Options on hitching a 5th wheel

Nicholsfamily05 wrote:

We are using the Reese Professional series 20K slider hitch with the bed rails.

I see you have the attached air compressor. I assume it is to air up the air bags in the hitch. I also understand the Hensley Trailer Saver has the option for an attached air compressor.

My Question: How often do the air bags need to be aired up? Is the air compressor "nice to have" or a "must have option"?

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Do your self a favor and add the factory prep kit, not a hard or expensive thing to do. then get the B&W RVK3600 hitch and be happy!

WHY the he!! would anyone want rails in a modern truck ???

So I can only imagine he is referring to my pictures and why I would use rails.
Simple easy to install, and as I stated above........
We don't use the truck except to pull our 5er
So how clean our bed looks doesn't matter to us. The hitch never comes out.
A year and a half never taken out. Our last truck 4 years never taken out.
You don't care for it oh well.
And the rails made a really nice mounting spot for my compressor and air tank.

Do your self a favor and add the factory prep kit, not a hard or expensive thing to do. then get the B&W RVK3600 hitch and be happy!

WHY the he!! would anyone want rails in a modern truck ???

The Reese Elite also has a wrap around latch like the Pullrite Super 5th. I have had both and both work great.

There's also the locking mechanism to consider. Personally, I prefer Pullrite's design. Most others are a clam shell design. Pullrite uses a design that wraps around the pin.

There's a lot of info out there. Take your time and weigh it all.

We have a 2016 3500 Ram CC turbo diesel short bed. We are currently towing a 2017 42' Sierra 377FLIK. Comes in around 16.5K
We are using the Reese Professional series 20K slider hitch with the bed rails. Our truck isn't used for anything else except towing the 5er. Which I have to say does an excellent job of it.

When connected the truck squats down about 3 inches but the trailer itself sits level. We only have about 4 inches between the bed rails and the bottom of the 5er. Had one issue with is when we had our bedcover rails on but now they are gone. But as stated before the trucks sit high.

We can put our tailgate down but we aren't thing enough to walk through after that. Haha

Jackfate

It's sort of a loaded question LOL, as BB_TX their are a number of good 5th wheel hitches out there, we have a curt but others like Reese an B&W, there are pro an cons to all of them :)

One thing for sure is that not knowing Dodge Rams if you have a short bed you will need what is called a slider 5th wheel hits, if a long bed then you will not need a slider...

I have seen on a couple of the RV reflectors/web sites that the newer trucks sit higher than the older ones, you need to have at a minimum 3 inches between your bed rails and your 5th wheel, most people recommend at least 6 inches as I also would recommend not 3, to me that way to close.

Make sure you have room between the back of your truck and your 5th wheel when hooked up, you should be able to walk between them, you should also be able to lower your tail gate and open the from hatch of the 5th wheel when hooked...

There are different what is called pin boxes, "short", "Medium" an "LONG" make sure the pin box is set along with your 5th wheel hitch so that the 5th wheel sits level and not noise high... As well you truck should not squat/drop no more than 3 to 4 inches when the weight of the trailer pin is on your 5th wheel, ie 5th wheel hooked an ready to travel ...

I'm sure there will be more people chim in, like I said there are may different things to look at when changing from a TT to 5th wheel. People will even tell you that they are harder to back into camping site, not true, once you get the hang of it they are far easier. I also recommend once you get everything put together and you find the 5th wheel you like go to a place with allot of room and practice backing between orange cones as if you were backing into a camp site...

Like TT there are lots of options in 5th wheel new and used, we like KZ brand other like Coachman an other like Grand Design, Montana etc, take your time as you are doing ask questions and do not let people make up your mind for you.

Most of all pick a good dealer, there is nothing worse than a bad dealer when once you have pulled off the lot they wave good bye and don't come back...

Safe travels

The fifth wheel hitches are not specific to certain brands/models of fifth wheels. Any of them rated high enough should work. Since you have a long bed, no need for a slider. There are lots of options, some have industry standard bed rails and some have hidden mountings and the bed is cleaner when the hitch is removed. You don't need to select a hitch until after you pick a fifth wheel.

Any of the standard rail mount hitches rated at least 18k would be fine. B&W has lots of fans, but Pullrite, Reese, Curt and others also make good hitches. Some offer under bed mounts if you want a clean bed when you remove the hitch. Or you could splurge and go for an air ride hitch.