HDT RV Hauler: How, and Why, We Moved Our RV Hitch to the Rear of Our Truck

When we initially set up our 2004 Peterbilt 387 as an HDT RV hauler, we chose to center the fifth wheel RV hitch over the rear axles. We felt this would give us the best weight balance when the trailer was hitched to the truck. At the time, we didn’t have any other additional weight riding on the truck.

Fast forward almost three years, and we purchased a Smart car to use as a run around vehicle while we’re camping. Why a Smart? Primarily because it is short enough to ride crossways on the back of the truck without sticking out too far on either side.

As soon as we bought the car, we began planning the modifications we needed so the truck could carry the car. We tried to do it with a long-range view, making sure the modifications not only worked with our current fifth wheel, but would also work with any future trailer we might have.  In order to accomplish this, we knew we needed about four feet of space between the side of the Smart and the nose of the fifth wheel. This would allow us to execute a full 90 degree turn if we ever needed to. (We hate turning the trailer that hard because it is rough on the tires and axles, but there’s always that chance you get into a situation where you have to do a little extreme maneuvering to get back out).

We realized we didn’t have quite enough space on the truck with the hitch riding over the axles. We only needed about two more feet of space, so we began looking at our options.

Our First Attempt at Change

We looked at our route for the summer, which would take us through Idaho, the Tetons, Yellowstone and eventually over to northeast Montana. If we were going to hire people to do the work for us, we wanted to make sure it was along our route. After all, why drive hundreds of miles out of our way if we didn’t have to?

We found a truck shop in Belgrade, Montana (MCM Truck Repair) that does frame extensions on semis as a regular part of their business. We called ahead, made an appointment, and took the truck to them to discuss the work we wanted done.

We asked to have two feet of metal added to the rear of the frame of our HDT RV hauler, and then to have the fifth wheel hitch plate remounted at the rear, on the lower lip of the truck frame. They said they could do the work without having to remove and remount any of the rear suspension, which we thought was great. They wanted to cut the frame at the rear, weld on the extensions, then add a sleeve bolted to the inside of the frame for added support.

So far this all sounded great.

Then came the moment of truth…we asked for an estimate. At first they said they wouldn’t even know where to begin with an estimate for the work. (Ummm…hello? You have several trucks in your shop getting frame extensions right now???!!!) When I finally pressed, because we were NOT about to leave the truck and have them start the work without an estimate…they told us it would take roughly 50 hours, plus about $2,000 in materials, for a grand total of $8000!!!

$8000? For that price it better be made out of gold!!!

We had done our research before going to the shop, including talking with several other HDT RV hauler owners who had the same work done. We were expecting a price tag in the $2500 range. I did mention this to the gentlemen we were dealing with at the shop. They just looked at us and shrugged.

We told them we would think about it, and left. In the end, we decided not to have this shop do the work. We spent a few days camping outside of Bozeman, along the Madison River, then continued on to Philipsburg.

We Get Some Surprise Help

We had stopped in Philipsburg to visit with some of Bubba’s family, who still live there. His brother Jim dropped by our RV park one afternoon, and Bubba described to him what we were wanting to do. Well, it turns out Jim was a welder in the Navy. He took one look at the truck and said, “I can do that for you.” Woo hoo!!!

Bubba took the truck over to Jim’s workshop and they got to work early one morning. They removed the fifth wheel hitch, then removed the metal plate that the hitch was mounted to.

Jim cleaned the inside of the frame and cut the metal plate so it sat flat inside the bottom lip of the frame. Then he welded the plate onto the truck.

Now, some of you might be yelling at your computer, “Don’t ever weld to the frame!!!!”

Yes, we know.

No, we don’t care.

This truck will never see commercial service again, and our pin weight is less than 3,000 lbs.

Jim did such a great job moving and re-mounting the hitch, he said we would have to saw the truck in half if we ever want to remove it…lol. Most importantly, we now had the additional room we needed at the back of the truck to allow our Smart to ride up there.

We had an additional bonus from relocating the hitch, too. Ever since we set out, our fifth wheel has always ridden a bit nose high. This puts added strain and wear and tear on the rear axle and tires of the trailer. It wasn’t enough to really notice it if you were looking at it, but we knew it was too high.

Normally the pin on the fifth wheel sits at 48″ on level ground, with the trailer level. On the truck, ours was riding around 54″. With the hitch relocated and dropped into the frame, the trailer now rides at a very level 48″.

The best part? We managed to accomplish all of this for free. It took the guys five or six hours to do the work. I did buy them a case of beer, but they never drank it and Bubba ended up bringing it home.

Next up…building the bed on our HDT RV hauler!