F350 Shortbed Hitch

I use a Pullrite 18,000 auto slider but I have an older flat front FW that is 8.5 ft wide. As the truck turns the mechanism slides back 14 inches. Newer FW with curved corners allow some to not even use a slider. There are also manual sliders. You have to get out of the truck and release it and slide it back before maneuvering.

I have a 2010 Ram 3500 4x4 megacab with a 6' 4" bed towing a 2014 Keystone Alpine 3500 RE. In over 10k mi towing have had no problems with cab clearance due to the curved front cap. My B&W Companion is a non slider. With all the talk out there of cab contacts I watch cab to 5ver clearance and almost paranoid about it and still no problem going forward or backing. My side brackets are bolted to base in the 4" behind rear axle center.

I have a standard reese 16k, never needed a slide....yet.

No slider with my 6' 9" bed. I would suggest the B&W 3300, for OEM Ford factory puck system. It adjusts up/down, ahead/back.

The newer FW front caps have rounded corners, more user friendly for those towing with the shorter standard bed trucks.

Jerry

My FIL has put a few dents in his short bed rams cab. He had a manual slider that he never remembered to use then it fell apart. We ended up putting an Anderson Ultimate hitch on his trailer and truck and now he can turn a full 90deg without hitting!! He also has a much better towing experience without the banging of his old Reese hitch. Hook up is better for him too because he doesn't have to worry about too high or too low, you are either high enough or not

Chris

I know it depends on your actual FW front cap but you can probably get away with a non slider hitch - I know now that I easily could of done without the sliding function on mine as I can go beyond 90 degrees without hitting.

Look at the B&W unit that fits the Ford prep kit, they are well built and tow quite nice. No clunking or looseness, very quiet and smooth operating.

I am using my old Reese 16K hitch with the picture frame adapter and no slider. I have since seen better solutions. The Reese puck hitch is one of the most expensive, but the B&W RVK3300 is about $300 cheaper and the Curt Q20 is about $150 less than that. The advantage of the B&W is that you can reverse the mounts to move the hitch back a few inches, but its lowest setting is 16.75 inches. The Curt will adjust down to about 13.5 inches. Both have puck mounting.
My fiver has the cutaway front cap and extended pin and, although I can't do 90 degrees, I can turn as much as I need to in most situations.

For several different reasons I replaced my pin box with this Sidewinder

magic43 wrote:
For several different reasons I replaced my pin box with this Sidewinder

I used a Sidewinder for almost 4 full seasons until I got a new F350 and couldn't lower the nose enough. I replaced with a MorRyde pin box and have a little anxiety in tight turns but no problem yet. The ride is a lot smoother, but there is also the Sidewinder Airborne option.

I have had the 18K Pullrite SuperGlide with zero issues...