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09-14-2016, 12:51 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Texas Boomers Club
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Lamar, Missouri
Posts: 291
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Help with 5th wheel hitch
2017 Keystone Sprinter 298FWRLS GVWR - 12,270
2014 Ford F250 SD 156" WB 6.75' bed
Can't get actual measurements as I haven't picked either up yet. I will get truck Fri. and trailer next Wed. so I need to work fast!
Looking for a 16K 5th wheel hitch.
1. What are the top 3 choices? Quality, ease of use (my old Reese would never stay open unhooking, wife had to hold open the handle first couple of inches then OK).
2. With the cut away end caps on the new trailers do you really need a slider? How often do you really jackknife to a full 90 degrees? How much could you turn/unhook/hookup with a plain 5th wheel hitch?
3. Is anyone using Anderson or PullRite pyramid style ball hitch? If so pros & cons please.
Thanks!
__________________
Gary & Misty
2014 F250 Diesel, PullRite SuperGlide, AirLift 5000s
2017 Keystone Sprinter 298FWRLS
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09-14-2016, 03:10 PM
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#2
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 84
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I pick up my new keystone Alpine next week and I am going with the Andersen hitch. There are many positive threads on here and since I need my truck bed when not towing, the hitch itself weighs only 40 pounds so no huge strain removing from my truck. The hitch should be in tomorrow and a shop is going to mount it next Monday. Exciting times for both you and me!
__________________
George & Deb
2015 Alpine 3010RE
2015 silverado HD
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09-14-2016, 03:47 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Texas Boomers Club
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Lamar, Missouri
Posts: 291
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gnirwin
I pick up my new keystone Alpine next week and I am going with the Andersen hitch. There are many positive threads on here and since I need my truck bed when not towing, the hitch itself weighs only 40 pounds so no huge strain removing from my truck. The hitch should be in tomorrow and a shop is going to mount it next Monday. Exciting times for both you and me!
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Cool! Do you have a short or long bed?
__________________
Gary & Misty
2014 F250 Diesel, PullRite SuperGlide, AirLift 5000s
2017 Keystone Sprinter 298FWRLS
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09-14-2016, 04:55 PM
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#4
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: HillBilly country, Smokey Mtns
Posts: 4,171
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Batten54
1. What are the top 3 choices?
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If your F-250 has the optional 5er prep kit, then by far the top choice is the matching Reese Elite 18k 5er hitch. It comes with or without a manual slider.
If your F-250 doesn't have the optional prep kit, then you can still order the Elite install kit from Amazon or ETrailer.com, and either DIY or have a hitch installer do it for you. With the Elite install kit installed, then your hitch attachment points are the same as if it had the OEM prep kit.
Less expensive but still an excellent 5er hitch is the regular Reese 5er hitch with above-bed rails. It's now called the Titan 16. Like this one:
https://www.etrailer.com/Fifth-Wheel/Reese/RP30866.html
NOT THE Pro-Series, which is a cheap economy hitch. The Pro-Series is probably what you may have experience with.
Number three in popularity right now is probably the B&W Companion hitch. For that, you would install a B&W TurnOverBall gooseneck hitch, then plug the Companion into the place where the gooseneck ball would normally reside.
Quote:
2. With the cut away end caps on the new trailers do you really need a slider?
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Maybe, maybe not. The only way to know for sure is to hook up with a non-slider hitch, go to a huge parking lot, and back into a 90° jackknife. Have DW watch with an eagle eye and scream and holler before you jackknife enough to have cab-to-trailer contact and take out the backlight on the pickup.
Quote:
How often do you really jackknife to a full 90 degrees?
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Not often, but when you need it, you need it.
Quote:
How much could you turn/unhook/hookup with a plain 5th wheel hitch?
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Depending on the trailer, and exactly where the center of the kingpin is installed in relation to the center of the rear axle, probably about 80°. Not enough if you must back into a 90° jacknife, unhook and drive around to the other side of the 5er, then back in at a 90° angle to hook up so you can get the trailer turned around. My nightmare when I towed a 5er with a short-bed pickup and too cheap to buy a slider hitch.
__________________
Grumpy ole man with over 60 years towing experience. Now my heaviest trailer is a 7'x16' 5,000-pound flatbed utility trailer, my tow vehicle is a 2019 F-150 Lariat 3.5L EcoBoost SuperCab with Max Tow (1,904 pounds payload capacity).
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09-14-2016, 05:14 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 691
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B&w
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09-14-2016, 05:21 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Texas Boomers Club
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Lamar, Missouri
Posts: 291
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SmokeyWren
If your F-250 has the optional 5er prep kit, then by far the top choice is the matching Reese Elite 18k 5er hitch. It comes with or without a manual slider.
If your F-250 doesn't have the optional prep kit, then you can still order the Elite install kit from Amazon or ETrailer.com, and either DIY or have a hitch installer do it for you. With the Elite install kit installed, then your hitch attachment points are the same as if it had the OEM prep kit.
Less expensive but still an excellent 5er hitch is the regular Reese 5er hitch with above-bed rails. It's now called the Titan 16. Like this one:
https://www.etrailer.com/Fifth-Wheel/Reese/RP30866.html
NOT THE Pro-Series, which is a cheap economy hitch. The Pro-Series is probably what you may have experience with.
Number three in popularity right now is probably the B&W Companion hitch. For that, you would install a B&W TurnOverBall gooseneck hitch, then plug the Companion into the place where the gooseneck ball would normally reside.
Maybe, maybe not. The only way to know for sure is to hook up with a non-slider hitch, go to a huge parking lot, and back into a 90° jackknife. Have DW watch with an eagle eye and scream and holler before you jackknife enough to have cab-to-trailer contact and take out the backlight on the pickup.
Not often, but when you need it, you need it.
Depending on the trailer, and exactly where the center of the kingpin is installed in relation to the center of the rear axle, probably about 80°. Not enough if you must back into a 90° jacknife, unhook and drive around to the other side of the 5er, then back in at a 90° angle to hook up so you can get the trailer turned around. My nightmare when I towed a 5er with a short-bed pickup and too cheap to buy a slider hitch.
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What have you heard about PullRite Super Glide auto slider?
__________________
Gary & Misty
2014 F250 Diesel, PullRite SuperGlide, AirLift 5000s
2017 Keystone Sprinter 298FWRLS
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09-14-2016, 09:12 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Huntsville, AL/Helen, GA
Posts: 1,566
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I have the B&M Patriot 16K hitch mounted on in bed rails for my 11K lb. fifth wheel trailer. The rails are attached to the frame with Curt under bed custom brackets. I especially like the B&M hitches as they're USA made, high quality workmanship and they can be split into two pieces for easy removal from the truck bed.
For full size fifth wheel trailers, many owners use B&M's Companion fifth wheel hitch that can be mounted to an in bed goose neck ball that can be removed. The B&M under bed mounting brackets for the goose neck ball is very nice. Companions can also be equipped with a puck OEM mounting bracket available on Ford and Ram trucks.
I also like the Q series hitches from Curt, as it's also a premium quality hitch.
My trailer has the new style front cap. I've yet to need a slider hitch as we've had no problems making relatively tight backups with our five'er.
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09-15-2016, 06:05 AM
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#8
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 84
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Short bed. I will see once I get the trailer if I need to offset the ball or just leave things as they are. I'm thinking I will be fine.
__________________
George & Deb
2015 Alpine 3010RE
2015 silverado HD
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09-15-2016, 08:51 AM
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#9
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: HillBilly country, Smokey Mtns
Posts: 4,171
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Batten54
What have you heard about PullRite Super Glide auto slider?
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Excellent hitch. Heavy. If I have to tow a 5er with a short-bed pickup, I'm going to have a SuperGlide hitch. But that's mostly because the SuperGlide is fully automatic. I don't have to remember to slide the hitch before I put the tow vehicle in reverse gear.
SuperGlide is available with three different mounting systems.
1] The original PullRight under-bed rails.
2] ISR = industry standard rails. IOW, Reese in-bed rails. So if your truck already has the ISR bed rails installed, the ISR SuperGlide will plug right into those rails.
3] OE = original equipment 5er prep kit installed by the truck manufacturer. If your Ford SuperDuty has the 5er prep kit, then the OE SuperGlide will plug right into the bed with no modifications required.
3]
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09-15-2016, 08:58 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: May 2012
Location: DFW, Tex-US
Posts: 6,196
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+2 on the superglide auto slider...
get at least the next step up for your hitch (than you need) as EVERYONE of us upgrade to larger rv's
Check you pm's
__________________
'11 Monaco Diplomat 43DFT RR10R pushed by a '14 Jeep Wrangler JKU. History.. 5'ers: 13 Redwood 38gk(junk!), 11 MVP Destiny, Open Range TT, Winn LeSharo, C's, popups, vans, tents...
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09-15-2016, 05:22 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Texas Boomers Club
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Lamar, Missouri
Posts: 291
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The new tires will be put on in the morning and we'll pick it up tomorrow. Then I can measure the bed. Then I can get some ideas of what hitch!
__________________
Gary & Misty
2014 F250 Diesel, PullRite SuperGlide, AirLift 5000s
2017 Keystone Sprinter 298FWRLS
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10-10-2016, 06:56 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2016
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 173
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Pull Rite good Choice
Quote:
Originally Posted by Batten54
What have you heard about PullRite Super Glide auto slider?
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So did you go with the Pull Rite? I had one of those in my F250 SB for my 5ver.
__________________
BtLW . . .
We're not here for a LONG TIME, We're here for a GOOD TIME! HOOH! '16 Keystone Fuzion Chrome 420 18.5k
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10-10-2016, 08:50 AM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Oregon
Posts: 1,052
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Love my B/W - Had a Reese about 10 years ago and literally had to use a rubber mallet to get the latch pin into place. To be fair it was a very inexpensive hitch and I think there are different levels of Reese available. Whatever you do just don't get a cheap hitch. Sometimes you just have to pay for the right tool for the job.
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10-10-2016, 01:18 PM
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#14
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: HillBilly country, Smokey Mtns
Posts: 4,171
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mtofell
Love my B/W - Had a Reese about 10 years ago and literally had to use a rubber mallet to get the latch pin into place. To be fair it was a very inexpensive hitch and I think there are different levels of Reese available. Whatever you do just don't get a cheap hitch.
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Right. The El Cheapo is the Reese Pro Series. Don't buy one. Pretty good is the old Reese Classic. The Reese Classic was improved to meet new SAE standards and was called the R-16. But R-16 didn't have much cachet to the name so Reese now calls it the Reese Titan, model number 30866. So if you want a good 5er itch at reasonable cost, and the "industry standard" in-bed rails are okay, then you want a Reese Titan. If you want nothing in the bed after the hitch is removed, then you want the Reese Elite Series. If you have the Ford 5er/gooseneck prep kit in your newer Ford SuperDuty or Ram Heavy Duty pickup, then you want the Elite Series hitch. The Elite Series 18k 5er hitch is available with or without a slider for pickups with shorter than 8' bed.
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