reese goosebox , 337 , f350

[Leon T]

I sure like unhitching and having a clean bed. No more heavy crap in my bed that just sits there when I'm in travel and has to be taken in and out all the time when I'm home. Lift the trailer off the ball and done. Love it.

[Unit88]

I am really liking the look of the reese goosebox and not having to deal with the fifth wheel hitch but unfortunately have the short bed f350

I am considering making a gooseneck ball that is slightly offset with the reese picture frame adapter for the pucks but would need some measurements from someone with the longbed and the setup.


Does anyone have a newer f350 and the reese goosebox on a 337??

Sounds like my situation also......I have a 2013 F350 4x4 Crew w/6.7 PSD Standard bed....... I am not going huge on the fifth wheel as a Reflection 29RL or 303 will suit us fine........but I'd like to start out with the goose box after reading all the articles. There is a good video on youtube by "bigtruckbigrv" as he walks through installation in his F450....... I suspect i'll have to use an offset ball because my truck is a standard bed, and not sure what else I'll need to purchase to use the goose box.

[Unit88]

I use the Goose Box along with the 4" B&W offset ball on my short bed. It works great. Can't quite get a 90 degrees out of it but plenty close enough for me. And yes, no problem on the u-turns. If you can get a 4" offset ball you will be golden. I previously posted pictures on another string if you want to use the search function and type in "Goose Box".

great info.....thank you

[grandliving]

Sounds like my situation also......I have a 2013 F350 4x4 Crew w/6.7 PSD Standard bed....... I am not going huge on the fifth wheel as a Reflection 29RL or 303 will suit us fine........but I'd like to start out with the goose box after reading all the articles. There is a good video on youtube by "bigtruckbigrv" as he walks through installation in his F450....... I suspect i'll have to use an offset ball because my truck is a standard bed, and not sure what else I'll need to purchase to use the goose box.

Do you already have the ball in the bed or are you putting one in?

[Unit88]

Do you already have the ball in the bed or are you putting one in?

no, I do not have the ball or safety chains /pucks. I am dealing on a 29RL and 303 at this time and will purchase a goose box so we'll be set up correctly from the dealer. I watched videos and the Curt ball kit comes with the safety chain pucks. I have not seen how an offset ball is locked in or secured.

[grandliving]

no, I do not have the ball or safety chains /pucks. I am dealing on a 29RL and 303 at this time and will purchase a goose box so we'll be set up correctly from the dealer. I watched videos and the Curt ball kit comes with the safety chain pucks. I have not seen how an offset ball is locked in or secured.

Ok i got the one from the ford factory and there is no way to use an offset ball. The b&w you can and the one that I would get is the blue ox one.

http://www.blueox.com/goosenecks/dh2202/


We put one in my dads truck and its awesome.

I wish I did that instead of the factory one.

[GENESIS]

FWIW......our 2016 337 came with a Reese Goosebox (GB) from day one as we stipulated that it was to be part of the deal. Since I use my pick up (2017 RAM 3500 DRW and 8' bed) for hauling sheets of plywood and other cra....uh stuff, I just couldn't see using a typical 5th wheel hitch plate. Besides the weight factor, a GB, IMHO is as simple as you can get. Here's some things I've learned in the almost 3 years of use.

- Although I've not measured, I'm relatively certain that my freedom of movement in yaw, pitch, and roll of the GB is every bit the equivalent of a typical 5th wheel hitch plate system.
- It's not mentioned very often but the GB has both air bags and dual shocks. Those features plus the relative tight tolerance between ball O.D. and GB socket I.D. results in virtually no chucking. With 5th wheel plates YMMV.
- If you get a GB, the first thing you wanna do - and this is straight from the Reese Engineer's mouth - is remove the valve that is in-line and attached to the GB and throw it away. This valve was suppose to be a pop-off valve of sorts for the air bags. Great idea - but not so much in practice.
- Hitching up can be frustrating as hell until you get the hang of it since you pretty much need to have the GB dead nuts centered on the ball in your bed. Me? I painted a white "upside down" arrow on the flat face of the GB which allows me to see where I'm at whilst backing up. The RAM's bed camera comes in handy too.
- The release cable has a "stop" on it that allows the cable to be placed in a slot during unhitching and this "stop" captures the cable in the slot. Plan on tweaking that "stop" - unless you like having to reach and stretch and cuss and pull the cable handle several times.
- IMHO, the Reese engineers could tweak the GB's dimensions a bit due to the bed depths of newer pickemups. In certain situations (turn angle, position of truck level versus RV level, off-camber, etc.) it is possible for the GB to contact the truck bed's upper rails (don't ask me how I found this out). For reference, my GB is on the lowest set of holes on the RV's pin box wings. And for my truck/RV setup, this results in a pretty dang level RV and about 6" - 7" of gap between bedrails and underside of RV.

Hope this helps.

Tom

[Leon T]

I haven't had any issues with the factory air valve on the Goose Box. At least not yet. I use my little portable air compressor to air it up before I leave along with the tires on truck and trailer if any of them need a top off.

No issues with rubbing on bed rails either but I haven't had mine as long as you've had yours. I turned on some pretty good inclines/declines during my two trips (mountainous areas and an RV park with a pretty steep entrance off the street) and nothing rubbed.

I did get the 20K version of the Goose Box for future use on a larger trailer if the wife decides she needs an upgrade.

No issues hooking up but I've pulled a crap load of gooseneck trailers over the years so I'm used to them. I just use the rear view mirror and a loop on my rear seat to line things up and usually nail it first try. Just have to keep your head from moving side to side while backing up to it so you don't throw off your angles. If I had a bed camera it would be even easier. As always, easier with a spotter but I can do it without one.

As far as the release cable and the slot, I did have to loosen the little bolt on the cable stop (the stop attached to the cable that rests in the slot on the Goose Box) so that it could be adjusted. Allen wrench to loosen it, put it where you want it and all is good. Mine works perfectly now. It was too tight from the factory.

[powerscol]

Ok i got the one from the ford factory and there is no way to use an offset ball. The b&w you can and the one that I would get is the blue ox one.

http://www.blueox.com/goosenecks/dh2202/


We put one in my dads truck and its awesome.

I wish I did that instead of the factory one.

If you have the bed pucks there is another option for you. Get the Reese puc/rail conversion system and mount a rail system goose ball plate on it. You can move the ball to where you need it on the plate by drilling another hole. Several folks make the rail adapter but I found this with a quick search.

https://tweetys.com/reese-fifth-whee...yABEgITHfD_BwE

https://www.amazon.com/16055-Plate-W...k+rail+adapter

On edit it looks like you can move the ball to where you need it on the blueox rail too

[grandliving]

If you have the bed pucks there is another option for you. Get the Reese puc/rail conversion system and mount a rail system goose ball plate on it. You can move the ball to where you need it on the plate by drilling another hole. Several folks make the rail adapter but I found this with a quick search.

https://tweetys.com/reese-fifth-whee...yABEgITHfD_BwE

https://www.amazon.com/16055-Plate-W...k+rail+adapter

On edit it looks like you can move the ball to where you need it on the blueox rail too

Yes I have that reese picture frame adapter and am using a comfortride hitch which has air cells and as far as fifth wheel hitches go its great. But that goosebox sure is nice. So your saying I could just get the curt ball you found on amazon and just drill a new hole for it further back.... Pretty sweet idea!