Planning on One

[larryRV]

Planning to buy a 2007 Wildcat 5th Wheel 28RK and also a hitch for my 2010 Dodge Ram. I am checking online and this is what I came up with
Reese 30K Low Profile Fifth Wheel Hitch 30054 :: 5th Wheel Hitch :: Hitch Anything
My question is Am I looking at the right one? Please understand guys that I don't have any knowledge in RVing and Towing so I need as much advise as I can get.

[bsirby]

Hi Larry, welcome to IRV2. I can't help but someone will be along soon who can. Also check on the 5th wheel forum and the tow vehicles and towing forum, further down the page. Good luck and enjoy your new rig. Safe travels.

[sdennislee]

Hi and

[TXiceman]

Larryrv, glad to have you here. That is a 30,000# hitch you are looking at. You may want to look at this one..Pro Series Pro Series 15K 5th Wheel Hitch 30093

Or a 16K or 20K if you plan to go to a larger trailer.

Ken

[SarahW]

Howdy Larry and welcome. I don't know anything about towing a trailer, but make sure your truck has the ability to pull whatever size trailer you choose. Good luck.

[Steve N Sal]

Hello and welcome aboard. I'm sure you'll get the information here that you're looking for. Hope you enjoy the site and all the fine people you'll meet here. Good luck with the 5th wheel purchase and hope all works out great.

[SmokeyWren]

Your 5er has a GVWR less than 12,000 pounds. So you don't need anywhere near a 30k hitch. I'd get a 16k Reese Select Series hitch. In fact, I had one for over 10 years and numerous RV trips, and it works great.

Reese makes several different fifth wheel hitches. The Pro Series is their economy model. I wouldn't want one, primarily because of the way the hitch locks over the kingpin. The Pro series has rounded slide bar jaw mechanism.

I had a Reese Select Series 16k hitch, which Reese now calls simply the Reese 16k 5er hitch. It has a two-jaw locking system. Much better that the Pro series, but naturally the good stuff costs more. Both the Select Series and the Pro series have bed rails above the floor of the bed, so when you remove the hitch those bed rails are still there. Some folks don't like that. But it only takes about 20 minutes to remove the bed rails if you really want a smooth floor in the bed when the 5er is not tied on.
Reese Reese 16K 5th Wheel Hitch 30047

Reese now has an even better (and and even more expensive) 5er hitch, the Elite Series. The Elite series installation kit is almost all under the bed, so when you remove the hitch, there's nothing left in the bed but 4 little holes. 18k is their lightest duty Elite series hitch, and it's not availabale for a Ram 1500. But if you have a 2500 or 3500, then you might want to pay (a lot) extra to get the Reese Elite Series 18k 5er hitch.
Reese Elite Series Pre-Assembled 18K 5th Wheel Hitch 30142

[sticcino]

I am new to 5th wheeling myself, so I am not sure how much this will help, but here's my input for what it's worth.

That thing is a monster and looks like it will be a pain in the balls to remove WHEN (not if) you need to. Unless you have a two-ton, you won't have the ability to tow a 30k trailer, so while I believe in being prepared for anything, I would opt for something more friendly.

If I had money to just spend, I would go with the 18k suggested by Smokey, but if you just want something that will do the job well, get the 16k.

You might want to check out the towing guides at trailer life (Trailer Towing Guides | Trailer Life Magazine) to get a good idea of what your vehicle is legally capable of (or go to any local CAT scale to get your vehicle's gross weight, and subtract that from your vehicle's GCVWR) and if it's less than 16k why waste the money on something that's difficult to remove and your vehicle will never imagine coming within range of it's capability?

If you are worried about the strength of the hitch, there are other things much more vital to worry about. When the manufacturers are rating these hitches, they don't just say, "Oh it's weakest point can withstand 16,000 pounds of force, so that's what it's capable of." They will perform load and sheer testing to find out what the expected weak points can withstand, and then they will say that a percentage (I would guess around 75%) of that capability is the rating.

[J Birder]

Originally Posted by TXiceman

Larryrv, glad to have you here. That is a 30,000# hitch you are looking at. You may want to look at this one..Pro Series Pro Series 15K 5th Wheel Hitch 30093

Or a 16K or 20K if you plan to go to a larger trailer.

Ken

Be aware that the Pro 15K and Pro 16K both use a slide bar that is not real easy to operate and is subject to chucking. The Pro 20K is not that much more money, and uses a double jaw latch.

The 20K and 16K both have a fully floating head. The 15K has a 4 way pivoting head that is more difficult to hitch and does not ride as well.

Joel

[first5thwheel]

I am new to Rving too. I went with the Pull rite Superglide. LOVE IT

Here is the link:

PullRite has a SAFER, STRONGER, BETTER designed hitch for you

You will have to find a dealer in your area to have it installed.

It is expensive but well worth it.

I have a Dodge Ram 2500 short bed so I wanted the Pull Rite as it will prevent the rig from striking the rig on turns.

I think you will be pleased with the performance of this hitch.

[TXiceman]

Originally Posted by J Birder

Be aware that the Pro 15K and Pro 16K both use a slide bar that is not real easy to operate and is subject to chucking. The Pro 20K is not that much more money, and uses a double jaw latch.

The 20K and 16K both have a fully floating head. The 15K has a 4 way pivoting head that is more difficult to hitch and does not ride as well.

Joel

Pulled many a mile with a Pro 15K and never an issue. For a lighter trailer, the hitch will work fine. No chucking, no unhitching proble, etc. Remember someone always has something better, but is it worth the money.

Now I have a 2 jaw, 20K hitch and a MohrRride pin box and guess what, it chucks a bit a times anyway.

Chucking is heavily influenced with the trailer, the truck and the road.

Ken

[larryRV]

Thanks guys for the input! I am really learning a lot from this forum. Still reading a lot of threads in this forum.

[99-Am.Star]

I am using a CURT Q 20 (20,000 lbs) and it is an excelant hitch. You can
get one noe on Amazon with the rails and hardware 16,000 lb for $363.96 with
free shipping. Hard to beat the price.
Oh, congratulations on the 5er. Happy camping.

[Easy four]

Have a look at the B&W companion. It's a great hitch and made In
the USA. Good people to deal with