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Which 5th Wheel Hitch

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RV Lot in Winston-Salem

Truck to trailer plug??

I have a 2004. 5 Quad Cab Short Bed. I want to put a 5th Wheel Hitch in the bed. Who has one and what one are you using. I also have a 50 gallon fuel tank in the bed, it's the one that fits under the Tonneau Cover. I'm pretty sure the hitch will fit with the tank.

So the questioin is which hitch are you guys using??

:confused:
 
In my sig you will see the hitch I am using. I have had this hitch on two short bed trucks. Just bought new rails and grade 8 mounting hardware for the hitch for the new truck. Mine is a manual slider and I have no issues with it, the hitch does what I require to pull my 5 er. You will get a lot of opinions from every one on these sites. You will just need to decided on cost/value to decide, all sliders will work with a short bed truck.
 
I prefer PullRite after much research and experience with other brands. My PullRite is not the slider since I have a long bed, however the slider is as good according to discussions here. I also have the SuperRail Mounting Kit, which I like because you can remove the rails and have a clean bed. I installed my own to keep anyone from welding or drilling on my frame. Check it out.



PullRite has a SAFER, STRONGER, BETTER designed hitch for you
 
I have used a Reese 20k hitch for about five years and probably 250,000 towing miles. Reese is the oldest manufacturer and probably builds the most widely sold hitch in the industry. It is a little more pricey than some of the competitor's products but I am convinced it is the best.

One of the features of the Reese is the jaws lock tightly around the kingpin and allow no slack on load starting or slowing. Some of the less expensive brands allow annoying slack. A friend of mine ignored my recommendation and bought another well known brand that has been mentioned here. He later sold it cheaply and bought a Reese because of the "clunking" on launch.
 
I have the Reese Signature Series 18K and love it. It has a rail that bolts into the frame under the bed with 4 attachment points that lay level with the bed floor. The hitch itself will then drop into the 4 points and lock into place. This allows the bed to be completely normal when not using the hitch. If it interests you, this also allows you to pick between their 5th hitch or a gooseneck. They make either one to fit the mounting system. Very strong setup. Make sure to get a slider for your short bed, though.
 
After talking to a friend that crunched the front of thier trailer into their cab, I bought the Pullrite Superglide. If you're going to be pulling an 8 1/2 foot wide trailer, you may need the 24,000 pound model as it slides back further than the 18k model.



My only complaints with the hitch are it isn't adjustable for height, the paint peeled off the mounting brackets as I was installing the hitch, and there was a brake line mounting tab welded to the frame that I had to bend some to get the mounting brackets to fit right.
 
When I had a short bed truck, I had a Pullrite Superglide. It worked as advertised. If I had a short bed truck, I would have one again. They are pricy, but so is the deductible when you dent the cab.
 
I bought this one- PullRite 14K and am happy with my choice. Just be sure your bed to RV clearance is 6" to 8", trust me 5. 5" and you will dent your bed rail.



In the beginning I greased the slides but then ended up pulling the hitch apart, cleaning everything and painting the slides with this stuff, way better. . cleaner and dirt doesn't stick + slides real nice.
 
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HBarlow,have been shoppin Reese's,with a double pivot setup and have been looking at a Mor-ryde hitch-pin setup,drove about 10 miles next to a QC Longbed with a Reese/Mor-Ryde,it was sweet no motion whats so every bed was steady as a rock over expansion's lane changes,braking,5th wheel trailer was also leveled,not jack-up in to the air in the front on the trailer,look to be a Grand Junction 5er. Thought,s. Nice setup in your bed any pic's.
 
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topcat,

My truck is a quad cab and chassis and the frame of my Reese hitch has had the top 4" cut off in order to shorten it and provide a lower towing height so photos of my truck probably wouldn't give you much useful information. The deck of an aftermarket flatbed or towing bed is taller than the floor of a pickup bed which would have put me into a nose-up towing position. I had to either buy a low profile Reese 30k intended for medium duty trucks or modify my well-used but still servicable Reese 20k so I could get the fifth wheel down low enough to tow level. I kept my $900 and had a welder cut the old one.

I'll take a photo today and see if I can remember how to upload it onto the TDR forum.
 
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Grizzly,

My old Navy buddy happened to call from AZ where he is spending the winter late yesterday and I asked him about what brand of hitch he tried then dumped. It was him I was writing about in an earlier post. He couldn't remember the brand but he said it wasn't a Pullrite. He had a long bed Ford drw back then when he bought his first fiver. It was a lesser well known brand.

He has a Dodge Ram 3500 shortbed srw truck now and has a kingpin extension instead of a sliding hitch.
 
PullRite Slider

I prefer PullRite after much research and experience with other brands. My PullRite is not the slider since I have a long bed, however the slider is as good according to discussions here. I also have the SuperRail Mounting Kit, which I like because you can remove the rails and have a clean bed. I installed my own to keep anyone from welding or drilling on my frame. Check it out.



PullRite has a SAFER, STRONGER, BETTER designed hitch for you



Pullrite sider is a great hitch. I have installed several. After Installation I hook up and jacknife the trailer, no clearance problems whatsoever. The only issue we run into is the trailer is low and the truck high, is the pinbox hits the tailgate in the manavure(spell) position, but the different hitchs wil not help that issue.



Jim BTW I have one with super rails.
 
I've got the smallest Reese made (15k)... it works well. I like the fact its mechanism is very simple... strong, but simple.

I would be concerned that you may have interference issues with your auxiliary tank... I have a 24" wide toolbox and have less than 9" of room between the hitch base and box... and that's in a long bed.
 
Grizzly,



My old Navy buddy happened to call from AZ where he is spending the winter late yesterday and I asked him about what brand of hitch he tried then dumped. It was him I was writing about in an earlier post. He couldn't remember the brand but he said it wasn't a Pullrite. He had a long bed Ford drw back then when he bought his first fiver. It was a lesser well known brand.



He has a Dodge Ram 3500 shortbed srw truck now and has a kingpin extension instead of a sliding hitch.









Harvey, I didn't mean to put you on the spot, but as you know I value your opinion.
 
Ok I give up. How does and automatic sliding hitch work?

How does the hitch know when I'm turning? Or does it only work when backing up?
 
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