can see from the pictures, my front measure at 38 ¾” (maybe even a 1/16” shy of that) and the rear measure at 39 3/16”. They sent me the attached diagram that shows they should be 39” exactly. I know being off by such a small amount doesn’t seem like much, but that is all the distance I need to make the bracket fit – it’s so close!

I contacted the service department at my dealership and was immediately told they couldn’t do anything about this and that I needed to contact Ram Care (I was very disappointed in how they instantly tried to pass me along and not help me with my issue). So, I contacted Ram Care and their response was to have the service department measure my truck and compare it to other trucks on the lot. I took the truck in and the service manager reluctantly measured the truck and commented that one did seem a little off from the others he measured. The next day I received a phone call from Ram Care and they said the service manager told them my truck measured the same as the other trucks. I insisted that he told me something different and lied to them, but they “had” to take his word for it. I could tell he did not want to deal with my issues – which makes me wonder what the point of being a service manager would be? I asked if I could take it to another dealer but was told since it was already looked at it wouldn’t do any good.

I asked what options I had since the entire purpose of buying this truck was to tow my 5th wheel! I was told the only way they would take care of my issue is if my bracket was Mopar – the service manager had told them my bracket was Reese. I once again contacted Reese and was told my bracket was exactly the same as the Mopar bracket with just a different sticker. In fact, they come off of the exact same machine. I called Ram Care back about this and they have not returned my call (from about a month ago).

At this point I am stuck. I’m not sure who I should pressure to resolve my issue or if I need to consider having someone fabricate my bracket. If your measurements show a wide range of variance on the pucks, then I will have to fabricate. If they come back showing mine is off, then I will further pressure Ram Care or my dealer.

Sorry for the long post. I appreciate the feedback.
image001.pngIMG_2908.jpgIMG_2909.jpgIMG_2905.jpg
 

Zrojas

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I can measure mine when I get back home this weekend. But, in the mean time, maybe @RamCares here can help you get in touch with the right people.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 

justlkn

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I will try and measure mine also this weekend but I already have the Demco adapter plate and Reese hitch installed.
 

RLange

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I have Demco perp bracket also fits perfectly. If you look under your box those brackets just bolt to the frame. It maybe just a shim or slot a bolt holes.
Demco also makes under the box brackets and I don't think they use the factory placement.
Just a few options for you to consider.
 
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gmac

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i just measured mine, the front is 39" and the back looks to be 39 3/16". truck was just built in November
 

Wileykid

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Just measured mine, front is 39", and back looks like 39 1/4 or 3/16".

'19 3500 built in June

Just from the picture, that front sure doesn't look right.
 
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I will try and measure mine also this weekend but I already have the Demco adapter plate and Reese hitch installed.
When i installed my demco adapter, I couldn't get it out without loosening the bolts. Did your fit better?
 

RLange

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When i installed my demco adapter, I couldn't get it out without loosening the bolts. Did your fit better?
I had to remove all the shims on one corner and one shim on the other 3 corners. But I didn't have any trouble side to side.
 

AWWW TC

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Thanks to those who have been able to check and reply so far. It seems the back distance is pretty consistent of being about 3/16" over - but the holes are also larger which would allow a little more room for the bracket to fit. With the adjustments I can get three parts of the bracket to fit, but I can never get it in the front right puck. My father in-law commented the puck looked off when looking at it from the rear of the truck - and that was before I even told him about the problem.

Mine is a 2500 built in August of '19.
 

slimchance

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i have the B&W Companion hitch .. it has some adjustment in the puck locations ..... when i installed it i did need to loosen one of the puck to get it in and then tightened it up .... no real problems .... no real way to measure it with the hitch in place and that is the way i keep it ... sorry .... seems strange the Reese would not have some adjustments ... maybe talk to eTrailer tech
 

MB390

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the front pucks line up fine, the rears barely line up and when you tighten the bolts, it binds up. The demco guy I talked to said the frame mount puck may need the be realigned. I looked at the mounting on the frame, it soes not look like it would have any wiggle room. anyone have this problem?
 

MB390

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I think i need to re title my post to ram puck system alignment problem. I returned my demco adapter for another one. The second demco did not fit either. So i returned it. Ordered a reese from Etrailer. The reese does not line up in the front. I talked to the company that makes the reese and also the ram. The are identical except the ram oem has a Ram sticker on it. So the tech support guy said he hear of this problem , told me to measure the front pucks,they should be 39" o/c, mine are 38 3/4 o/c. So lets see what the dealer says
 

MB390

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I have the exact same problem,my measurement is 38 3/4.see my post in the towing section. Have you had any resolution

Mine is also made aug 2019
 
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rsday75

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My Demco was the same. Fronts good. Rears bind up once the bolts are tightened. I can get it out by lifting from the front, and can get it back in the truck if I get the fronts in and jump on the rear.
It is in the truck now, and I hope towing our 5th wheel this season will somehow self adjust the rears the 1/16" I need for it to just drop in....We will see....
 

AWWW TC

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MB390, I sent you a personal message.

If anyone was curious, I wasn’t crazy. It turns out to be a major problem for Ram. The service department at my dealership finally paid attention to my problem and actually became very helpful in getting Ram to do something.

I’m told a third party is working on a type of shim and parts should be in soon. This will be the first one for my dealership so they aren’t quite sure what to expect but they did say they have to take the bed off. It could be a frame issue as they even tried new front pucks on mine. The rear pucks are adjustable apparently, but not the front. Hopefully it will be fixed by next week.
 

Tsys100718

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Just my 2 pennies worth! I bought a 2019 RAM 3500, CC w/DRW and the puck system. I ordered a Demco adapter plate from Amazon and it fit fine. No issues installing or removing. I use a harbor freight foldable engine hoist with an extended arm to lift the fifth wheel hitch and adapter out as a single unit. NOW, the first time I twisted the locking rams into place, I had to use a 3lb hammer.
 

nytmare

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Like slimchance above, I have the B&W Companion hitch and have no problem with it. Upon initially installing it, I did have to slightly adjust the mounting locations to fit the puck holes, but it wasn't an issue and the adjustments were very slight. Does the Reese hitch have any adjustability? I'm glad I went with B&W.
 

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