Considering switching to a 5'er, hitch question.

[MHWASH]

Hello All,

I currently tow a TT TH, but were looking to upgrade the bedroom to a walk around bed. There are a couple of smaller <35' 5'ers that interest me.

My question is, do most RV dealers do hitch installs them selves? How much does a new hitch plus install go for? I have a long box 2500, so I don't think I need a slider, but I haven't really done any research either.

[MHWASH]

I got some real numbers this weekend. Front is 4900, rear is 3580 which leaves me 2620 wet pin weight. Also not factory setup for hitch.

[ralphnjoann]

gkainz wrote:
The Big Brown Truck just dropped of my Anderson Ultimate Aluminum a little bit ago... 🙂

The Big Brown Truck will be dropping mine off this Wednesday. 🙂

[gkainz]

The Big Brown Truck just dropped of my Anderson Ultimate Aluminum a little bit ago... 🙂

[Cummins12V98]

Wood chip wrote:


this time with the pic

That's a beauty!

[Veebyes]

Any airbag/rubber pinbox is better than no airbag/rubber pinbox. If long trips are planned getting a good airbag pinbox is worth having. All are not equal. I have had the Trail Air & 5th Airbourne on the same model trailer. IMO the Trail Air is superior by far with much more travel available than the 5th Airbourne.

[Wood_chip]

this time with the pic

[Wood_chip]

http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i406/sangerlover/image.jpg9.jpg

I use this B&W non slider in my standard bed. I had a reputable hitch shop install it as my dealer said they only do a few hitches a month. Did not give me comfort in them being experts in this field

[krazymatt]

Go with a hitch installer. I found a local guy to do my hitch for the price of the hitch alone at a dealer. Then the dealer wanted the cost of the hitch for installation labor. I saved $500 by going with the hitch installer and he offered mobile service he installed it at my office parking lot.

[htowners]

Ignore, this post was meant for another thread.

[thomas201]

First decide what suits you. For me I haul odds and ends, but never sand or gravel. I love the rails, for hauling my kayak and just yesterday to strap some 16 foot boards in the bed. You must buy straps that fit into the slots. Others consider only a clean bed acceptable.

Then size the hitch for your 5er plus one size. Make sure you can lift the pieces out of the bed, or have a plan to get them out. At least one is aluminum, right folks?

Then you have a draw bar vs jaws. The bar is utter simple, but thunks a bit. The jaws might fail, but probably not.

Then price.

At the end of the haggle, the dealer will probably throw in a cheap hitch to close the deal. You could try his and see what you think. You can always sell it and get exactly what you want later, as you gain experience.

As others have said, they are just an afternoon do it yourself project.

[Dtank]

lenr wrote:

My wife says don't use the camper dealer, they don't have a clue. In my opinion, what they are good at is selling trailers. I'd use a hitch shop if installation is needed.

Good observation by a perceptive DW!

The dealer *may* use a different installer anyway.

Whichever way you go for the install...YOU need to visit the folks that do the work.....

A few years ago a poster had a hitch incorrectly installed on his NEW pickup. The shop doing the work admitted it was their error..:(

He had posted looking for advice on how to handle his dilemma..:?

Fortunately, (for all involved) they found a different brand of hitch that solved the holes in wrong location problem.

.

[jjcook]

Check out etrailer .com good prices and service

[phillyg]

Doubt you'd need a slider and no, hitches are usually sent out to a trailer expert. Usually one in even some small towns. Only took me 1-1/2 hours to install the rails in signature truck and I'd never done one before. Installer wanted to charge me three hours labor!

[kennethwooster]

After using several different brand of hitches I bought a B&W. Best hitch I ever used. So simple to hitch and unhitch. I had purchased a 2014 F350 with the puck system. Took the installer about 30 minutes to install. Leaves the bed very open. It is a very excellent company with great customer service. I bought the hitch from a B&W dealer. Most misc. trailer companies will sell the hitch cheaper and install cheaper then a RV dealer, plus an excellent install job.