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Which 5th wheel hitch

sin_cal_hd
Explorer
Explorer
Welp we bought a trailer. New wolfpack 325.

GVW 14K
Lenght 40'

My question now is, which 5th wheel slider hitch? I have the factory puck system in my Ram. Should I get a hitch for this trailer 16k or get a heavy gross hitch? I like the demco auto slide set up.

How are reese?
Are b&w all that and a bag of skittles?
How are demco auto slider?

I do have a husky 16k slider available to me to use to get the rv home.
2015 2500 Ram Mega Cab 4x4
2017 Wolf pack 325
Wife and 2 little boys
2 golden retriever pups
28 REPLIES 28

sin_cal_hd
Explorer
Explorer
otrfun wrote:
Some hitches adjust from 13-17 in. while others adjust from 17-21 in. Have you determined what range of adjustment will best level your rig?

The "best" hitch is not the best hitch if your hitch doesn't have the proper range of adjustment to level your rig.

Also, depending on how low your king pin assembly sits in the bed (relative to the bed rails), it's possible to have the rear of the king pin assembly hit the tail-gate or bed rail when some sliders are activated.


Pulling my parents trailer, I've noticed i dont need much more clearance turning. Ive leveled the front of the truck lowering the rear slightly. I wont know the bedbrail clearance to the bunk house until we hook up. I like to have minimum a fist and a half clearance between the two.
2015 2500 Ram Mega Cab 4x4
2017 Wolf pack 325
Wife and 2 little boys
2 golden retriever pups

cmseabee
Explorer
Explorer
Not sure how rounded the corners on your front cap is on the Wolfpack but my uncle has a B&W non slider companion that goes into the puck mount on his 2015 mega cab short bed. He tows a 2008 Montana and likes the hitch a lot.

Another buddy has the Anderson with his short bed GMC 2500 towing a Voltage. He likes his Anderson a lot.

I have the B&W companion that fits in where the gooseneck ball goes on a 2015 Ram dually longbed. I like this hitch a lot.

My buddies Anderson is definitely lighter and easier to take out of the bed then my companion, but the companion is easy to take out also by one person if you take the head off the base when removing which is pretty easy. I like the companion better because it looked a lot more heavy duty then the Anderson. It was going to be between the Anderson or companion as I did not want rails in my bed anymore.

I've had slider hitches in the past and don't miss having to get someone to help take it out or break out my engine hoist to get it out of the bed.
14 Ram 3500 4x4 Laramie Dually, Cummins/Aisin 4.10s
05 Dodge 2500 quad cab 4x4 Cummins/Auto
19 Keystone Fuzion 429
03 Fleetwood Elkhorn 11J
15 Honda Pioneer 700 P4
03 Polaris Predator
01 Yamaha Blaster
97 Yamaha Banshee

US Navy CPO Ret Sep 2013

otrfun
Explorer II
Explorer II
Some hitches adjust from 13-17 in. while others adjust from 17-21 in. Have you determined what range of adjustment will best level your rig?

The "best" hitch is not the best hitch if your hitch doesn't have the proper range of adjustment to level your rig.

Also, depending on how low your king pin assembly sits in the bed (relative to the bed rails), it's possible to have the rear of the king pin assembly hit the tail-gate or bed rail when some sliders are activated.

Searching_Ut
Explorer
Explorer
Wild Card wrote:
Searching_Ut wrote:
N-Trouble wrote:
sin cal hd wrote:
Been around the .net for sometime the weight police like to poke their noses in where they weren't asked. But, its all good.

Thanks guys. B&W's are heavy units to move around. I know some disassemble I see a lot of trucks with them and they are expensive. I do like their campanion slider with the factory puck turn and twist.

I do like auto slides. Not much of a fan of super glide do to the capture plate. Thats why Im leaning toward a demco.

Never heard of Anderson. The goose neck attachments I never understood why people use them. There seems to be a lot of torque from the fwd and back motion from stopping and accelerating.

I didnt look at the front cap if it has radius corners or not. Something to look at during pdi.
Edit: there is some radius to the cap.

Curt is another slider Im looking at.

Reese on their site shows an auto slide but no info.


Do some research on the Andersen. Its not a GN in the typical sense. It does NOT put additional stresses on the trailer like your speaking of with a traditional GN

Its been one of the most popular/fastest growing hitch the last couple years.


Actually, the Andersen can damage your pin box, as I learned the hard way. Seems Andersen knows about it as they've built shims to prevent it but they play dumb, blame the pin box, and develop communication issues if you do have problems. I really wish I had gone with the B&W in the first place. Much better hitch, albeit a real pain in the back to move around.


Do tell more.


Initial Hitch issue Post

Follow up posting

Again, the Pin Box was a Lippert 1621HD. Like all Lippert products, leaves a lot to be desired but it is one of the most used pin boxes on medium sized 5ers in the 16K GVWR group. I've seen several that had similar issues since I've started looking. Having only talked to one of the owners I saw with dimpled pin boxes only thing I saw we had in common was Weight, and lots steep mountain roads. Not the gentle gentle freeway sort of mountain, but hwy type with switchbacks

In the end, the failure has resulted in my upgrading to an Air Suspension pin box and much better hitch which should be a considerably better match to the higher road use I intend to start putting on the rig upon my retirement in a couple months.
2015 Ram 3500 Laramie CTD, 4X4, AISIN, B&W Companion Puck Mount
2016 Heartland Bighorn 3270RS, 1kw solar with Trimetric and dual SC2030, 600 watt and 2k inverters.

walker111
Explorer
Explorer
Regarding the weight of the BW.
I asked lots of questions here before buying my BW 3300 for my F350 with factory puck system. Sometimes you even get great responses that stay on task!!!!
Weight of hitch was important as I had spine fusion 2 years ago and my Curt 16k slider and adapter was about 250 pounds!!! Too heavy for me!

The Companion made for my truck comes out in 2 pieces and each weigh about 55-60 pounds. Really manageable IMO. My toyhauler loaded runs about 15-15.5 k but my hitch has a 20k rating.

Another thing to consider . When I did use the adapter with my Curt 16 k on a different fiver, I had more loose movement as there was now more points of contact. The BW grabs the pin and zero movement!

N-Trouble
Explorer
Explorer
Wild Card wrote:
Searching_Ut wrote:
N-Trouble wrote:
sin cal hd wrote:
Been around the .net for sometime the weight police like to poke their noses in where they weren't asked. But, its all good.

Thanks guys. B&W's are heavy units to move around. I know some disassemble I see a lot of trucks with them and they are expensive. I do like their campanion slider with the factory puck turn and twist.

I do like auto slides. Not much of a fan of super glide do to the capture plate. Thats why Im leaning toward a demco.

Never heard of Anderson. The goose neck attachments I never understood why people use them. There seems to be a lot of torque from the fwd and back motion from stopping and accelerating.

I didnt look at the front cap if it has radius corners or not. Something to look at during pdi.
Edit: there is some radius to the cap.

Curt is another slider Im looking at.

Reese on their site shows an auto slide but no info.


Do some research on the Andersen. Its not a GN in the typical sense. It does NOT put additional stresses on the trailer like your speaking of with a traditional GN

Its been one of the most popular/fastest growing hitch the last couple years.


Actually, the Andersen can damage your pin box, as I learned the hard way. Seems Andersen knows about it as they've built shims to prevent it but they play dumb, blame the pin box, and develop communication issues if you do have problems. I really wish I had gone with the B&W in the first place. Much better hitch, albeit a real pain in the back to move around.


Do tell more.


Some of the cheaper pinboxes are made with extremely thin metal where the set screws on the Andersen coupler make contact. Some have reported bending. Its a pretty small population of owners that have experienced this. Many have not. Ive used on two different pinboxes without any issue.
2015 Attitude 28SAG w/slide
2012 GMC 2500HD SLT Duramax
B&W Turnover w/Andersen Ultimate 5er hitch

tinner12002
Explorer
Explorer
I had a Reese Elite in my 2012 Ram partially because it had the puck system in the picture frame and I could use their gooseneck hitch in the puck system also.
Since neither would work in my 2015 Ram puck system I opted for the B&W hitch. Not much difference really that I have noticed other than maybe the B&W latching may be a little tighter on the 5ver pin, but I do like the way the B&W/Ram spreads out their mounting points in the bed and really couldn't use the Reese in my 15 Ram anyway.
2015 Ram 3500/DRW/Aisin/auto/Max tow/4.10s,Cummins, stock Laramie Limited--Silver
Tequila Sunrise 2012 Ultra Classic Limited
2018 Raptor 428SP

Wild_Card
Explorer
Explorer
Searching_Ut wrote:
N-Trouble wrote:
sin cal hd wrote:
Been around the .net for sometime the weight police like to poke their noses in where they weren't asked. But, its all good.

Thanks guys. B&W's are heavy units to move around. I know some disassemble I see a lot of trucks with them and they are expensive. I do like their campanion slider with the factory puck turn and twist.

I do like auto slides. Not much of a fan of super glide do to the capture plate. Thats why Im leaning toward a demco.

Never heard of Anderson. The goose neck attachments I never understood why people use them. There seems to be a lot of torque from the fwd and back motion from stopping and accelerating.

I didnt look at the front cap if it has radius corners or not. Something to look at during pdi.
Edit: there is some radius to the cap.

Curt is another slider Im looking at.

Reese on their site shows an auto slide but no info.


Do some research on the Andersen. Its not a GN in the typical sense. It does NOT put additional stresses on the trailer like your speaking of with a traditional GN

Its been one of the most popular/fastest growing hitch the last couple years.


Actually, the Andersen can damage your pin box, as I learned the hard way. Seems Andersen knows about it as they've built shims to prevent it but they play dumb, blame the pin box, and develop communication issues if you do have problems. I really wish I had gone with the B&W in the first place. Much better hitch, albeit a real pain in the back to move around.


Do tell more.
2015 Ram 3500 Dually
Sundowner 2286GM Pro-Grade Toyhauler

sin_cal_hd
Explorer
Explorer
CJW8 wrote:
I love my Pullrite superglide but it is heavy. I either use my front end loader or usually an engine hoist to remove it and install it. Even with the auto slider and a rounded nose trailer, I still get within 4 inches of hitting my cab in a sharp turn.


I plan on using a jib crane mounted on concrete then rotate to a cart.
2015 2500 Ram Mega Cab 4x4
2017 Wolf pack 325
Wife and 2 little boys
2 golden retriever pups

Searching_Ut
Explorer
Explorer
N-Trouble wrote:
sin cal hd wrote:
Been around the .net for sometime the weight police like to poke their noses in where they weren't asked. But, its all good.

Thanks guys. B&W's are heavy units to move around. I know some disassemble I see a lot of trucks with them and they are expensive. I do like their campanion slider with the factory puck turn and twist.

I do like auto slides. Not much of a fan of super glide do to the capture plate. Thats why Im leaning toward a demco.

Never heard of Anderson. The goose neck attachments I never understood why people use them. There seems to be a lot of torque from the fwd and back motion from stopping and accelerating.

I didnt look at the front cap if it has radius corners or not. Something to look at during pdi.
Edit: there is some radius to the cap.

Curt is another slider Im looking at.

Reese on their site shows an auto slide but no info.


Do some research on the Andersen. Its not a GN in the typical sense. It does NOT put additional stresses on the trailer like your speaking of with a traditional GN

Its been one of the most popular/fastest growing hitch the last couple years.


Actually, the Andersen can damage your pin box, as I learned the hard way. Seems Andersen knows about it as they've built shims to prevent it but they play dumb, blame the pin box, and develop communication issues if you do have problems. I really wish I had gone with the B&W in the first place. Much better hitch, albeit a real pain in the back to move around.
2015 Ram 3500 Laramie CTD, 4X4, AISIN, B&W Companion Puck Mount
2016 Heartland Bighorn 3270RS, 1kw solar with Trimetric and dual SC2030, 600 watt and 2k inverters.

N-Trouble
Explorer
Explorer
sin cal hd wrote:
Been around the .net for sometime the weight police like to poke their noses in where they weren't asked. But, its all good.

Thanks guys. B&W's are heavy units to move around. I know some disassemble I see a lot of trucks with them and they are expensive. I do like their campanion slider with the factory puck turn and twist.

I do like auto slides. Not much of a fan of super glide do to the capture plate. Thats why Im leaning toward a demco.

Never heard of Anderson. The goose neck attachments I never understood why people use them. There seems to be a lot of torque from the fwd and back motion from stopping and accelerating.

I didnt look at the front cap if it has radius corners or not. Something to look at during pdi.
Edit: there is some radius to the cap.

Curt is another slider Im looking at.

Reese on their site shows an auto slide but no info.


Do some research on the Andersen. Its not a GN in the typical sense. It does NOT put additional stresses on the trailer like your speaking of with a traditional GN

Its been one of the most popular/fastest growing hitch the last couple years.
2015 Attitude 28SAG w/slide
2012 GMC 2500HD SLT Duramax
B&W Turnover w/Andersen Ultimate 5er hitch

CJW8
Explorer
Explorer
I love my Pullrite superglide but it is heavy. I either use my front end loader or usually an engine hoist to remove it and install it. Even with the auto slider and a rounded nose trailer, I still get within 4 inches of hitting my cab in a sharp turn.
2003 Forest River Sierra M-37SP Toy Hauler- Traded in
2015 Keystone Raptor 332TS 5th wheel toy Hauler (sold)
2004 Winnebago Vectra. 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee toad

lightning_drive
Explorer
Explorer
sin cal hd wrote:
lightning driver wrote:
I tow a 14K lb 37 ft KZ Montego Bay. Loaded it is very close to 20K. I have an Airsafe Omni 20. I'm not the weight police but I would recommend stepping up from your 16K hitch to a 20K hitch. I like the Air Hitch. Much easier on the truck. I tow with a 1999 F550. I bought it years ago to carry my 11 ft cabover while towing my Rhino on a flat bed trailer.

http://airsafehitches.com/

My apologizes I missed you wanted a slider hitch.
I'm not familiar with sliders. What does the slider do for you?


Your trailer, is it 14k unloaded with 6k cargo? Or are your gross 14k with 6k over your limit? I have no intentions on being more than the legal weight of the trailer.

The slider hitch allows the trailer to be positioned away from the cab during a turn.


Thanks for the explanation on the slider. Nice thing about this Forum. You came asking the question and I ended up learning.

Trailer is just over 14K dry. I put a Rhino UTV in the garage. 20 Gallons of fuel. 120 Gallons of other liquids. 😮
Truck is a F550 with towing capacity of 26K lbs.

sin_cal_hd
Explorer
Explorer
lightning driver wrote:
I tow a 14K lb 37 ft KZ Montego Bay. Loaded it is very close to 20K. I have an Airsafe Omni 20. I'm not the weight police but I would recommend stepping up from your 16K hitch to a 20K hitch. I like the Air Hitch. Much easier on the truck. I tow with a 1999 F550. I bought it years ago to carry my 11 ft cabover while towing my Rhino on a flat bed trailer.

http://airsafehitches.com/

My apologizes I missed you wanted a slider hitch.
I'm not familiar with sliders. What does the slider do for you?


Your trailer, is it 14k unloaded with 6k cargo? Or are your gross 14k with 6k over your limit? I have no intentions on being more than the legal weight of the trailer.

The slider hitch allows the trailer to be postioned away from the cab during a turn.
2015 2500 Ram Mega Cab 4x4
2017 Wolf pack 325
Wife and 2 little boys
2 golden retriever pups