HIDDEN GOOSENECK 
Installing a Curt Manufacturing Fold-Down Gooseneck hitch in the Big Boss Ram 2500
by Bruce W. Smith / Editor
In the world of towing, gooseneck trailers are becoming very popular among trailer-toting contractors.
The reason is simple: It’s a lot easier to switch a pickup bed from towing mode to cargo-hauling mode with a gooseneck system than it is removing a 5th wheel setup.
That’s why we opted configure our Big Boss Ram 2500 Crew Cab 4×4 with a gooseneck hitch for those times when towing equipment and bigger cargo trailers showed up on the job order.
There are numerous gooseneck hitch kits available. The one we choose is the Folding-Ball kit from Curt Manufacturing because the design ensures the ball is always firmly in place in the “up” position.
The system also makes it very simple to flip the ball down by simply pulling the “T”-handle toward the passenger’s side of the bed, lifting up to open the hidden ball storage compartment, and letting the hitch ball pivot down and out of sight, leaving a flat bed floor.
This hitch system is rated at 30,000-pound trailer capacity, well above the 2500 Ram diesel’s safe limit of 13,350 pounds.
As you can see from the photos in the how-to gallery below, the job isn’t that difficult. The instructions that come with the kit are very self-explanatory and installation doesn’t require any special tools other than what most shops already have on hand.
Installation, however, does require about three hours of shop time as it requires drilling a half-dozen holes in the Ram’s box frames and cutting out an opening in the middle of the bed so the hitch assembly can be dropped into position.
Our installation was handled by Ben Evans, one of the hitch pros at Truck Supply & Outfitters — our official installers for Project “Big Boss.” We can’t thank them enough for their contributions!
So until we see you at a show or on the road, whatever your towing task may be, tow safe – tow smart. ProPickup
(Left click on images to view larger…left click again to go back to gallery.)
[nggallery id=6]
