Hijacker 16K Ultra Slide installed today!!

[tschwab]

What an awesome piece of equipment! Super easy to use, looks great and I can't wait to hook up the 5vr and try it out. Very stout and for those who have follwed my post's on trying to decide which hitch to go with, I am glad I made the decision to go with Hijacker. I looked real close at Pullrite, quality unit and fully automatic slider..... but, overpriced IMHO, that was not the reason I decided against it. The reason I decided against it was, due to the fact that you have to have a special adapter plate attached to your kingpin, which means, only your truck could tow your 5ver and if you had to tow someone else's 5vr you could not, as the Pullrite hitch has to mate upto the Pullrite adapter plate. No thanks, too much hassle and worry if your truck breaks down and your 5vr needs to pulled or if your buddy's truck breaks down and you have to pull his 5vr.



Glad I went with a "conventional" type hitch and glad I chose a Hijacker, from our friends to the the North - Eh, Quality, good looks and simple to use. For those who have not yet checked out their "Ultra Slide" line, WOW, quite an improvement over the regular slide hitch.

 

[EricBu12]

That 4 spring loaded pins seems like a pain and the 2 panes of metal for the slider seems like a slider that was on some big rigs and they were always a pain to slide. Even when we had a air-release for the cogs that held it in place..... Hope that works for you...



I didn't get a slider. . I bought the popup hitch pinbox extender. www.popuphitch.com Extends the pinbox 10" and so then I bought the 15. 5K Pullrite hitch... Just the regular one with the super rails. This makes for a clean bed when you have the hitch out... . as you might have seen in posts... . I have a 3 axle trailer so I don't want to do 90 degree turns... The 10" extension makes me able to do fairly sharp turns about 75-80 degrees. thats enough...



I was considering the auto slider as well then found the pop-up hitch so that saved me $1000

 

[JimBob24]

Sounds like the Hijacker is the way to go if you want a manual slide. I had a Reese 15K with slider and it worked fairly well, but quite a nuisance to use if you were in a tight spot and in a hurry. It was also difficult to unlock it unless you had absolutely no fore or aft load on it.



I went with the Pullrite and it is a bit expensive, but the automatic feature was essential to me. I could not do a 90 degree jackknife with the Reese with slider, but I can with the Pullrite. I found the Pullrite hitch relatively easy to install.



Pullrite does make an adapter which will allow a trailer with the Pullrite adapter plate mounted on it to be pulled by a conventional hitch on another truck. That way, if you break down you can be towed by another tow vehicle, and the adapter installs in just a couple of minutes. Of course, that adds another $150. 00 to the total!!

 

[tschwab]

That 4 spring loaded pins seems like a pain and the 2 panes of metal for the slider seems like a slider that was on some big rigs and they were always a pain to slide. Even when we had a air-release for the cogs that held it in place..... Hope that works for you...



I didn't get a slider. . I bought the popup hitch pinbox extender. www.popuphitch.com Extends the pinbox 10" and so then I bought the 15. 5K Pullrite hitch... Just the regular one with the super rails. This makes for a clean bed when you have the hitch out... . as you might have seen in posts... . I have a 3 axle trailer so I don't want to do 90 degree turns... The 10" extension makes me able to do fairly sharp turns about 75-80 degrees. thats enough...



I was considering the auto slider as well then found the pop-up hitch so that saved me $1000

Eric, I think you are referring to their regular slider, the ultra slide is very slick, pop out the safety pin, pull one lever, get in the truck, put on the manual trlr brake and pull forward and it locks into place in the extended position.

 

[EricBu12]

Oh, Ok Like most of the others.....



I got the Pull-rite hitch with the super-rails so when I take it out, I have a clean bed with no rails to get in the way... The hitch was $350... The rails and bracket $350 the Pop-up hitch was $400..... Total $1100. If I was to get that auto (pull-rite) slider, it was like $2200 total... . Too rich for me... .



The RV-5 pop-up hitch is pretty slick. Extends the pin 10"... Also a neat thing, it raised the front of the trailer 3" Which leveled it right up...



My trailer is a 3 axle so I don't even WANT to do a 90 deg if I can avoid it... ... I drive doubles (big rig) and pretty much drive where I don't back up much or drive where I need to do tight corners... . Plus the majority of the time I go to the desert in the toyhauler... . no tight corners there...

 

[Grizzly]

Am I missing something here. Everyone here seems to have a the short bed, that's 6'-3". If you are going to pull a large (anything 20' and longer is LARGE) RV why not get the long box? Does it cost that much more? RVing is so much simpler with a long box. I can just see me putting my 11'-3" cab-over camper in a short box. I tell all my friends that the only thing a short box is good for is to deliver flowers. Grizzly



Oo. Oo. Oo.

 

[Bertram65]

It is not the cost. Not everyone lives in an area or uses thier truck where a long bed quad cab would be easy to manuver. I use my truck as a daily driver and park in a four story garage at work, the corners are tight with the SB. I like having the high weight capacity of the 3500, I can put a palet of tile in the bed and not worry about the weight, I do not need any more length. If I need to carry something that cannot fit in the bed I use a trailer.

 

[tschwab]

I don't want to get into a longbed vs shortbed debate, the main reason I bought a shortbed (my '98 12V was a longbed), was so it would fit in my garage. The 3G's ARE longer than their respective 2G cousins (bigger cabs)!

 

[CUMMINZ]

Pinbox mod

I have a shortbed and needed a little more turning room. I modified my flipover ball RV2 hitch.



Modifications click here.

 

[BSchulte]

All,

Good conversation on variuos hitches. I am in the middle of looking at them now and can't make up my mind on what to buy. It appears the the pullrite hitch is the most convenient in not worrying to forget to pull the hitch for added cab clearence. However, (if I read correctly) it sounds like if I need to pull some one else 5vr, I can't with the pullrite hitch. Is this correct? Also I looked into the hijacker hitches and based on the installation inctructions, it looks like you need to drill the frame to mount. I have friends that use reese hitches and seem to be O. K. with them. Again I am new to this and am planning to pull a 31' trailer. Looking for a 16k hitch.

Can you guys help me out?

Thanks in advance

 

[tschwab]

My dealer/installer did not need to drill. There is a hitch mountinting kit made for dodge frames that clamp around the frame rails (I believe that is how it works). Dealer said it was one of the toughest installs he has had so far on a dodge, due to the fact it was a SWB 3500, not a lot of room for the mounting brackets and the extra leaf spring(s) on the 3500, and the dealer I had install it has been installing hitches for years and is a very reliable shop.

 

[gonzo2]

BShculte, I had the Hijacker installed on mine (with the drilled Installation) and am very satisfied with the result. From what I can tell the installation is very well engineered and meets Dodges' requirements for our Hydroformed frames.

I was out again this weekend and the whole system gets good reviews from other RV'ers. I really like the ease of checking that everything is engaged as should be.

There's a pic in my readers rigs (Jazz).

 

[BSchulte]

gonzo2

Nice pics of your set-up. Looks sharp!

Thanks for the info on the hijacker. I will have to look at them more closely.

 

[gonzo2]

Nice pics of your set-up. Looks sharp!

Thanks!

 

[tschwab]

BShculte, I had the Hijacker installed on mine (with the drilled Installation) and am very satisfied with the result. From what I can tell the installation is very well engineered and meets Dodges' requirements for our Hydroformed frames.

I was out again this weekend and the whole system gets good reviews from other RV'ers. I really like the ease of checking that everything is engaged as should be.

There's a pic in my readers rigs (Jazz).

After further inspection on mine, I see that I also have the drilled installation.

 

[BSchulte]

Folks,

where did you see where dodge recomended the drilling of of frames?

I am in the steel industry and know that hydro formed frames have memory. And have read that drilling these types of Hydro frames could stress relieve the temper and cause a weeker frame.

 

[tschwab]

BSchulte, go to the Hijacker website and take a look at the installation instructions for the Dodge and you will see where Hijacker instructs the frame to be drilled and the bolts to be "fished" thru to mount the brackets. I know Dodge reccomends against "welding" on the frame, but I have got to believe the four drilled holes has got to be OK... ... Hijacker would not be in business too long if they ignored manufacturers guidlines on installation. I was also looking at the Pullrite website on installation and I believe their brackets mount a similar way to the frame.

 

[JimBob24]

I just installed the PullRite 16K SuperGlide. It does not require any drilling or welding to the frame (for the SuperRail mounts). The brackets go above and below the frame and use a backing plate. It also uses pre-existing holes in the frame.

 

[tschwab]

Mine has nuts and bolts that also go thru the frame rails, I don't know if theses holes were there from the factory or if the hitch dealer drilled them, I'm begining to think they were there from the factory.

 

[gonzo2]

http://dodgeram. info/tsb/2003/13-001-03.htm

Check this out. Dodge doesn't 'Reccomend' it (who would), but the installation follows the guidelines from what I can tell.