etrailer | Curt Custom Fifth Wheel Kit Installation - 2023 Ram 2500

Click for more info and reviews of this CURT 5th Wheel Hitch Rails: https://www.etrailer.com/5th-Wheel-Hi... Check out some similar 5th Wheel Hitch Rails options: https://www.etrailer.com/5th-wheel.htm Search for other popular Ram 2500 parts and accessories: https://www.etrailer.com/vehicle/2023... https://www.etrailer.com Don’t forget to subscribe!    / etrailertv   Full transcript: https://www.etrailer.com/tv-install-c... Hey there, neighbors. Kevin here with etrailer, and today we're gonna be taking a look at and showing you how to install the CURT Custom Fit 5th Wheel Installation Kit for Ram Trucks here in our 2023 Ram 2500. So if you are starting to get into towing, or maybe you already own a 5th wheel hitch, and you're just needing to get some base rails so that you can switch your 5th wheel hitch over, base rails are going to be a good option. Now, a lot of the time we typically recommend getting away from those base rails if you don't already have the prep package, and just going with the B&W Turnover Ball Kit, because that gives you the option of both a drop-in gooseneck hitch, and then also you have the ability to drop in the companion 5th wheel hitch, so then you kind of get both worlds there. Now, the only drawback from that is that you can't tow any kind of trailer that's gonna have a rotating pin box, you'd have to lock that out every single time, and with this being a short-bed truck, now we run the risk of having the nose of the trailer come into contact with the cab of our truck. So, that brings us back to needing a sliding 5th wheel hitch, which typically you can get even from B&W with the OEM prep package, or if you had just the Turnover Ball, so there is the option for that still, but if you have that turning point pin box or sidewinder, that's where you're gonna want to go and get over to some base rails so that you can get those four points of contact. With these rails, these are gonna be ISR, so that means that they're going to fit any other standardized spacing, so any 5th wheel hitch that you typically see on the market nowadays is going to be ISR, they kind of got rid of doing all their own proprietary sizing. Now, what I mean by ISR is that the spacing between our two rails from center to center is gonna be 22 inches, and you can see we have three different slots on each corner, and that's gonna be for the different width spacings that we have for the different 5th wheel hitches that are out there on the market. So whether you're buying a Curt 5th wheel hitch, Demco, B&W, or any other one out on the market right now, you should be able to drop these right into your rails instead of having to buy their brand-specific ones. So taking a closer look at our base rails here, this is gonna have a carbide finish, which is gonna be helping it resist rust and corrosion. As far as the height goes, from the bottom non-corrugated portion, so the non-raised side here, the lowest point, that's gonna stick up about one and five-eighths, maybe one and three-quarters, and that's pretty good compared to some of the other options out there on the market. A lot of them have a very aggressive raise in them. Sometimes they're going a little bit over two inches, and this kind of bevel here or edge here is a lot more steep instead of kind of tapered down a little bit more like it is here. So, that should help anytime you're kind of throwing stuff into the bed, trying to push it up over that hump. It should make it an easier transition over for you. Now one other thing you want to pick up along with your base rails is a fifth wheel or gooseneck wiring harness, which essentially is going to tie into the seven-way that you have down below near your bumper. And then you can find a spot up in the bed rail here that you can mount up another one, which is going to give you that four-pole and seven-pole connector, so that way you're not having to try and strain the cable, bringing it back over the tailgate when you go and hook up to your trailer. You just have an easy-to-reach plug-in right here and be good to go and safely displaying all of your traffic signals. Now as far as installation goes, since this kit does come with custom-fit brackets, it honestly was one of the easier installs that I've done for base rails. Brackets came right up real nice. The only one that really kind of fought me was just down on the driver's side on the cab side here, and that one is only kind of a hassle just because there's a bunch of wire harnesses and brake lines that are all kind of in the way, so you've got to kind of pop the little Christmas tree-style pushpins out first. You can kind of pull the wiring away, and then you can finagle the bracket into place. But aside from that, s