Because of the way my Curt slider hitch is designed and sits down low and close to the rails, its kind of a pain to pull the retainer circlips on the pins to get the pins out.So I was thinking of using four short pins, is there, or can I use two longer pins which will reach from the back rail to the front rail? This may make getting the retainer clips off easier.

Just grab the clips with a pliers. It's not like you remove the hitch that often..B.O.

Given the small amount of room between the slider and the rail, I have to use pliers. Its just a pain in the butt which actually stops me from removing the hitch from the truck as often as I'd like since I get bored wrestling with them. Its harder to put them back than it is removing them too.

Not sure if this will help your situation,My hitch came with some small flimsy clips that were hard to pull. I found these somewhere, but I cannot remember where. They were sold just as a pack of clips without pins.

Why not just put a short lanyard on the pins that you can easily reach and grab.

Maybe you could use a piece of all thread or rebar cut long enough to go from one rail to the other. It would need holes drilled for new pins. I don't know what kind of forces are on the pins. I think your rails would have to be lined up almost perfect to use long pins.

Is there different hitch rail pins available? | Good Sam Community

B_O__Plenty
Explorer II
Jan 06, 2015
Just grab the clips with a pliers. It's not like you remove the hitch that often..

B.O.
KATOOM
Explorer
Jan 06, 2015
Given the small amount of room between the slider and the rail, I have to use pliers. Its just a pain in the butt which actually stops me from removing the hitch from the truck as often as I'd like since I get bored wrestling with them. Its harder to put them back than it is removing them too.
fred42
Explorer
Jan 06, 2015
Not sure if this will help your situation,

My hitch came with some small flimsy clips that were hard to pull. I found these somewhere, but I cannot remember where. They were sold just as a pack of clips without pins.
rhagfo
Explorer III
Jan 06, 2015
Why not just put a short lanyard on the pins that you can easily reach and grab.
dmeck
Explorer
Jan 06, 2015
Maybe you could use a piece of all thread or rebar cut long enough to go from one rail to the other. It would need holes drilled for new pins. I don't know what kind of forces are on the pins. I think your rails would have to be lined up almost perfect to use long pins.
KATOOM
Explorer
Jan 06, 2015
I'm not sure the forces on those pin either which is why I'm a little concerned about trying anything which fits. Maybe a stainless steel rod?
Dave2001
Explorer
Jan 07, 2015
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My clips are easy to remove. The pins are a bit harder.
kennethwooster
Explorer
Jan 07, 2015
I agre with a previous post. Take a good pair of pliers and just pull them out. I had one hitch that used very small pins, and would fall out just from being slightly touched while moving around the truck bed. I think at times they just vibrated out. Called Pullright SG, and they sent me pins that were the same size, but had more tension. Still had to watch them to make sure we did not lose them, and let the main pins fall out. If yours are hard they won't fall out.
packnrat
Explorer
Jan 07, 2015
as stated before,
pliers, or tie a (say about 6-8 inches of string) as a lanyard pull.

.
bpounds
Nomad
Jan 07, 2015
None of the pin that extends beyond the rails matters. In other words, the pins can be as long as you want. The only important factor is that the diameter is correct, which should be 5/8". You can get longer pins. You can even get pins long enough to have a hole for a padlock. Any decent welding shop could make you some. But check with Etrailer or even McMaster for a good selection of pins.

Take a look:
McMaster Hitch Pins

Lanyards, pliers, et al, will not help to insert the clips. Although nice for fast removal, doesn't solve the OP issue.