5th Wheel Hitches

[Dwight]

My wife and I have been Rving for several years now with a travel trailer. However, we are now planning to purchase a 5th wheel. I'm trying to determine the pros and cons of the various hitch types, brands, etc that are out there. Of course, every manufacturer claims that their hitch is the best thing since sliced bread. This is a major purchase and I want to do it right the first time. I have a 2010 Ford F250 diesel crew cab (short bed) and we are considering a fifth wheel 35 feet with a gross weight of around 12,000 lbs. I'm trying to narrow down the field of hitches.I am currently considering the following setup: PULL-RITE SUPER SLIDER AND a MOR-RIDE pin box. Does anyone out there have any experience or comments on either of these products? Any comments would be appreciated, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Also I would also like to hear about any other products that you would recommend .

Thank you for your time and comments

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

The Pullrite Superslide is an excellent 5W hitch if you want a slider.  You could also use a Reese non-slide hitch with a Sidewinder Fifth Airborne pin box. Either set-up would work well on a short bed truck.

 

[skip96]

i have the pull right on my tow rig and i love it, it hooks up nice and easy and with the super rails your bed is clean (no obstructions ) to deal with just 4 13/4 inch holes in the bed floor,  it is a fairly heavy hitch you will need 2 people to remove it i have found taking the plate off seems to make it a little more manageable,  i have the stock pin box on the trailer,  the one draw back i have found is that your pin box must have the adapter plate in order to use the hitch so if you only ever plan to pull your trailer its no big deal but you will not be able to tow someone Else's rig unless they have the adapter plate, i installed mine myself fairly easy if your inclined and customer support is tops there, hope this helps you enjoy

 

[rs3071]

The slider is not needed they are, always pushed on you by salespeople I have had one for two years and have not used it. That being said the places i go are very constricted, if you think you need one save your money and just learn to back up. If you you think about it going forward your not going to be able to, turn sharp enough for your fifth wheel to touch the cab, there is now reason to get at any sharper angle backing up. If you don't believe me pull into a empty parking lot going forward, then turn as sharp has you can towing your trailer forward. Then after that try to back up to an even sharper angle, your not going any where at that point. I wish I wouldn't have listend to any of the people pushing the slider My tow rig 2007 4door late model duramax 34 ft 2006 cougar

 

[clew65]

Dwight,  I asked the same question a while back as my wife and I are new to 5th wheel trailers having owned a motorhome previous.  I am still a rookie at this but here's what I know.  I too was concerned about the trailer hitting the cab, I have a Ford F-350. four wheel drive short box, so I figured I needed a slider hitch.  I checked Craigslist for my area and found a number of them for sale, most fairly new and used lightly.  I purchased a Hyjacker slider hitch for $300, it was three years old.  The owner went from a fifth wheel to a motorhome and sold his truck.  I then purchased the rail kit for the Hyjacker which cost a couple hundred and installed it myself with the help of a friend.  So far I have not needed to use the slide function on the hitch.  While backing into my driveway, which as you might expect, is a somewhat sharp turn, I come no where close to hitting the cab.  Not sure when or in what situation I will need the slider function, but for peace of mind it's nice to have. 

 

[Howard Kelly]

The only time I wished I had used my slider was when i was backing out of my driveway. the driveway is sloped to have water runoff to the road, the rosd is crowned for the same reason. I backed out making sure I kept an eye on close the 5th wheel came to the cab. It was close and i decided to move forward, alas as the truck went up the driveway the trailer came down the crown and the front of the 5th wheel hit the top of the cab, pop out the rear window with a big bang scrared the ---- out of me .
Now I move the hitch all the way back on the box ( when going into the driveway) and hopefully never have to replace the back window again. Lesson learned despite the caution  5th wheel is longer than the part I can see out the back window  Duh 

 

[ronaldgingrich]

I have a 2006 ford f150 crew cab. We were told that there was only one hitch that
would work with the 5 ft. box. They sold me the Pull-Rite Slider. The only thing that
I don't like about it was the price that we had to pay.

 

[tom3665]

I am a day or two behind on some of the post but if you are still looking for a good hitch -easy to use we love the BW "Turn-over-Ball" system. 

One of the easiest system ever to use in my opinion.  And when the fifth wheel is taken out there is no more than a flush 3 inch ring left in the bed area.

We use a F350 short-bed and it works great in there.  We pull a 36 foot 5th wheel Copper Canyon with it.

This part is under the bed..
http://www.turnoverball.com/products/gooseneck-hitch/turnoverball-gooseneck-hitch

The first one listed is the one that we use. 
http://www.turnoverball.com/product-catalog/rvhitch/view 

The 5th wheel part is two pieces and easy to adjust if needed.  And easy to get in and out of the truck.    This leaves NO bed rails or slides or anything like that....

This gives me the option with our truck to pull any style trailer I would like to.    Goose neck and fifth wheel style.   


Good Luck and Enjoy....