I have a Chevy 2500 short bed and will be towing a 27' 5th wheel. I've towed travel trailers for years but never a 5th wheel hitch.Is the slider hitch worth the extra money? The previous owner has basically the same truck and used a non-slider with no issues. The hitch comes with the trailer so all I would need is the rails.I always thought the slider was the way to go with a short bed...Will this work? Thanks

It may not be needed on 5vers where the front cap is rounded. And it would seem to be the case that yours must fit that description. You need to be cautious when you make extreme turns where the truck approaches a ninety degree angle with the 5ver. That shouldn't happen often if ever. But it might be possible in that case for the 5ver to make contact with the truck cab. Did the previous owner also have a short bed truck?

I have always had a long bed so no personal experience except for camping buddies. Some of them have short beds and have sliders. They tell me the very rarely use them...but when trying to get in a tight spot with not much approach room it is a must. If you don't ever need to get in spots like that, and are careful to know your limits, you are probably fine without it.

GM trucks generally have the longest axle to cab distance, so work better, when not using a slider.If you are used to the limits of backing a TT, then you should do fine without a slider in the Chevy. With either, you just need to know your limit.Jerry

SCCamper wrote:I have a Chevy 2500 short bed and will be towing a 27' 5th wheel. I've towed travel trailers for years but never a 5th wheel hitch.Is the slider hitch worth the extra money? The previous owner has basically the same truck and used a non-slider with no issues. The hitch comes with the trailer so all I would need is the rails.I always thought the slider was the way to go with a short bed...Will this work? ThanksI have the B&W Companion non-slider and it works just fine with my setup. FW is very square front and I can NOT hit in either direction going forward. 4x4 may have something to do with it, but I'm not even close. In reverse, ALL will hit the cab, just sooner without a slider. For me, I see no need for one. Truck's in my sig.Lyle

I have a GMC with a 6.5' bed. I have the Andersen ultimate 5th wheel connection and so far have been comfortable with the distances.

Is a slider hitch worth the extra money? | Good Sam Community

RustyJC
Explorer
Mar 20, 2015
NMDriver wrote:
... that the extended pin box does not.

I think you will find the pin extension does the same thing as the slider.

Not at a 90 degree angle. At 90 degrees, the 5th wheel is moved farther outward from the longitudinal centerline of the truck by the extended pin box, but not farther rearward from the cab. That distance is determined, as I stated, by the distance from the hitch kingpin bore centerline to the rear of the cab. If you have a 102" wide 5th wheel, then if the distance from the hitch kingpin bore centerline to the rear of the cab is less than 51", the side of the 5th wheel will contact the cab when the two are at a 90 degree angle.

It's basic geometry.

Rusty
phillyg
Explorer II
Mar 20, 2015
It's only worth it when you need it. I thought my SB signature truck plus the rounded front of our new FW would not require a slider; it does.
JIMNLIN
Explorer III
Mar 20, 2015
nmdriver wrote:
I think you will find the pin extension does the same thing as the slider. It moves the "centerline" (front edge of the 5er) back from the cab. Now whether or not it is enough for your particular rig depends.

Good point.... Before the hitch industry gave us a sliding hitch for our short bed trucks we could change from a zero pin box up to a 30" extended pin box.
I had new 1984 26' 5th wheel with a zero pin box on a '82 2500 chevy. Very close attention was required as it had a very short turning angle before contacting the cab. This unit pin was about 8-9" behind the front of the overhead.
I Found a Atwood 30" extended pin box which increased my turning angle to the point it simply wasn't a worry anymore.
I like a manual slider as it places the pin 11" behind the trucks rear axle for quicker response to steering input while backing in tight conditions.
Dtank
Explorer
Mar 20, 2015
.

It's worth every penny if you needed it - but didn't have it..:(

However it appears pennies are tight, soooooo.....

Buy a set of rails for the hitch, mount it and try a few slow speed
test turns, backing etc. - with a spotter...:W

Then *YOU* will know which advice you received on a Internet forum applies to your p/up and trlr..:C

.
boiseidaho
Explorer
Mar 20, 2015
For me and my luck a must. Cheap insurance is the way I justified it .
3ares
Explorer
Mar 20, 2015
I have had two different fithwheel Rv's that I have towed with my Dodge shortbed PU. One trailer with a flat front and one with a rounded front.Never any prolems-I don't even think about contacting truck and trailer anymore. I feel the money was well spent for the peace of mind. One bad incident and you could pay for at least one hitch.

Happy Camping
htowners
Explorer
Mar 21, 2015
Check out the Sidewinder.
While the hitch plus S/W is no cheaper than a basic slider, it's lighter, takes no additional bed space, and does not require any manual intervention.
I'm able to back past 90, drop the gate and pull away, which makes wagon circle type camping sites easy
valhalla360
Navigator
Mar 21, 2015
C-Bears wrote:
valhalla360 wrote:
If he has the same truck ask him to hook it up and see how sharp he can turn.

Actually, I would have posted this same thing a year or so ago. But now I have to say that is really bad advise.

I got a slider with my "short" bed because a RV mechanic told me to. Then after visiting over 26 states and never using it I felt I had wasted my money.

Until backing into a site in Florida this December. I had it cranked pretty far, but not nearly as far as I have had it in the past. A guy in another site yelled at me to watch my cab. I stopped, got out and looked, my FW was actually touching the corner of my cab!

The ground in the site was a little soft and caused my FW to lean a little too far into my cut. It was hard to see the lean from the driver's seat. So, you may be able to cut it really hard around and never touch as long as your TV and FW are pretty level, but if you FW gets to leaning you will wish you had a slider!

The point is if it's the same truck he can see how far it will turn. If he can turn 80-90 degrees, it's a non-issue. If he can only turn 45 degrees, he needs a slider.

In between it's his comfort level.
rsbabson
Explorer
Mar 21, 2015
2013 F250 SB 2015 Montana Mountaineer 356TBF B&W Companion (non slider) 5th wheel hitch. No problems backing up
Hannibal
Explorer
Mar 22, 2015
With our relatively lightweight 5th wheel, I installed a second set of rails putting the pin 52" behind the cab and 12" behind the rear axle. I know it goes against the recommendations of the manufacturer and I don't recommend it to others but for us, it works. I can't tell the difference towing and squat is the same. Quite a few welders with welding rigs in their trucks do this to give clearance to their welding rigs.