Advice needed - New Ford Dually without factory prep kit

[jm_bc_]

Hello all-

I am new to this forum, and this is my first post. Thank you for the opportunity to join and participate!

We have just ordered a new 2021 Reflection 367BHS for a cross-Canada trip in 2021 and I am working on sourcing the best hitching solution. Our 2020 Ford F-350 DRW did NOT come with the factory Gooseneck/5th hitch prep package, and so I am looking for recommendations/options and would appreciate your advice!

We have an 8-year old medically complex daughter, and will be travelling with a wheelchair & special needs bike trailer and so one of our primary concerns is having space in the truck box for day trips from camp in each destination. Given that, after some research I am thinking a Gooseneck hitch with a Reese Goose Box might be our best way to go, as once we are unhitched it is very easy to flip the ball over and have the whole bed available to use. I have a couple questions:

1) Is there any benefit to having my local dealer order me the Ford Gooseneck/5th prep parts and get that installed, or should I go with something like the B&W Turnoverball hitch install instead?

2) I have done quite a bit of research into the Reese Goose Box and it seems like a good solution - is there any other options similar to this that I am missing?

Thanks in advance - please let me know if there is any further info that would be helpful.

Cheers, Josh

[NordicNevs]

We have the goosebox and love it. My suggestion though is get an air pump such as the viair just in case the internal bag loses air over time.

If you go that route then just have a local place install a B&W turn over ball and call it good.

Lots of options for your truck but the B&W can offer the goosebox or a companion traditional hitch.


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[FT4NOW]

I've heard great things about the Goosebox and if I get another 5th wheel I plan to use the Goosebox. I dont think you need the Ford specific gooseneck connection, B+W is a good choice. I do recommend getting the additional trailer plug connection in the truck bed whatever route you go. By the way, welcome to the forum.

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[D2Reid]

Welcome to the forum. I have no experience with gooseneck/goosebox hitches. I have a lot of experience with after market hitching system and find them of good quality. I like E-trailer dot com, they will talk with you and are knowledgeable. I have Ford hitch in my truck, made by Reese, so other brands are ok, doesn't have to expensive Ford stuff.

I would caution you to get a hitch that has a significant greater capacity than the gross allowable weight of your Reflection. Lots of stress going on back there and I like a little robustness on components that get stressed.

Be careful in the truck bed. I have crunched some stuff back there. I had a bike rack mounted behind my truck cab over my auxiliary tank. My previous 5th wheel I had good clearance with it, bring my spanky new Momentum home from the dealer I didn't have clearance and ended up putting a huge gouge in my front cap on day 1. Also, at some point in time in your travels you probably end up with a near 90 degree turn, in your planning stage if you add that factor in you will be aware of it, so if your bike comes above the bed rail you will know you have to take it down to make the turn, or if you bike is below the bedrail you will know the effect of the swing and how much clearance you have/need.

It's fun to get creative with solutions.

[John303]

If you have a short bed truck go with the B&W. Because their "hole" is not round, you can get an offset ball that will give you an additional 4" between the ball and cab. Factory OEM puck have a round hole and thus no way to lock the ball's orientation. If you have a long bed you have more options, but B&W makes good products and you cannot go wrong with them.

I would like to switch my Reflection from Anderson to the Goose Box, but I would lose quite a bit of offset to the cab, and have not satisfied myself that it will work. Nothing wrong with the Anderson, I just like the ease of restoring the bed's usefulness.

[jm_bc_]

Hi all-

Thank you for the welcome and detailed replies, it is greatly appreciated! Based on all of your responses, I think I will go the route of the B&W Turnoverball install, and the Reese Goose Box. I forgot to mention in my original post that we have a long box dually, so cab clearance etc should not be an issue.

D2Reid (is there a way to "Tag" people in posts?) - I believe Our Reflection comes with a receiver hitch on the rear bumper, so our plan is to have a bike rack on the back of the Reflection while towing, with the bike trailer in the lower pass through storage, and the wheelchair inside the trailer, and then transition the bikes into the truck once at the destination. I will be sure to consider swing room in the bed when loading while towing - thanks for the reminder. The B&W Goose is rated @ 30k, and I plan to get the 20k rated Reese Goose Box even though the 367BHS is only 15k GVWR. I am definitely a fan of overdoing it when it comes to towing & safety!

Thanks again all! Cheers Josh

[Just Krusen]

Hi all-

Thank you for the welcome and detailed replies, it is greatly appreciated! Based on all of your responses, I think I will go the route of the B&W Turnoverball install, and the Reese Goose Box. I forgot to mention in my original post that we have a long box dually, so cab clearance etc should not be an issue.

D2Reid (is there a way to "Tag" people in posts?) - I believe Our Reflection comes with a receiver hitch on the rear bumper, so our plan is to have a bike rack on the back of the Reflection while towing, with the bike trailer in the lower pass through storage, and the wheelchair inside the trailer, and then transition the bikes into the truck once at the destination. I will be sure to consider swing room in the bed when loading while towing - thanks for the reminder. The B&W Goose is rated @ 30k, and I plan to get the 20k rated Reese Goose Box even though the 367BHS is only 15k GVWR. I am definitely a fan of overdoing it when it comes to towing & safety!

Thanks again all! Cheers Josh

Best way to tag is use the "Reply with Quote" button at the bottom right of that person's thread.

[CoChris]

....D2Reid (is there a way to "Tag" people in posts?) .....

Besides the "Reply with quote" you can tag people with the "@" symbol and their screen name. Such as @jm_bc_ This should send you a notice that you were tagged in a post and a link to that post.

Chris

[jm_bc_]

@CoChris - Got it. Thanks!

[Gary325]

Welcome to the Forum.
We have a similar set up, but I have a SRW 2020 F350 (payload is over 4500#) with the 5th wheel puck system. Any prep kit you get will work fine (for installation, the bed will have to be removed, so make sure the bed does not "raise" too much). I'm also looking to get the Reese Goosebox. The next thing is the tonneau cover. The clearance from the bed rail to the trailer is also a concern. The tonneau cover plays into that clearance: vertical and horizontal! The 2020 sits 1-2 inches lower than previous model years. The additional "thickness" on top of the bed rail (due to the tonneau cover) chews up that clearance. The other issue (the horizontal clearance) comes into play when you turn close to 90 degrees. Again the tonneau cover hardware chews up that clearance. So you loose either way: go low (to help vertical clearance), which chews up the horizontal clearance, or go tall (to help horizontal clearance) which chews up the vertical clearance.
Now get all this installed and hitch up to see how level you are!! Trailer nose low: no problem, - raise the Goosebox or get a taller goose ball; Trailer nose high: big problem - too much weight on rear wheels/tires of trailer. Lower the Goosebox - reduce vertical clearance.
So much fun!!