5th wheel hitch question & HELP

[bill8333]

Hey yall I need some help. I just bought me a brand new 2004 CTD quad cab 2500 4x4 short bed with 9000 GVW 48re. I need to install a new hitch. I heard of this under the bed rails and a company called pull rite and reese make hitches for these new style rails. Does anyone have either one, if so whats the pros and cons.



Thanks bill7975

 

[exfuzz01]

I have the short bed also and pull a 5er..... I have a Pullrite Superslide hitch installed... all automatic. . no need to get out and manually do anything . . only way to go. . they are expensive but worth it...

 

[Loren]

Bill,



When I got a fifth-wheel hitch for the new short-bed, I also bought a SuperGlide from Pulliam. It was very expensive. I justified the price by telling myself that if I hit the trailer against the truck just once, it would pay for the hitch several times over.



Anything else will require that you NEVER forget that you may hit the truck with the trailer. Forget just once and you'll wish that you had spent the money on the hitch.



I have not heard of a Reese, nor any other product, that works like the Pulliam SuperGlide.



Loren

 

[JimBob24]

I have a Reese 16K with slider. I used the new Reese no-drill frame mounts on mine. They are designed especially for this frame rail. They clamp around the frame and have tabs that extend over the rails/under the bed for the hitch mounting rails to bolt to. Seems to work great and fairly easy to install. I think the mounts listed for around $200. 00.

I agree with the other posts that the Pullright automatic type hitches are great and I would consider them one day, but too steep for me right now.

Even with my short bed I can back in fairly tight places without extending the slider, but I have to remember to watch the front of the trailer when backing to make sure it does not hit the back of the cab. Even with the slider extended I could not do a 90 degree jackknife, but I never have had a problem (so far).



Jim

 

[bill8333]

Great thank you for that information. You are right about the price as it is I needed to charge it, the pullrite hitch is about 2000 dollars. One more question well two more. Do you tow in O/D with your 3. 73 gears. I have the 4. 10 gears that was a must for me, my last truck had 4. 10s and I could pull all day long in O/D getting 14 MPG sometimes more sometimes less. Also how do you like those lund running boards I need to get a set Becky is only 5ft tall and has a big problem jumping in & up.

 

[JimBob24]

Bill, the running boards were one of the first things I did after I bought the truck (after the Line-X). I had them on my '97 and consider them a necessity. Even if you are fairly tall it helps getting into the truck without dragging your pants leg across a dirty rocker panel. The Lund are sturdy, relatively easy to install, and look decent. They have 4 one piece vehicle specific "L" mounting brackets per side instead of the two piece universal type with all the bolts and adjustments on some of the others. I had to put a couple of shims under the front brackets to make them level, but no big problem.



My RV weighs just under 10K loaded, and I tow in the tow/haul (OD off) mode around town and in stop and go traffic, and when climbing a lot when the trans shifts frequently, but on the open road I tow in OD. As long as I can maintain my cruising speed and RPM in OD I leave it there. Keep that torque converter locked as much as possible ... . much cooler on the trans as well as the fuel economy. My current 04. 5 is completely stock and I plan to leave it that way as long as it will tow what I need although I am going to add EGT, boost and trans temp gauges to monitor performance . My '97 CTD had 3. 55 gears and a Banks Stinger Plus on it and I used OD as much as possible, although I had upgraded to a Suncoast Pro-Loc triple disc tq converter. The Banks sort of ate up the stock converter. :-laf



Jim

 

[bill8333]

Thanks again I'm going to look for running boards tonight on the web. I think the only thing I'm going to add to my truck is the Diesel Dynamics Black box. That will give me a cool 300+HP. On my 1998. 5 one ton I added that box and the fuel mileage went up +2MPG while towing.



Bill7975

 

[GaryCarter]

The Pullrite SuperSlide is $$$, but it's the only worry free solution. My fifth even with an extended pin box would be just about touching the rear window on a tight turn going forward if I used a regular hitch.

With the superslide I can jackknife a full 90 degrees.



You'll have no problem towing OD with the 3. 73's.



Mike

 

[bill8333]

Thanks for the info mike. I have one more question you may be able to help me with. I see you say you have a extended pin box what is that.



Bill

 

[Bertram65]

I have a Reese 18K signature series on my '03. I installed it myself, I am impressed with the quality of the hitch, the signature series is pretty new it uses a under bed mounting system, and leaves the bed completely empty when it is removed, I have the slider but I am not sure I really needed it, I have played around with the trailer in the driveway and I can turn pretty sharp without being slid back, plus I can see the trailer very well and how close it is to the truck. The signature series has a 7 year warrantee as well. You have to drill 4 holes in the frame, and 4 holes in the bed, the bed holes are 2. 5" in diameter, measure twice... . I ordered it online from a place with free delivery, it arrived in two days, they have warehouses all over the US. I have the 4. 10 gears, anything less than 2000 RPMs on the hills requires me to drop out of OD, the 3. 73s may be better as you can go faster in 3rd.

 

[JimBob24]

Bill, I am not sure your question about "what an extended pin box is"... was answered. A long bed truck can pull a fifth wheel with the king pin directly under the mounting frame on the trailer. The trailer body will extend forward of the pin. Short beds need the pin extended further forward of the front of the trailer. You can buy a frame which bolts to the original pin mount on the trailer and extends the pin forward as much as 18 or more inches. For the past several years many fifth wheels already came with an extended pin box so they could be pulled with short or long beds. . This will put the pin even with or in front of the front edge of the trailer. Even with the extended pin box, you will not be able to do a 90 degree jackknife, but you can turn fairly sharp.

 

[GaryCarter]

Bill, the extended pin box is an extension that bolts to the front frame of your fiver that extends the kingpin forward approximately a foot (sizes vary). It gets the trailer back further from the truck and in some cases is enough to make a trailer work with a short bed truck and no slider hitch.

Just remember as the trailer rotates on the hitch, what was 12" to the rear becomes 12" to the side when the truck and trailer are at 90 degrees.



Mike



PS- all the third gen Dodge trucks have a "no drill" requirement for frame mounted hitches. Get one that fits around the frame and bolts through existing holes.

 

[JimBob24]

Actually you can drill into the frame if necessary. It is not recommended by DC but not restricted either. I certainly think the "no drill" mounts are best, but many others have safely drilled and bolted mounts to their rails.



If you read the TSB carefully ... . http://dodgeram.info/tsb/2003/13-001-03.htm ...

you will see that DC advises against drilling, then they go on and explain how to do it. Is that confusing or what!!! What they are saying is ... they realize that there is a need for some installations to use drilling or welding to the frame; they just do not warranty the frame if you do. Hitch manufacturers like Reese have specific instructions and kits for drilling and mounting to the frame of the 3rd gens.



The "no drill" mount that I used was much easier to install and did not affect the warranty so I think that is the way to go, but I would be comfortable drilling and bolting on a mount using DC's instructions too.