volney21771
Member
Plan to purchase 2011 3670RL. Have F250 2007 Short bed& plan to purchase a Hensly BD3 hitch. Does anyone have the dimensions for installing the rails? Any problems moving the pin 3 in forward of the axle? Thanks, Woody
Hitch installation on short bed f250 2011
- Thread starter volney21771
- Start date
danemayer
Well-known member
Hi volney21771,
Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum. Here's a link to the manuals section of the forum where we have BD3 documentation. I'm not sure it addresses your exact question, but I expect other owners will chime in shortly with some opinions based on their experience.
Another option for you would be to call Hensley and get their guidance. (800) 410-6580.
Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum. Here's a link to the manuals section of the forum where we have BD3 documentation. I'm not sure it addresses your exact question, but I expect other owners will chime in shortly with some opinions based on their experience.
Another option for you would be to call Hensley and get their guidance. (800) 410-6580.
Bob&Patty
Founders of SoCal Chapter
In a nut shell. The hitches go where they go. All hitches come with exact mounting dimensions. Trying to move the rails forward 3" may not work for several reasons. It would put the front cap 3" closer to the back of your S/B truck.....not a good idea. You may not be able to let your tailgate down when hooking and unhooking. The rear of your truck may hit the front of the coach on turns. You could bore a hole in top of your fuel tank or something else. And lastly, if your hitch comes with mounting brackets that go on the side of the truck frame...the mounting holes are in the frame at that spot...period. I personally would not do it. The mounting positions are set in stone for a reason. JMHO
Here is something else to consider. You need to crunch the numbers on your truck. I think the GVWR on a BH3670 is 15500#. It will have a pin weight of about 3K. IMHO, you dont have enough truck "legally" to pull that size of trailer. If you still have the owners manual, get it and read what all the specs are for 5th towing "truck to truck". Remember, the GVW ratings are with everything loaded and ready for travel. My '07 2500 Chevy LB 4WD CC D/A was rated at 22K total.....truck, trailer (loaded), fuel, people, dog, weight of the hitch (150#) etc,etc. It all adds up very quickly. I hope your truck is not gas powered.
Here is something else to consider. You need to crunch the numbers on your truck. I think the GVWR on a BH3670 is 15500#. It will have a pin weight of about 3K. IMHO, you dont have enough truck "legally" to pull that size of trailer. If you still have the owners manual, get it and read what all the specs are for 5th towing "truck to truck". Remember, the GVW ratings are with everything loaded and ready for travel. My '07 2500 Chevy LB 4WD CC D/A was rated at 22K total.....truck, trailer (loaded), fuel, people, dog, weight of the hitch (150#) etc,etc. It all adds up very quickly. I hope your truck is not gas powered.
Jim.Allison
Well-known member
Any of the rail manufacturers will have complete instructions. I installed a Curtis in my driveway easy enough. An air wrench is nice and a torque wrench is necessary. I bought one from Harbor freight. DO NOT attempt to move it forward or backward. Place it exactly where the rail manufacturer instructs you to place it for your vehicle. The Hensley is a perfect hitch you will enjoy it. It is money well spent.
Jim.Allison
Well-known member
May I ask why you want to move the pin forward or backward? And also, this would require a modification to the hardware provided with your kit. And or fabrication of parts. Get ready to do some truck "yoga." I was not prepared for the crawling around I had to do. Not a teen anymore, what seemed easy once is more difficult now. But I did get dome good exercise and stretching in, along with some bruised knuckles. But the outcome was excellent and Amy and I had a great time doing it together. As suggested earlier, check your weights. An easy way to do it is go straight to your tires (that should be on your truck) and check the maximum loading. If the rear axel weight of your truck plus the pin weight of the rig is anywhere close to the load rating of one tire X 2 then your truck is too small. For a 3/4 ton, a pin of 2300 lbs is cutting it close and you are technically "illegal." And if you are pulling any rig in the 36 foot area, you need a diesel. Just reinforcing what others have said. It's in the math, just do the math. You will probably find that pulling it is not the problem but the pin weight is a problem. The absolute limitation is is the tires, PERIOD. The best 17 inch tire manufactured is about 3200 LBS at 80 psi. That at 6400 lbs on those tires you are loaded to the max. The rear of your truck is already at least 2000 lbs plus another 300 lbs for the Hensley and rail hardware. So you are 2300 lbs load before you even start, Fuel and passenger get added to that to some extent along with junk you have accumulated in the truck. What is left is available for pin load. But you can not even use all that because you need some service factor, so here is where you MAY stand cause I don't know your math. Ideal tires 3200 X 2 = 6400. 6400 X 80% = 5120 lbs. 5120 - 2500 (or more) = 2620 remaining for the pin weight. MAX. And guess what your published loading information is not even close to this. You will have to install some load levelers to get by. How do I know all this, well I did exactly like you were thinking of doing, I did not do my math before I bought. I thought I did, but it turns out I did not do it well enough. I'm right there at the limit as you would be. I have plenty of pulling and stopping power, I just don't have suspension and tire rating. The cure for this is having some springs made by an industrial spring shop, or airbags/load levelers, and 17.5 or 19 in wheels with commercial tires. But still if you get pulled over by some really ambitious police officer, you will be cited for running your truck over loaded unless you can somehow change the load rating of your truck, which I don't know if that can be done or not. Do your math then buy. Do not buy then do the math. A gen set is 300 lbs, two golf cart batts are 166 lbs minus the about 50 for the original one, an inverter/charger is 40 to 70 lbs depending, Mommas basement stuff and your misc tools and junk is about 300 lbs so it all starts getting up there pretty good. And those single tires are going to get a good workout. Now all that is not directly translated to additional pin weight, but a large fraction of it is, about 60 to 70% because of the basement location. One thing that can be done is add a spare tire holder with tool boxes to the back of the rig, then you can move a lot of your heavy supplies to the rear of the rig which will lighten the pin, and Momma can keep her extra stuff in the basement. You can also make sure that you put much of the stuff you carry with you in the back of the rig rather than the front, I'm not talking about everything, I'm talking about books, and any other non essential stuff that you carry in the front that can just as easily travel in the back. This is a science and requires study. I don't want a dually, but the dually guys have this problem licked. It us SRW guys that have to watch our step.
