19 ft Scamp: Old Hitch vs New

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Keith
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19 ft Scamp: Old Hitch vs New

When we bought our 2000 MY Scamp 19 it came with the old bed mounted hitch that looks a bit homemade, but gets the job done: two flanges that mount against the wheel arches in the bed and a heavy bar that mounts between them and is height adjustable. 

We mounted that in our 2000 F-150 and it works well. Our trailer has a 3 inch lift from when we replaced the axle last year and we have 14 inch tires on it. All good.

But now we are planning longer trips and we would like our daughter to join us so we are upgrading to a roomier 2018 F-150 SuperCrew. It is a lot fancier, even though both are work truck spec. I'm in the process of moving the hitch from the 2000 to the 2018 and I'm wondering it it is worth upgrading to the new Reese hitch. Also, it doesn't look height adjustable, so I'm wondering if it would actually be better to stick with the homemade looking unit.

Does anybody have experience going from the old hitch to the new and how they compared on ball height?

I imagine I will end up with some larger tire to compensate for the bedrail height. Not a big deal since we have the two step entry step and the lower step is near the ground now anyway. 

Thanks!

ELongest
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New Scamp hitch

The new style Scamp hitch is height adjustable. The good part is with a F-150  you should be able to find a set of custom fit bed rails for your truck. I don't currently have a hitch so I cant give you any measurements. Some have modified an old 5th wheel hitch to adapt to a ball hitch but the Scamp hitch is much lighter.

Eddie 

Keith
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Found that Reese has two

Found that Reese has two different rail brackets for my F150, ordered one but the shop couldn't get it in time so they installed a Curt bracket and rails. They look very good. I wouldn't want the rails attached with anything less.

It is a bit tight, but I think it will work now that I moved my battery box back a bit. I'm going up a bit in tire size, but I really wish I had gone for a 4" lift instead of just 3" when I did my axle. Oh well.

 

 

ELongest
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Looks like a tight fit.

Scamp says no more than 60" from center of ball to the tip of your rear truck bumper with a stock trailer set up.

Keith
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I think I measured it at just

I think I measured it at just 60 inches. It is tight. But it clears. 

I'm more worried about the height. I don't want to damage the truck or the trailer in a parking lot entrance.

 

This wasn't that sharp of a grade change, but it was less than an inch of clearance. I moved the hitch up one position after this and I'm putting new tires on to see if that will help a bit. Also took off the tailgate since it sticks out and up a bit and crosses all of the frame members under the trailer while the bed rails nestle between if I'm straight. Not ideal, but workable for a short trip.

ELongest
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Bent bed

I had an older non raised 5er contact my truck bed rail when one of the trailer tires dropped into a deep hole. (Trailer twisting is what usually gets you.) It bent the bed rail but there was a plastic cap on it so it was not noticeable. The higher the trailer the better.

I saw a good 5th wheel / truck modification in a campground last week. The guy built a 5er tailgate out of 1.5 "PVC pipe. The bottom fit over the tailgate hinge pins and he used pip pins to hold the top in place. He painted his black but with the plastic paints you could almost match your truck. Very light weight and it does the job. A dinged tailgate can cost you quite a bit. If I were towing a 5er now I would make one. Just talking from experience.

Eddie 

The one I saw was better built than this one, but you get the idea.

http://www.desoto.net/users/ed-andrea/travel/tailgate/index.html

Keith
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Stromberg Carlson sells a

Stromberg Carlson sells a plastic fifth wheel tailgate for about $300.

https://www.etrailer.com/Tailgate/Stromberg-Carlson/VG-97-4000.html

ELongest
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Higher lift

If you used the bolt on axle brackets on your new axle it should not be to hard to raise the trailer if the tires don't raise it enough. But you may have to install a two step entrance steps on your trailer.  I hate the new high sided pick ups. I have to carry a (two step) step ladder just to get up into the bed of my Ram. My truck is a stock 4X4 with small stock tires.

Eddie

 

Keith
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The 205/75R15 and raising the

The 205/75R15 and raising the hitch one level gave me enough clearance to make a decent trip. I took off the tailgate just to be safe. The trailer is at an angle, though, so I will be raising it a bit and probably adding a few inches to the tongue to give my bumper some space. We already have the two step entry.