5th Wheel Hitches > I am So Confused!

[Dunner]

Cool. Also I live in Saskatchewan all kinds of room and flat ass Prairie lol.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

Cool. Also I live in Saskatchewan all kinds of room and flat ass Prairie lol.

Im in onterible so a slider is almost a must for shortbeds i only run 8’ beds though

 

[VIC0280]

from what I understand it is not needed. but I am also a newer to towing in the last three years and if it helps me by erroring to the side of cautious. then so be it. I would rather have the extra security/protection/use than turn to tight and take out the cab/window of my new 90k truck.

I worked really hard to get my dream rig I just want to have the best hitch towing for me and my family

 

[jackel1959]

There are 2 types of people who own short bed trucks and tow 5th wheels....those that have an auto slide hitch and those that will

 

[gimmie11s]

This topic will generate TONS of different opinions (and already has) so really the homework is kind of up to you OP.

Im an Anderson Hitch guy and probably always will be. I actually have 2 of them. An aluminum one that i installed into my puck-equipped 2016 Ram 2500 short bed and also a steel one that is installed into traditional 5th rails that are in the bed of my 1999 2nd gen Dodge Ram.

They both work fantastic and ive never had an issue. They tow smooooooooooooooooooooth. No 5th jaw clanking, chucking or noise.

You can adjust the Anderson so that the coupler positions the trailer a few inches rearward allowing you to make darn near 90* turns. I had it set up like this on my 2016 2500 short bed and it was awesome.

Here is the install pdf.... lots of good info here.

3930 - 3200 Ultimate RM Installation 12 pg_7-2020_low res

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I should also mention they are about 1/2 the price of a traditional 5th hitch! I believe i paid $750 for mine. Easy to install and lightweight.

 

[Wileykid]

My driveway is around 5*-7* upslope from the road. I have a new trailer on order (due next week), and although it is scalloped half way up the nose cap for short beds, I just don't trust the upper half contacting the cab. Bought a sidewinder, and will install. May never be an issue, but now I know it will not be.

 

[bfs673]

new to 5'er towing as well. my new truck 2021 mega 3500 HO SRW with factory puck system.

I just ordered a Retrax pro XR tonneau and settled on a pull rite slider. waiting for our new Grand Design Solitude to come in.

my concern is if I have enough clearance to close the tonneau? I hear that it has 19 3/4 room from the floor. I see that the hitch is less than that, but I also have to add a demco adapter for the puck system. the #2315 hitch is on backorder.

anyone running he pull rite with a retrax tonneau???

I had a 3500 SRW with a Solitude and auto-slider (Demco).
The Solitude is a wide-body trailer for a forward front, so good choice on the auto-slider!

I would be VERY concerned with that tonneau cover. If you go that route, I'd be interested to hear if it works.
The reason is the rails that extend inward from the existing bed rail caps. The Solitude pin box already comes quite close to the bed rails in a sharper turn and fear you may have contact there with the tonneau rails. You wouldn't be the first, that's for sure.

Because of this, I used a tri-fold that worked quite well. Had plenty of clearance when folded, and easy enough to unfold. It's also VERY easy to completely remove if needed.
I've changed set-ups now, so any measurements I could make would be useless for your set-up; not to mention my trailer is stuck in place until I complete the Hydraulic disc brake conversion!

 

[PRS]

new to 5'er towing as well. my new truck 2021 mega 3500 HO SRW with factory puck system.

I just ordered a Retrax pro XR tonneau and settled on a pull rite slider. waiting for our new Grand Design Solitude to come in.

my concern is if I have enough clearance to close the tonneau? I hear that it has 19 3/4 room from the floor. I see that the hitch is less than that, but I also have to add a demco adapter for the puck system. the #2315 hitch is on backorder.

anyone running he pull rite with a retrax tonneau???

Which model GD? We have a DRW 3500 and a VanLeigh 5W. We also have a Retrax tonneau. I really liked the aspect of the Reese Goosebox so installed one on the 5W. Rode great and I had a clear bed when I wanted. The problem was in a turn exceeding 60 degrees the wings of the pinbox would contact the side rails of the bed. Even taking the Retrax off only got a couple more degrees. With the trailer level we had 7 inches of vertical clearance between the bed rails and the trailer overhang. But the wings sat below the rails and in a turn would contact. We ended up installing a shorter Trailair pin box to get the clearance with the siderails. We would have had the same issue with the original Rotaflex pinbox as it was the same length as the Goosebox. Just a headsup.

 

[bfs673]

Which model GD? We have a DRW 3500 and a VanLeigh 5W. We also have a Retrax tonneau. I really liked the aspect of the Reese Goosebox so installed one on the 5W. Rode great and I had a clear bed when I wanted. The problem was in a turn exceeding 60 degrees the wings of the pinbox would contact the side rails of the bed. Even taking the Retrax off only got a couple more degrees. With the trailer level we had 7 inches of vertical clearance between the bed rails and the trailer overhang. But the wings sat below the rails and in a turn would contact. We ended up installing a shorter Trailair pin box to get the clearance with the siderails. We would have had the same issue with the original Rotaflex pinbox as it was the same length as the Goosebox. Just a headsup.

Just for reference: My Model: 344GK. Had teh same Rotoflex you mentioned. I have 7.5 to 8" bed rail clearance, Goosebox installed at lowest position (Most rail clearance) at ~ 40psi in the bag. Haven't had the first pull yet, but will look at rail clearance from the goosebox/wingset once I'm able.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

There are 2 types of people who own short bed trucks and tow 5th wheels....those that have an auto slide hitch and those that will

Nope i will never buy an auto slide if i were to endup with a shortbed again a manual slide is good for me for the few times i needed it with my old short bed

 

[bfs673]

Nope i will never buy an auto slide if i were to endup with a shortbed again a manual slide is good for me for the few times i needed it with my old short bed

I hear ya! I don't think I'll want a shortbed again

I had a boo-boo, after many years towing fifth wheels and swore I'd never need or want a slider. Waste of space, weight, money, etc. Well, I had to bite the bullet. My issues weren't backing up, where I could get out of the truck to manually slide, My issue was a common campground we use, pulling off from a very busy 55mph highway, > 90 degree turn with a downward slope. Worst possible combination and had a "kiss the cab" moment.

Actually wound up being a bad day... a few more stupid mistakes I've NEVER made before. Nothing causing permanent damage, just stupid; I had to put myself in time-out for a few minutes

As much as I hated it, autoslider solved the problem. Not talking you into it, but sharing my experience for others questioning the right setup for themselves.

 

[VIC0280]

Which model GD? We have a DRW 3500 and a VanLeigh 5W. We also have a Retrax tonneau. I really liked the aspect of the Reese Goosebox so installed one on the 5W. Rode great and I had a clear bed when I wanted. The problem was in a turn exceeding 60 degrees the wings of the pinbox would contact the side rails of the bed. Even taking the Retrax off only got a couple more degrees. With the trailer level we had 7 inches of vertical clearance between the bed rails and the trailer overhang. But the wings sat below the rails and in a turn would contact. We ended up installing a shorter Trailair pin box to get the clearance with the siderails. We would have had the same issue with the original Rotaflex pinbox as it was the same length as the Goosebox. Just a headsup.

i appreciate the information. i am wondering if i can cancel my order on the toneau until i do the hitch and see how that works.

we are getting a Solitude 378mbs.

 

[bfs673]

i appreciate the information. i am wondering if i can cancel my order on the toneau until i do the hitch and see how that works.

we are getting a Solitude 378mbs.

Nice trailer!
Send me a PM and I'll get you a link to the Grand design owners forum; a great resource for Grand Design owners. Lot's of good info.

 

[Nick]

Let me start by saying, when we purchased our Ram 2500, we did so with the factory installed 5th wheel towing prep package. On top of that, the wife and I, have settled for a 5th wheel that weighs 9338# dry and has a 1371# dry hitch weight.

The dealer that sells this particular 5th wheel would also like to sell us the hitch as well. My thoughts would be something along the lines of having it as light as possible and yet sturdy enough not to give and do damage to the truck. The dealer's recommendation was something aluminum that is constructed in a pyramid shape and has been only out on the market for a year. Yup! The Andersen Ultimate 5th Wheel Connection Hitch.

So far we have purchased nothing. I had my doubts that this was the hitch for us and I followed up with countless hours searching the web for options and reviews. Way more hours than I wanted to spend on the computer. It is amazing the hot and cold reviews I found for each hitch on the market. This included Andersen. I believe I have educated myself enough to know I really don't want the 5th wheel to break free from it's pin and smack the truck. I have also concluded that I need a slider hitch for my shortbed, one that doesn't chatter and one that has a four position head.

I believe I might have settled on the B & W Patriot 18k slider with the Curt X5 adapter for Ram (Anyone have this setup?). It seems to be light enough for removal and yet sturdy enough to keep everything in line when traveling without all the chatter.

So tell me...Is this a good selection or am I missing something? I really like the B & W Companion, but feel it's too heavy and a little more hitch than what I need.

I am a real novice at selecting something I really know nothing about...So a little help please.

I put a Demco adapter in my bed . Thought it was a better set up than the curt IMHO. Shop around . I found a 2 hundred dollar difference between one sales outlet and another.

 

[BAT3500]

new to 5'er towing as well. my new truck 2021 mega 3500 HO SRW with factory puck system.

I just ordered a Retrax pro XR tonneau and settled on a pull rite slider. waiting for our new Grand Design Solitude to come in.

my concern is if I have enough clearance to close the tonneau? I hear that it has 19 3/4 room from the floor. I see that the hitch is less than that, but I also have to add a demco adapter for the puck system. the #2315 hitch is on backorder.

anyone running he pull rite with a retrax tonneau???

i have a roll-n-lock cover and a pullright slider. Yes the cover will close, but not much clearance is left, the head of the hitch must be level or it will hit when the the cover passes over. No big deal you just have to be a little cautious when opening the bed cover.
Another thing with the pullright slider, at least on my version, the 40-50 lb head is easily removed by removing 2 pins. I usually remove mine and leave it in trailer when not towing to free up bedspace and gain more clearance with my bed cover.

 

[BurnMac42]

Have a short bed mega cab. I stared off with a BW slider. I never used the slider function. Went to a Gen Y gooseneck and love it since I don't have that huge slider hitch in my bed. Using a 4" extender like you mentioned above. Couple of videos on my YouTube channel about it if you'd like to see the setup.

What 4" extender are you using and do you have the factory 5th wheel prep package? I've got the Reese Goosebox 2.0 and I've been searching to try and see if I can get a 4" extender for the factory 5th wheel prep....

 

[1FstGPa]

After going through HD replies, reading countless reviews, watching minute after minute of videos, talking with friends and asking a few experts in the field of FW hitches it all came down to this. B&W Companion RVK3670. Why? It's the one product that had least amount of complaints while it is completely and directly is adaptable to the installed Ram factory fifth wheel towing system ("Yes", I know there is a few of them out there). No adapters! No compromises, such as the hitch not capable of sliding when it is set at the lowest height because the adapter is in the way! No guess work!

When I started looking for a fifth wheel hitch, I'll admit I was all for the B&W Companion after I rejected the idea of towing with an aluminum hitch. Then I noticed the weight and started my internet search over countless number of hitches out there. I had "Zero" idea what was good over bad and my reason for starting this thread. I'm not joking when I tell you that, "I must have change my mind no less than a dozen times when I pounded cyber space or walking away from a box store." I still think it is a heavy chunk of metal to remove from the bed of the truck by myself, but I 'think' I might had found a solution.

My other need was also mentioned here. Having the head of the hitch low enough for the bed cover to pass over. Again no guess work by adding adapters and raising the hitch height, then finding out after the fact that the head hits the bed cover even with the hitch set at the lowest setting. BTW - my bed cover passes over the head leaving a 1/2" gap.

My last need was a hitch that would not defeat it's own purpose. Such as > Watch the first portion of this video! This vid is the essences of a horror movie to every guy wanting to keep body and paint intact.

Am I trying to sell you on the B&W Companion? No! Everybody has their reason for their selection in this convoluted world of fifth wheel hitches, but asking for opinions makes for good options. Believe you me, I sure needed them! And I sure Thank you and HD for that!

Am I happy with my decision? You betcha!!! However, there is one hitch to my hitch which really isn't the fault of the hitch (HUH?). After trying out the sliding mechanism, I found the pin box placed an ever so light scratch on the (Cheap!) tailgate protector. The sliding mechanism came back a hair too far. Now where did I place my grinder to chamfer the edges of that pin box?

 

[bfs673]

What 4" extender are you using and do you have the factory 5th wheel prep package? I've got the Reese Goosebox 2.0 and I've been searching to try and see if I can get a 4" extender for the factory 5th wheel prep....

Unfortunately there is no extender for the factory puck; round hole will not prevent rotation of ball/extender. The B&W is a square hole, which is why they can do that.

You can replace the factory puck with the B&W turnover, which will allow the 4" offset.
Other option, create a solution to the factory puck! In my mind, having the B&W offset design would be good, but with a round shaft and have 2 extensions welded to connect to two of the fifth wheel pucks; could be either forward or rear. Forward would be shorter length, rear would be better for bed space.

Just a thought!

 

[Sponge60]

I am a huge fan of the Andersen Ultimate hitch. it is around 35 pounds and easily installed / removed. I've used both a Pullrite slider and the Andersen in a short bed and hands down, the Andersen wins.

 

[BAT3500]

I am a huge fan of the Andersen Ultimate hitch. it is around 35 pounds and easily installed / removed. I've used both a Pullrite slider and the Andersen in a short bed and hands down, the Andersen wins.

I have the exact opposite opinion.

The pullrite slider in my megacab gives me one less thing to worry about when dealing with tight turns parking the trailer at the storage unit.