Hey all - as the title says, looking for suggestions on a tonneau cover that’s compatible with fifth wheel hitch when not towing. I have a 3500 short box 2025.
Anything working well for you guys?
*I don’t yet have the hitch installed - I’ll be letting the RV dealer know what truck I ended up with tomorrow. Given the short box, you guys suggest a sliding hitch for the 5th wheel?
A lot depends on what 5er you have whether you need a slider or not. I've got a Keystone Cougar and like most newer campers, the cap has an arc to it so the corners don't impact the cab of the truck during tight turns.
There's a lot of noise about being able to turn 90° with a camper hooked up but truly you don't want to be putting your camper's suspension in that kind of bind. I've never owned a travel trailer that could jack knife 90° either and I've never had to turn that sharp with any camper.
I had a PullRite auto-slider in a short bed that worked really well. The negatives were that it required a special plate on the kingpin of any camper I might want to pull (not a big deal if you only pull the one 5er), and it was quite heavy. I also had a Curt manual slider (stored in the basement now). The negatives were that it rolls on rails and there is a bit of slop between the rollers and the hitch, making the hitch pretty noisy. It is very heavy, requiring an engine hoist to lift it out of the truck of the bed. It is also very tall. On its lowest setting, the release handle poked above the bed rails enough to prevent use of a tonneau cover. There is one campsite that I have used four times over the years that requires me to hitch up at an angle and sliding the hitch back gave me extra tailgate clearance, which was nice, but that's the only time I ever used the slider function.
I've recently changed to the Reese Goose Box and continually wonder why I didn't do it sooner. The only things in my bed are a B&W goose ball and anchors that stow in a bespoke plastic case when not in use. The Goose Box replaces the pin box on the camper and weighs approximately 100 pounds less than the old pinbox and 5th wheel hitch combined. I can't imagine going back to a conventional 5th wheel hitch.
A soft roll up tonneau cover is going to cost the least in lost bed real estate. However, it's going to flap in the wind as you go down the road and wear out faster than a hard cover. Most soft covers use Velcro to fasten in place which gets to be a pain. All other style covers are going to use up about 9 to 12 inches of space at the front of the bed. Retractable covers will use that space below the bed rails while hard roll up and folding covers use that space above the bed rails. Folding covers can give a bit more bed space but will block the rear window when doing so. The rigid roll up does not block the window.
I've got the RealTruck BAK Revolver X4s Hard Roll-Up Tonneau Cover, it's not perfect, but the company is very responsive and helpful. I haven't had any interference problem with the side rails contacting the Goose Box. The RealTruck BAK Revolver X4ts Hard Roll-Up Tonneau Cover has T-slot rails that allow the attachment of various accessories but cause the rails to intrude into the bed space more presenting a risk of contact with a king pin.
