I bought a 2019 Ram 2500 Tradesman short bed with trailer towing package as a base truck. My plan is to build the truck out the way I want it built, not the way Mopar wants me to order it. I've added amplifiers (x3), sub and new speakers in all four door and the corners of the dash. I added nerf bars. And now I am installing the factory 5th wheel prep kit option. The parts are Mopar OEM, ordered from Mopar Parts Online or something to that effect. Genuine Mopar Fifth Wheel Hitch Prep Kit SKU - 8221 5838. $252.75 with shipping. This option would cost quite a bit more if it was installed by the factory.
This video is meant to supplement the instructions included with the kit. This is not a substitute for the instructions. I am not a professional with video equipment. This was shot using my Pixel 3 phone. Holding the camera in one hand and trying to piece together parts with the other hand is a challenge and you can see this in the video as I struggle to get parts in place then suddenly the parts are assembled...yeah...I cut about 15 minutes of cussing and swearing out of the video each time.
Start to finish, this project took me approximately 6 hours. A lot of that time was spent looking for RU-vid to help me get through the instructions. Hopefully this 8 minute video helps you get the job done in half the time it took me. Likelihood is it will waste 8 minutes of your life that you'll never get back.
There are 3 bolts holding the bed on for each side (total of 6 bolts). An 8 foot bed has 4 bolts on each side. Loosen one side, remove bolts from the other side. Lift the side you removed bolts from. Install parts. Then replace the bolts you removed, but only tighten a few turns. Then remove the bolts on the other side and repeat. I used my back in the inside of the wheel well to lift that side of the bed and placed two 2x4s between the frame and the bottom of the bed. If you need more space than two 2x4s then you will need to disconnect fuel gate hose and wires connections. If you do it the way I did then you will not need to disconnect anything.
Remove the spare tire (that is in the instructions). And remove the tailgate. There is a wire harness in the bottom of the tailgate that connects to the back of the bed that most be removed in order to remove the tailgate. Only reason for the tailgate remove is to give you room for the straight edge you use to measure off of for the holes. If you have a thinner straight edge then you won't need to remove the tailgate.
Ask questions and I'll try to answer them. This project is super easy. But the instructions do not cover how to remove the bed of the truck and you will have to do that in order to make space to work. The rear mounts will not fit in without raising the bed.
28 июн 2020
