Fifth wheel hitch recomendations

[Back2PA]

More research. I've heard a lot about the Anderson hitch but know nothing about that brand or any others. Would love to hear comments regarding hitch brands, features you feel are important or useful, shortcomings you've found in certain hitches, ease of removal including weight and ability for removal to be done by one person, etc. (I have a couple buddies with fivers, one removes his hitch between towing and while it snaps in and out easily, it's a two man job due to weight - don't know if there are lighter options available. The other buddy never removes his hitch.)

In all likelihood I will be looking at a non-slider in a longbed but the decision is still way down the road.

Thanks

 

[Memtb]

  I’m “old school”, still prefer a conventional 5th wheel plate.
  #1 - most important (IMHO), is a 4-way articulating head ....makes connect/disconnect much easier in eneven terrain.

  #2 - two piece hitch assembly. Some break-down into 2-major components, making lifting easier. Our 20K pound Reese is constructed this way. Still “not” light, but doable...if you have no physical issues.    If it is “not” doable, some form of lift mechanism to lift from the truck, and place on a cart for storage.

  #3 - The bed rails are often compatible with several brands of hitches. Example: our new Trailer Saver was a drop-in fit to our existing rails used for our Reese.
            As we have and tow a gooseneck hydraulic dump trailer, having these rails allows me to convert from 5th wheel hitch to gooseneck ball via an adapter....relatively quickly!
   
        We just bought a Trailer Saver hitch, super hitch.....but super heavy! I will lift mine with my tractor, and put on my cart I built! The tongue is removable, for reducing area needed to store!


 
  https://imgur.com/NrsEC0F
   
https://imgur.com/kPKMADn

 

[Back2PA]

Re the trailer saver, does the "air ride" make a big difference in the "pounding"?

 

[S&L5er]

I am in the market for a 5th Wheel hitch myself. This is what I have come up with for my circumstance. I have a 3500 Dually, 8ft bed with factory installed puck system and according to the search through E-trailer I have 2 choices and they are Curt and B&W Companion hitches. I choose B&W because of the reviews on this site (RV Forum)and reviews from others site as well. I do like the fact that the Companion comes in 2 parts. The upper and lower section you pull a pin on each side of the hitch plate and the top come off and release the 4 pucks and lower for that removal. Each section weighs approximately 100 Lbs, little guy like me can handle that weight.

I definitely would like to hear more on this subject before I make my purchase. I am always up against buyers remorse. (dang it, wished I got that one)

 

[Guest]

I have an anderson hitch and i love it!!    Its light weight (45 lbs) and gives me easy access to the bed when i need it.  I actually have it stored in my little 2x4 foot shed right now so its convenient to store as well.  Its also very strong, they have videos on their website showing strength tests.  Before i stored it i gave it another quick coat of paint so it looks brand new now.

I give anderson hitches a 10 out of 10 so far. 

If there are downsides the only things i can think of is that if you use one of those support gizmos for the front of your fifthwheel to stablize it when camping then youll have to use a small 4x4 under the tongue frame and put the stablizer under it and jack it up against the wood like i do.  Because the ball is on the hitch not on the fifthwheel so there is no ball to put the stablizer on.  And that it does not support the new puck system that comes on new trucks.  Unless they have come up with an adapter since i last visited their site. 

Here are some pics....

 

[steveblonde]

curt - ask the guys why transport trailers to dealerships! they all use Curts go with either a 20K or 24K basically they are $50 apart 

 

[Memtb]

Re the trailer saver, does the "air ride" make a big difference in the "pounding"?

      We’ve only made one trip, Mesa, Az. to Northern Wyoming, so maybe “not” a valid test yet.....but, “Yes”!  Pretty significant! We recently had a “frame-break” on our 5er ( near the 90 degree, where the front horizontal turns down to main-frame), after a little “off-road” excursion. We wanted to reduce the shock transmitted to the 5er. It was noticeable on it as well as the passengers in the truck.
    We didn’t buy new (big $), shopped and found a like-new used at a good price. I believe that some of the new models can be broken down into two components.....making it lighter to handle!
  So far......very impressed. It’s everything we had heard....and maybe more!  Our 5er grosses-out at 20 K pounds....having a hitch rated at 4500 pin, 25 K load, was a feel-good thing!

 

[Memtb]

I am in the market for a 5th Wheel hitch myself. This is what I have come up with for my circumstance. I have a 3500 Dually, 8ft bed with factory installed puck system and according to the search through E-trailer I have 2 choices and they are Curt and B&W Companion hitches. I choose B&W because of the reviews on this site (RV Forum)and reviews from others site as well. I do like the fact that the Companion comes in 2 parts. The upper and lower section you pull a pin on each side of the hitch plate and the top come off and release the 4 pucks and lower for that removal. Each section weighs approximately 100 Lbs, little guy like me can handle that weight.

I definitely would like to hear more on this subject before I make my purchase. I am always up against buyers remorse. (dang it, wished I got that one)

  I believe that Trailer Saver, offers models for the “puck” systems....and I think that model,can be broken apart for ease of handling!

 

[RVRAC1]

Curt!  Had two of them with no problems.

 

[signcut]

I have a Curt A16; so far, so good. The (relatively) light weight of just over 100 lbs means that it can be wrassled around, and it can be taken out and slipped back in fairly easily.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

does the "air ride" make a big difference in the "pounding"?

Not sure what your definition of "pounding" is, but in mine, if it's "pounding" there is a serious trailer balance problem that needs fixing and no pin bx gadget is gonna do that.  It won't fix porpoising either.

I think an air ride kingpin box is a nice thing to have and would give it strong consideration despite the price, but it's hardly a necessity.  The Trail Air (now owned by Lippert) is a nice combination of air bag plus a scissor-action with a shock, but there are others that are probably equally good.
https://www.lci1.com/air-ride-pin-boxes

 

[Back2PA]

Not sure what your definition of "pounding" is,

I was using that word to describe road force (bumps, holes, etc) to the trailer being transmitted to the truck through the pin

 

[Memtb]

I was using that word to describe road force (bumps, holes, etc) to the trailer being transmitted to the truck through the pin

  When I gave my answer... I just ?assumed? that is what you meant. We?re running H rated, 19.5? tires/rims, with airbags. When you have 4 K+ pounds of pin-weight, with a stiff suspension and tires.... the ?road shocks? transmitted to both the camper and the truck, are a ?bit? noticeable!
    I?m sure that other brands of hitches will work well.... Trailer Saver - is my only experience!

 

[Back2PA]

My only experience riding in the truck with a fiver hooked up is with a buddy - 42 foot toyhauler behind a Chevy dually. There's a lot going on back there!

 

[msw3113]

The fellow who sold us our 5th wheel trailer strongly recommended a 1-ton dually with an 8' bed, as that's what he successfully used.  A few months after we bought the trailer, the gods smiled upon us and exactly such a truck, gently used, became available nearby so we bought it.  (Yep, cart before the horse.)  The truck had been equipped to tow a 5th wheel but had no hitch, only Curt rails and related underpinnings.  The gods once again smiled and a Curt Q20 became available so we bought that too. With the removal of a couple of pins the Q20 separates into two very manageable halves,  I ran the truck all winter without it.  Reassembly this spring --after a refurb with parts from eTrailer--was a snap as was reinstallation.

This is our first rig so we have no experience to compare but the Q20 seems to work satisfactorily.  The trailer has a Mor-Ryde pinbox which reportedly cuts down on what we call the "chucking" phenomenon.

 

 

[steveblonde]

  When I gave my answer... I just ?assumed? that is what you meant. We?re running H rated, 19.5? tires/rims, with airbags. When you have 4 K+ pounds of pin-weight, with a stiff suspension and tires.... the ?road shocks? transmitted to both the camper and the truck, are a ?bit? noticeable!
    I?m sure that other brands of hitches will work well.... Trailer Saver - is my only experience!

lol you know why else that is lol a little weight issue lol all good lol

 

[grashley]

I have the Andersen Ultimate and dearly LOVE it.  I have little tow experience with it, but one of my truck requirements was it have a gooseneck ball setup.  The Andersen connects to the ball.  I can remove the hitch and ball by myself in under 10 minutes, leaving a flat, empty bed.  The hitch is 37 pounds complete.  No two pieces, no 100 pound parts.  It reinstalls in under 10 minutes as well.    When not in use, it hangs on a couple nails on the garage wall.

With the ball style mount, it can move in all directions easily.  It is a very tight fit on the ball, so I noticed no chucking or porpoising or any other misbehavior being transmitted to the truck.  The hitch has a funnel built in, so get the truck within a couple inches, and the ball slides right into the hitch.  I have had no trouble hitching or unhitching, regardless of uneven ground or hitching from a different angle.

The light weight also saves you about 150 pounds of cargo capacity not used by the hitch.

It deserves a very serious consideration!

 

[Back2PA]

I have the Andersen Ultimate and dearly LOVE it.  I have little tow experience with it, but one of my truck requirements was it have a gooseneck ball setup.  The Andersen connects to the ball.  I can remove the hitch and ball by myself in under 10 minutes, leaving a flat, empty bed.  The hitch is 37 pounds complete.  No two pieces, no 100 pound parts.  It reinstalls in under 10 minutes as well.    When not in use, it hangs on a couple nails on the garage wall.

With the ball style mount, it can move in all directions easily.  It is a very tight fit on the ball, so I noticed no chucking or porpoising or any other misbehavior being transmitted to the truck.  The hitch has a funnel built in, so get the truck within a couple inches, and the ball slides right into the hitch.  I have had no trouble hitching or unhitching, regardless of uneven ground or hitching from a different angle.

The light weight also saves you about 150 pounds of cargo capacity not used by the hitch.

It deserves a very serious consideration!

Thanks Preacher, that sounds like a contender. Don't know anything about the gooseneck ball bit (OK, let me re-phrase, don't know anything about any of this! :-\ ) but the 37 pound weight and flat floor after removal are very enticing.

 

[steveblonde]

Thanks Preacher, that sounds like a contender. Don't know anything about the gooseneck ball bit (OK, let me re-phrase, don't know anything about any of this! :-\ ) but the 37 pound weight and flat floor after removal are very enticing.

All three GM Ford and Ram make trucks with the PUCK system giving you  a flat floor - its not new they've been doing it since 2014? From the factory.

 

[Back2PA]

All three GM Ford and Ram make trucks with the PUCK system giving you  a flat floor - its not new they've been doing it since 2014? From the factory.

Unfortunately I'll probably be pre-2014. From the video I've seen it looks to me like the Anderson's claim to fame is the gooseneck to fifth wheel conversion - is this the only style hitch they make? They make mention of a "rail" system, no idea what that is (is it the same as PUCK?). I'm thinking the Anderson gooseneck conversion is lightweight because it's relying on the strength of the gooseneck ball so their conversion is really more of just a connection plus stabilization solution.

Without knowing anything more, I'd be interested in the lightest solution that, when removed, left me with as flat of a floor as possible. There's a better than even chance this would be installed in a truck that previously did not have a gooseneck ball, nor any previous fifth wheel provisioning.