GMC LIFE

GMC engineers designed the Sierra Heavy Duty from the ground up to deliver the refinement, performance, and capability expected of a professional-grade heavy-duty pickup. So when it comes to pulling a heavy-duty gooseneck or fifth-wheel trailer, why turn to anyone else for a hitch platform? The GMC Sierra Heavy Duty Gooseneck/ Fifth-Wheel Prep Package provides a hitch that’s not only strong, but also designed and built to the same exacting standards as the Sierra Heavy Duty itself.

Although gooseneck and fifth-wheel hitches allow heavy-duty pickups to tow some of the largest, heaviest trailers, aftermarket hitches are challenging to install. Both hitch designs utilize a platform that spans the chassis frame rails underneath the pickup box, which makes adding an aftermarket hitch a complicated and time-consuming process.

Depending on the truck and hitch involved, an aftermarket hitch installation could require removing the rear wheels and tires, or even lifting the pickup box from the frame in order to gain access to the frame. Once the aftermarket hitch platform is bolted in place, installation then requires precise measurement and drilling of the pickup box floor, along with modification of exhaust heat shields and other components located on the underside of the truck in order to accommodate the aftermarket hitch platform.

Sierra Heavy Duty’s Gooseneck/ Fifth Wheel Prep Package eliminates the time-consuming aftermarket installation process entirely – and, more importantly, it was designed from square one to be strongly and seamlessly integrated into the Sierra Heavy Duty itself.

Sierra Heavy Duty’s prep package starts with a factory-installed hitch platform that not only sits tightly against the top of the frame, but is actually welded to the side mounting brackets. Compared with an aftermarket hitch platform, which is usually only bolted in place, this design and construction method provides a much stiffer hitch, which reduces the likelihood of the trailer shuddering over rough roads and while braking.

Because this entire package is installed while the Sierra Heavy Duty itself is being manufactured, the hitch installation is performed to the same standards for quality and fit and finish as the rest of the Sierra Heavy Duty. Floor openings for the gooseneck ball hitch and fifth wheel mounting points are precisely drilled and professionally finished, and neatly covered with caps when not in use. A spray-on bedliner is also included as part of the package, and further helps protect the box. A trailer wiring connector is mounted inside the box, conveniently located for connecting to gooseneck or fifth-wheel trailers.

GMC engineers also worked closely with Curt, a renowned manufacturer of trailer hitches, to design a gooseneck ball hitch and safety chain kit exclusively for the new hitch platform. The kit, which includes a chrome-plated 2 5/16” hitch ball and forged anchors that latch in place without the use of tools, will be available through GMC dealers as an official GM accessory.

The Gooseneck/ Fifth Wheel Prep Package is now available Sierra 2500 or 3500 heavy-duty pickups with either six- or eight-foot boxes.