Hitches for Ford's 5th wheel pkg

lenr wrote:
The Reese adapter increases height by almost 3" which may play heck with getting the trailer level--did with mine. Rounded nose trailers with dimples will turn a lot shorter without banging the cab, but not all trailers have them. Last time I looked the heavier Elite hitches don't come with the slider, just the 18K does, and it is VERY expensive. Next time I would skip the Ford under-bed system have the B&W under-bed installed, and get a Companion slider.

The Elite slider is expensive and the notched front caps do help with a non slider hitch. But, the point about only the 18k coming as a slider is a bit off. A short bed truck is the only truck you'd need a slider for and short bed trucks aren't rated to tow more than 18k. So, making a slider that handles more weight than that would be useless as there isn't a truck on the market that would be rated to use it.

lenr wrote:
The Reese adapter increases height by almost 3" which may play heck with getting the trailer level--did with mine. Rounded nose trailers with dimples will turn a lot shorter without banging the cab, but not all trailers have them. Last time I looked the heavier Elite hitches don't come with the slider, just the 18K does, and it is VERY expensive. Next time I would skip the Ford under-bed system have the B&W under-bed installed, and get a Companion slider.

I have the adapter and it adds about 2" to the height of my old Reese 16K hitch. I thought I had screwed up by getting the adapter as my fiver was very nose high until I took measurements. The Reese on the adapter was 1/2" lower than the lowest setting on the B&W. My solution was to install a Mor/Ryde pin box on the highest position to replace the Reese Sidewinder that had very limited height adjustment. I now have the fiver nose clearing the bed rails by 6" instead of 9".

I just looked at the Curt Q20 and, wow, it will go 3" lower than the B&W and is cheaper as well. Had I only known!

Houstonkid wrote:
I have the Curt Q20 with Ford legs, very pleased with the ease of removal.

https://www.etrailer.com/Fifth-Wheel/Curt/C16530-16017.html

That's actually a nice looking hitch!

I have the Curt Q20 with Ford legs, very pleased with the ease of removal.

https://www.etrailer.com/Fifth-Wheel/Curt/C16530-16017.html

This is the Hensley TrailerSaver BD3 - notice that the hitch sits sown inside the adaptor

broark01 wrote:
Just latch one of these in the bed and just about any Reese hitch will pin to it.

Actually almost any hitch that is made for standard rails will mount in this. I have a Husky mounted in this adapter but it does raise the hitch at least a couple of inches as lenr said. In my opinion it's not the best solution for this application. It's okay if you already own a standard hitch. I think it's better to purchase a hitch that will drop into the factory setup. Would likely cost the same or less than buying this plus a standard hitch.

The Reese adapter increases height by almost 3" which may play heck with getting the trailer level--did with mine. Rounded nose trailers with dimples will turn a lot shorter without banging the cab, but not all trailers have them. Last time I looked the heavier Elite hitches don't come with the slider, just the 18K does, and it is VERY expensive. Next time I would skip the Ford under-bed system have the B&W under-bed installed, and get a Companion slider.

ACZL wrote:
Thanks for all the replies!!!! My buddy's dealer was trying to sell him a slider hitch and rails. From what I've seen after posting my 1st post on this, it seems that Reese designed the factory hitch for Ford thus trying to ensure "exclusivebility" and therefore markets a rail system for other brands to fit their system.

I think you may be reading more into the Reese/Ford relationship. Reese wasn't looking for "exclusivity" by designing the Puck system, rather I think Ford went to them to get a clean 5th hitch design. If Reese was trying to make it exclusive, they wouldn't have left the architecture open for B&W or the others to adapt into the Reese base installed under the bed of the truck.

ACZL wrote:
Being a semi driver, he's familiar with getting too close to cab in tight turns VS pushing it while turning. Will pass along info.

You know, my friend is a professional semi driver, and I'm sure he is proficient in his job, but he is one of the worst 5th wheel drivers I have ever known :) Not trying to stereotype, but semi-drivers don't have to tolerate trailers coming in the back window or wide swings on the tail because the 5th wheel axles are near the center of the trailer. He has dropped his trailer twice, ripped the back clip off pulling through a fence, even hit the side of his storage building pulling out and ripped open the roof. Like I said, I'm sure he drives his tractor trailer fine :)

There are no extra rails with the Reese either. It's a drop in. The Ford prep IS Reese. So the Reese Elite is made to work with it. B&W works too...

I have a 2014 that came with the hitch prep. I did a lot of pricing on line, and found the B&W to be the cheapest, plus several people in our area said it was the best. I had a B&W dealer get the hitch and he installed it in about 30 min. this included unpacking and putting together before install. Seems like I paid around 800.00 to 900.00. Can't believe how much better this hitch is versus other I've used.