PullRite limitations?

[Myotis]

Hi everybody,

haven't posted for a while, didn't have to after all the good advice I got on this forum

But now I am planning a new "project":, it's time to replace my 2000 F250 SD extened cab, LB truck. I will get another F-250SD to tow my Durango, BUT this time I am considering a crew cab with a short bed. I went on the PullRite website and saw several confusing to me disclaimers for situations where the automatic slider doesn't work. So, here are a few questions:

The Durango has a very short "neck", 67 inches from pin center to the front of the 5ver, is this a problem with an automatic slider?

If properly installed, is there a situation where the rear end of the pin box can hit the tailgate or do you have to remove the tailgaten when towing?

Can this PullRite get stuck in the "back postion" and how to you get it to return into towing position?

Any other things I should measure, check, consider to make sure this PullRite will ALWAYS work and prevent a ding in either 5ver front cap or trcuk cab.

Thanks everybody,

Myotis

[Myotis]

Hi everybody,

haven't posted for a while, didn't have to after all the good advice I got on this forum

But now I am planning a new "project":, it's time to replace my 2000 F250 SD extened cab, LB truck. I will get another F-250SD to tow my Durango, BUT this time I am considering a crew cab with a short bed. I went on the PullRite website and saw several confusing to me disclaimers for situations where the automatic slider doesn't work. So, here are a few questions:

The Durango has a very short "neck", 67 inches from pin center to the front of the 5ver, is this a problem with an automatic slider?

If properly installed, is there a situation where the rear end of the pin box can hit the tailgate or do you have to remove the tailgaten when towing?

Can this PullRite get stuck in the "back postion" and how to you get it to return into towing position?

Any other things I should measure, check, consider to make sure this PullRite will ALWAYS work and prevent a ding in either 5ver front cap or trcuk cab.

Thanks everybody,

Myotis

[rrraider]

Myotis,
If the pullrite you are looking at is the Superglide, I assume that as there is no slider that I know of that is made by pullrite, there is no way that it can be stuck in the extend position unless the Pullrite plate breaks loose
from your pin box plate. This is next to impossible if the plate is installed per the Mfgs. recommended instructions for attachment. The Superglide is totally mechanical in nature, as the tow vehical turns the trailer is moved rearward and as the tow vehical straightens the trailer is pulled forward to the original position. The Superglide works flawlessly without any effort from the driver; hookup and basically forget it as you will never again have to worry about the nose of your fifth hitting your TV cab. That is not to say that you will still have to monitor the clearances from the top of your trucks bed sides to the bottom of the fifth if negociating severe evevation changes in what you are driving over,ie severe shoulder drops and rises when exiting the roadway to get to that perfect camp site. I have found however that in this scenario that by turning sharply when exiting the road that the extension of the superglide provides much more clearance than a conventinal hitch. The Superglide rails must be kept lubricated, that is a must, but not that big a deal. All in all the Superglide has no equal and I'm sure if you get one you will be as pleased as we are.
Luck,
Randy

[Myotis]

Thnaks Randy:

YES, I meant the automatic Superglide. I have found the user manual on the PullRite website and am confused about two things: I cannot figure out how the height of this hitch is adjusted, I need 15.5, better 16 inches height (above truck bed) to have the 6" clerance above the bed rails.My pinbox cannot be adjusted, it has to be done on the hitch. The second confusion is a dimension PullRite mentions: the distance from the front of the pinbox to the rear has to be less thna half of the bed width to prevent interference. My hithc is "tucked" under just a tad. I measure 35 inches for the pinbox length. My current and new truck bed is 64 inches wide, so according to PullRite I would have interference. But I am towing this 5ver with a Ford SD with this same bed width and do not have a problem even at 90 degreee angle. Is there something I am missing on the Superglide function that makes this different from towing with a "convential" hitch. Last question/concern: this capture plate prevents the 5th-wheel to be hooked up to a "Convential" hitch, this could be very inconvenient in case of a truck break down, because a tow truck would not be able to hitch the 5ver. How difficulty is it to remove this capture plate in case of an emergency?

Thanks,

Myotis

[John66]

When I was looking at PullRite, I had one concern. If you unhook while the truck is at an angle to the trailer, it appears that you will not easily be able to hook up again.

[rrraider]

Myotis,
I'd call pullrite, I'm sure they can answer all your questions.
Randy

[Myotis]

Thanks Randy, and everbody else who took the time to help me. Parallel to posting the question on the forum I sent a mail with ten questions to PullRite and got a VERY thorough and comprehensive response this morning. I had a few open issues after that and Tony, the customer support person at PullRite, answered ALL questions within half a day and sent pdf documents how to measure things and how the capture plate is installed on my Leland pinbox. I am VERY impressed and if the customer support is any indication for a good quality product I am convinced that the PullRite solution is a great solution for safe short-bed towing. So, with help of this forum and excellent customer support by PullRite I know what to do if I buy a short bed. My "co-pilot" and I are still discussing the pros and cons of SB vs LB but nobody can help me with that

Thanks again,
Myotis

[Superslif]

My brother had a 24k pullrite installed to haul his 37' 5er toy hauler. (towing with Dodge Ram 3500 short bed ) http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showph...to=973&cat=541 The installer didn't properly secure the adptor plate to the pinbox. Looked like they only used 5-6 screws at which 2-3 were cross threaded. One of his first trips it (adptor plate)broke from the pin box. He uses his for off-roading with his ATV's. Thus many of the roads are very hilly and curvy. He almost lost the trailer at a point when the trailer and truck were at very odd angles. He was going very slow up a dirt road with a sharp corner but the angling of the road caused the trailer and truck to be at very different angles. So there is a limit to which the "Automatic slide" will work. But that is my brother. I know he paid over 4k for his. I think the 24k weighs in at about 350 lbs. So getting it in and out you will need a towmotor. Their smaller class hitches would be much lighter.

[rrraider]

Even if the plate comes 100% detached from the pin box the trailer can not become detached. The effect, other than screwing the plate up is that the slider will not move back or forward with turns. Sliding back and forward would require careful driving but the trailer will not come unhooked. Its always the intellegent choice to follow mfg's installations, they are written for a purpose.