How do I get clearance for 90 degree turning with a short bed truck?

Thank you for contacting Andersen Hitches. There are several factors to take into consideration when determining the turn radius of a trailer. Pictures of your set up might help us out, but trailers vary in how large the pin box is, in the distance between the kingpin position and front 'nose' of trailer, and in the length and angle of the trailer's sidewalls, etc..

You can determine this by measuring from the center of your king pin to the nose of your trailer, and from the king pin to the side walls of your trailer, and also from the king pin to the end of the pin box (so you can see if it will hit the sides of your truck. Once you have those measurements, we can furnish you with the appropriate dimensions of our Ultimate Connection, just let me know if you are looking at the rail mount or gooseneck mount version.

There is no limitation in the actual turning radius of our Ultimate Connection other than where the nose or sidewalls of your trailer will hit your cab. Also, if you have an extended pin box, the back end of the pin box may hit the side walls of your tow vehicle (this can be compensated for by turning the king pin connector around pulling the trailer forward 8" total):

As far as the offset…

Gooseneck version: Up to a 9" offset when truck and trailer are in line to each other. The king pin of the 5th Wheel is set back 4" with our coupler (which can be reversed to reduce that). The Ultimate Connection Gooseneck base is offset from the gooseneck ball in the bed by 5" (and can also be reversed if needed).

Rail version: Up to a 8" offset when truck and trailer are in line to each other. The king pin of the 5th Wheel is set back 4" with our coupler (which can be reversed to reduce that). The Ultimate Connection Rail base is offset from the center point of the rails in the bed by 4" (and can also be reversed if needed).

So far we have had no issues with the Ultimate Connection working in any make or model of short bed trucks. Just keep in mind that in some combinations you may not get a full 90 degree turn. As with all hitches on the market, watch your clearance the first time you use your hitch so you are aware of the limitations of your particular combination of trailer, tow vehicle, and hitch.