First time fifth wheel owners, hitch questions

[lifguardct]

We are first timers, looked at class A rigs for a while but decided to go this route. We just bought a long bed Ram 3500 DRW Cummins H.O. Aisin. Love the truck and now shopping for the camper. Primarily looking at VanLeigh and Grand Design, (possibly Keystone Redwood also). As for hitches, our friends have a Ram 3500 with a B&W companion pulling a Grand Design and swear by the hitch. I am leaning that way but really like the Reese Goosebox and Andersen Ultimate for ease of use of the truck bed when not towing. What other pros and cons to each? How are the Curt and Reese 5th wheel hitches? Our truck has the factory prep (puck) setup. We live in Florida and our plan is to travel for 4-6 months in the summers (moving every week to couple of weeks) and stay home in the winters. Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks

[crazyboy135]

Any of the brands that you are wanting to get. It boils down to what you prefer for you. I myself went with a Demco system and it works great. I looked into all the others as well but when it came down to it, I went with towing features and ease of removing and installing.

Best of luck on the one you decide.

[DrT7575]

We have looked at RV's mostly Fifth Wheel HItch for several years, but now think we will buy a Class C.

If I were going to hitch it up, I would look at Gen Y hitch from Indiana - great customer reviews.

In this blog they talk about other things like sway bars to look at.

Also, be sure your pickup is big enough - we have a neighbor who had a pickup maxxed out with his RV and it was hard to pull.

Best wishes

[JHinman]

I use the Anderson and like it. It is pretty easy to install and to remove. I leave it behind my 5er when I am not using it, secured with a cable lock.

Mine twisted around in the truck bed the first time I used it, perhaps because I have a hard spray-in bed liner. Anderson sells a rubber mat to put under the hitch to address this, but a piece of 1/4” thick stall mat from the farm store did the same thing for 1/4 of the price.

Quite a few 5ers in my storage area use the Anderson hitch, including some very large toy haulers. I think capacity is apparently not an issue.

I’ve never used any other fifth wheel hitch, so bear that in mind when reading my comments 😉

[CecilD]

There are two basic kinds of hitches, solid and soft joint (air hitches). Virtually every hitch on the market will get your rig to its destination safely. The differences lie in cost, weight, convenience, ease of hook up, towing comfort, and gear protection.

I'm biased, towing comfort, safety, and gear protection are at the top of my want list so I went with an air hitch. The trailers you are considering are expensive as is your truck. I would recommend the highest quality soft joint hitch you can find and protect both; Trailer Saver. The performance and towing comfort of an air hitch will more than offset its increased cost differential.

Keep in mind the Goosebox and Gen Y are replacement pin boxes, not hitches. Have fun shopping for your new rig!

[mhbell]

In 50 plus years of rving towing several different 5th wheel trailers I bought my First Anderson Ultra this year. I love it. The reason I got the anderson is because it only weighs around 40 lbs and I use my truck for more than towing and often need the full bed of the truck for other things. Takes only a few minutes to remove the hitch, My truck has a B&W turn over ball so my bed is completly flat when hitch is removed. The 5th wheel I had before this one was a goose neck and I liked it as I could put more stuff in the bed when towing. most of the other jaw type hitches weigh far to much for me to handle when I want to remove them. If you need the truck for other things besides towing I don't think you can go wrong with the anderson or a goose box. If on the other hand you don't need to remove the hitch then a air ride would be great. Eliminates chucking and a more comfortable ride.
Mel

[BirchyBoy]

Originally Posted by CecilD

There are two basic kinds of hitches, solid and soft joint (air hitches). Virtually every hitch on the market will get your rig to its destination safely. The differences lie in cost, weight, convenience, ease of hook up, towing comfort, and gear protection.

I'm biased, towing comfort, safety, and gear protection are at the top of my want list so I went with an air hitch. The trailers you are considering are expensive as is your truck. I would recommend the highest quality soft joint hitch you can find and protect both; Trailer Saver. The performance and towing comfort of an air hitch will more than offset its increased cost differential.

Keep in mind the Goosebox and Gen Y are replacement pin boxes, not hitches. Have fun shopping for your new rig!

I’ll second the air hitch. I had a Curt slider, then a PullRite 2600 (like the Andersen Ultimate) and now a TrailerSaver. It’s heavy as heck but it makes for a very smooth ride. I can look back and see the fifth wheel moving up and down and that isn’t transmitted to the truck.

[NewBlackDak]

I started with an Andersen for weight, and usability reasons. It quickly became a pain to deal with. In and out, measuring to get it centered(I cut som blocks to make Thai part easier, torque wrench, where to store it, and an occasion of my pin box eating my tailgate on a steep campground exit.
I now have a GenY. Same gooseneck ball I use for everything else, with no big hitch to store and move.

[Wileykid]

If I had a long bed, I would have the Gen-Y. It uses a torsion flex system (rubber) for cushioning, no air bag. It has a good reputation to go with it.

One thing you will see, Lippert (makes the frame for most 5th wheels) says that the Reese Gooseneck is the only one approved. One reason for that, is Lippert owns Reese now. I would have no worries on any warranty issues using the Gen-Y.

Great to see that you bought a long bed dually. Searching for what trailer works for you, the last thing you need to worry about is what you can pull.

[lifguardct]

Wow, I had never heard of the trailersaver, the video looks like it works great. I never did find a price for the BD5 for Ram pucks. With a GenY or goosebox is it harder to line up than the traditional jaw type hitch?

Does the goosebox, GenY or Andersen require safety chains?

[JDT]

I've had a Reese Goose Box for 2.5 years now and have never had a better riding truck/fifth wheel combo than we have now. Our last hitch was a Trailer Saver BD3 and it was absolutely great but I just couldn't handle getting it out of the bed without calling in help. It's really nice to just put in a ball and go. The Gen-Y is probably just as good, maybe even better, but with Lippert only approving the Goose Box I decided not to chance it.

Hook up might be a little more difficult since the ball sits lower than a traditional hitch but if you have a camera system on your truck it makes it much easier. I have the system on mine and with the cab mounted camera and centering line it's easy to get it lined up.

One thing to keep in mind is the Goose Box only fits a certain number of frame boxes so be sure and check for compatibility. I'm not sure what the Gen-Y fits. Bottom line is most hitches will probably serve you well so get what works for you.

In answer to to lifguardct: I never tried to hook up with my Goose Box without using a camera but I've seen where others have used a magnetic antenna or something similar to help with line up. I do use safety chains which I'm pretty sure is a requirement in most if not all states. I have the puck system in my truck and use the back two holes for the chain clips.

[hamm2018]

Originally Posted by lifguardct

We are first timers, looked at class A rigs for a while but decided to go this route. We just bought a long bed Ram 3500 DRW Cummins H.O. Aisin. Love the truck and now shopping for the camper. Primarily looking at VanLeigh and Grand Design, (possibly Keystone Redwood also). As for hitches, our friends have a Ram 3500 with a B&W companion pulling a Grand Design and swear by the hitch. I am leaning that way but really like the Reese Goosebox and Andersen Ultimate for ease of use of the truck bed when not towing. What other pros and cons to each? How are the Curt and Reese 5th wheel hitches? Our truck has the factory prep (puck) setup. We live in Florida and our plan is to travel for 4-6 months in the summers (moving every week to couple of weeks) and stay home in the winters. Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks

When we bought our 2017 Ram 3500, the dealer had a 25K hitch sitting in the part shop, in their way. He offered it to me for $700, to take it and get it out their way. So, now we had a new Ram and a new Ram 25K hitch.
Been working great for us and we have been a full time, since June 2019.

[MtCamper]

All the hitches will work for you. If you get down in the weeds and look for the hitch with the least amount of hassle and fewest failures, you'll come up with the B&W Companion. They are almost impossible for you to screw up the hitching process are close to bullet proof in the failure category. Both the Andersen and Goose Box have their advantages, but there are a significant number of incidents reported of hitch failure. Those could be operator error, I don't know. The air hitches are nice but have more moving parts to maintain and care for. My Companion head is now on its fourth base and still going strong. B&W makes a superior product.

[lifguardct]

Originally Posted by MtCamper

All the hitches will work for you. If you get down in the weeds and look for the hitch with the least amount of hassle and fewest failures, you'll come up with the B&W Companion. They are almost impossible for you to screw up the hitching process are close to bullet proof in the failure category. Both the Andersen and Goose Box have their advantages, but there are a significant number of incidents reported of hitch failure. Those could be operator error, I don't know. The air hitches are nice but have more moving parts to maintain and care for. My Companion head is now on its fourth base and still going strong. B&W makes a superior product.

Did you stay with the original pin box or some upgraded (air) type?