5th wheel hitch looking for some good advice

[Aketay]

Where'd ya get that lube plate?

Dan’s trailer and hitch in Elkhart, Indiana

 

[BurnMac42]

Might be a dumb question but I'm new to the 5th wheel world and trying to shop my first hitch. I have a 2020 SRW Megacab 3500 and I know I've read that the slider hitches help when looking at older 5th wheels. I like the idea of the Reese Goosebox because I would want an empty bed unless I'm towing. So here is my question, looking at the Reese Goosebox hitch it APPEARS like it would put the 5th wheel a little further away from the cab vs a traditional hitch. Is this true? Does having the Reese Goosebox hitch replace the need for a sliding hitch on a short bed truck?

 

[Brutal_HO]

Might be a dumb question but I'm new to the 5th wheel world and trying to shop my first hitch. I have a 2020 SRW Megacab 3500 and I know I've read that the slider hitches help when looking at older 5th wheels. I like the idea of the Reese Goosebox because I would want an empty bed unless I'm towing. So here is my question, looking at the Reese Goosebox hitch it APPEARS like it would put the 5th wheel a little further away from the cab vs a traditional hitch. Is this true? Does having the Reese Goosebox hitch replace the need for a sliding hitch on a short bed truck?

Probably not*. I believe the dimensions lengthwise match the OE pinbox. Likely to be a Lippert 1621 unless it's a much bigger 5th.

With the factory GN you're stuck with a ball in the factory position. With a B&W turnover, you can get a 4" offset ball that would likely get the clearance you need.

* I'll let actual SB Goosebox owners chime in on factual clearance.

 

[geektoad]

Might be a dumb question but I'm new to the 5th wheel world and trying to shop my first hitch. I have a 2020 SRW Megacab 3500 and I know I've read that the slider hitches help when looking at older 5th wheels. I like the idea of the Reese Goosebox because I would want an empty bed unless I'm towing. So here is my question, looking at the Reese Goosebox hitch it APPEARS like it would put the 5th wheel a little further away from the cab vs a traditional hitch. Is this true? Does having the Reese Goosebox hitch replace the need for a sliding hitch on a short bed truck?

Good news...I switched from a B&W slider to a Reese goosebox! Bad news...I also changed brand of truck and bed length at the same time. So I can't say for sure whether it ends up being further from the cab. I can tell you that clearance between the tail gate and the front of the camper when the tailgate is down is almost identical with both setups. That leads me to believe that the over all geometry will not be much different with the GB in a shortbed. I know that's not definitive in anyway, but that's all I can offer.

 

[BurnMac42]

So I guess I'll ask for the experts opinions...is there a recommended 5th wheel hitch that can be removed easily that would work well with my truck? According to Ram my truck is spec'd to tow 20k lbs if that matters.....I've read that with the megacab/short bed you need to get a slider hitch but the truck bed will be used a lot between towing so I would prefer not having a 300lb hitch that needs removed each time.....any suggestions?

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

So I guess I'll ask for the experts opinions...is there a recommended 5th wheel hitch that can be removed easily that would work well with my truck? According to Ram my truck is spec'd to tow 20k lbs if that matters.....I've read that with the megacab/short bed you need to get a slider hitch but the truck bed will be used a lot between towing so I would prefer not having a 300lb hitch that needs removed each time.....any suggestions?

Tons of sliders are not more than 100lbs

 

[Justice12t]

So I guess I'll ask for the experts opinions...is there a recommended 5th wheel hitch that can be removed easily that would work well with my truck? According to Ram my truck is spec'd to tow 20k lbs if that matters.....I've read that with the megacab/short bed you need to get a slider hitch but the truck bed will be used a lot between towing so I would prefer not having a 300lb hitch that needs removed each time.....any suggestions?

A lot depends on the 5th wheel you are towing and if you have the factory setup. I've had several hitches over the years including sliders and never had to "slide" it. That's being in some really tight situations. There are others on here that wouldn't tow without a slider. Both options are fine. I think some of your setup choice is made by the 5th wheel you have or are looking at.

 

[BurnMac42]

A lot depends on the 5th wheel you are towing and if you have the factory setup. I've had several hitches over the years including sliders and never had to "slide" it. That's being in some really tight situations. There are others on here that wouldn't tow without a slider. Both options are fine. I think some of your setup choice is made by the 5th wheel you have or are looking at.

Gotcha and makes sense. What are some things to watch out for in a 5th wheel with our trucks, specifically with a used (ie little older) 5th wheel? This will be our first and want to make sure it's a serious thing before dropping serious money on a camper. I do have the factory 5th wheel prep package as well...

 

[RV_Goose]

Tons of sliders are not more than 100lbs

Manual sliders perhaps?


To the OP';
I just looked up the Pullrite 16k 4100 series auto slider hitch. I had that on my 2013 Ram 2500 short bed and it worked well for me. It weighs in at about 160. I like the DemCo also, but it is over 300 pounds but doesn't require capture plates to work. All the hitches disassemble if that helps. I used a chain-fall to remove/install and then setmy hitgh on a wheeled pallet for storage.

Assume you will only buy one hitch for your truck, and that should be rated for the truck max. One less obstacle should you consider a trailer close to the max payload.

With the short bed, new to towing 5th wheel type trailers, and knowing that I had a lot to learn, my slider worked great for me. I traveled to places where my rig was tight in places to refuel. And other drives may not realize you have a large rig and block your intended path of travel. Not do they realize how much radius one needs. Necessary, nope. Are auto sliders convenient? absolutely.

I have an 8 ft bed now, so I sold my used hitch for 50% of new quickly. If I ever go back to a short bed, I will go to another auto slider hitch

I would not bother with a manual slider today. And it is said that the newer 5th wheels are builtto accomodate the short beds. But I do not know what years that started.

 

[Ron D.]

i have PullRite and my friend has PullRite SuperGlide for his 6'4" bed

​

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

Manual sliders perhaps?


To the OP';
I just looked up the Pullrite 16k 4100 series auto slider hitch. I had that on my 2013 Ram 2500 short bed and it worked well for me. It weighs in at about 160. I like the DemCo also, but it is over 300 pounds but doesn't require capture plates to work. All the hitches disassemble if that helps. I used a chain-fall to remove/install and then setmy hitgh on a wheeled pallet for storage.

Assume you will only buy one hitch for your truck, and that should be rated for the truck max. One less obstacle should you consider a trailer close to the max payload.

With the short bed, new to towing 5th wheel type trailers, and knowing that I had a lot to learn, my slider worked great for me. I traveled to places where my rig was tight in places to refuel. And other drives may not realize you have a large rig and block your intended path of travel. Not do they realize how much radius one needs. Necessary, nope. Are auto sliders convenient? absolutely.

I have an 8 ft bed now, so I sold my used hitch for 50% of new quickly. If I ever go back to a short bed, I will go to another auto slider hitch

I would not bother with a manual slider today. And it is said that the newer 5th wheels are builtto accomodate the short beds. But I do not know what years that started.

I dont see any reason to use any other type of slider when i had a short bed the only time i needed it was when backing in to my really tight space at the campground would have been best to use a tractor how tight it was, other than that i never used the slider so i dont see the sense in buying anything fancier 2 seconds it was slid back....

 

[RV_Goose]

I dont see any reason to use any other type of slider when i had a short bed the only time i needed it was when backing in to my really tight space at the campground would have been best to use a tractor how tight it was, other than that i never used the slider so i dont see the sense in buying anything fancier 2 seconds it was slid back....

The places I go do not have a tractor available. The places I go, if I do not do it, it doesn't get done. I camp on private property, woods and fields, 60-70% of the time. Much different than a campground setup. Sounds like you do mostly commercial hauling to commercial delivery spots. You also probably do not need 8-9 inches of clearance between camper and bed rails.

With my 2500 having a range of only 200-225 miles on a tank, I often got fuel at local convenience stores instead of truck stops. Having a 50-55 foot rig meant I appreciated the extra options getting in/out of those places that the auto slider gave me.

 

[roegs]

I purchased our 3500 CC SB SRW on the premise that my wife and I would like to get back into camping / traveling. My plan now is to rent 5th wheels for a while to make sure this is the direction we want to go. Since I could be hooking up various pin box configurations, I'm leaning towards a Demco. The situations where that would not work appear to be a pivoting pin box. For those cases, I may also purchase a non-slider. I'm thinking that purchasing a used Demco and a used B&W should take care of 95% of situations I'd run into. I'm trying to error on the side of caution and have something that will either automatically slide or extend the pivot point behind the rear axle.

 

[bfs673]

I dont see any reason to use any other type of slider when i had a short bed the only time i needed it was when backing in to my really tight space at the campground would have been best to use a tractor how tight it was, other than that i never used the slider so i dont see the sense in buying anything fancier 2 seconds it was slid back....

This is VERY dependent on the trailer! I'm with you, and have always said the same. I have a Keystone Cougar, which worked great. Just be careful and no issues.
Went to a widebody trailer, with a wider/different design front cap and my clearance reduced significantly. While it still worked in most cases, a sloped and tight turn into a campground caused me an issue and kissed the cab. Was always VERY careful and aware, but this sort of thing can happen.

Went to an auto slider and no more issues. Now I have a long bed with a Goosebox set up.

 

[bfs673]

I purchased our 3500 CC SB SRW on the premise that my wife and I would like to get back into camping / traveling. My plan now is to rent 5th wheels for a while to make sure this is the direction we want to go. Since I could be hooking up various pin box configurations, I'm leaning towards a Demco. The situations where that would not work appear to be a pivoting pin box. For those cases, I may also purchase a non-slider. I'm thinking that purchasing a used Demco and a used B&W should take care of 95% of situations I'd run into. I'm trying to error on the side of caution and have something that will either automatically slide or extend the pivot point behind the rear axle.

My wife and I purchased our first trailer used. Spent some time and found a great trailer, very clean at a reasonable price.
We sold it a few years later for little loss. We used it so much, it was worth it to upgrade.
If we didn't use it, we wouldn't have lost much.

A new/newer trailer depreciates FAR too much, too quickly.