New 2016 2500 4x4 - Short Bed Towing 5th wheel with non-slider hitch???

I just yesterday bought a brand new 2500 4x4 Crew Cab with the 6.5 foot bed. I am buying a 5th wheel (27.5 feet and 5900 lbs) and the dealer says I dont need a slider hitch.

Anyone towing a 5th wheel with a fixed hitch? Issues??

I know some of the fifth wheel trailers made nowadays are made for the shorter 6.5" beds. The king pin is further forward on the trailer and front of the trailers are rounded off to clear the cab of the truck

^^^ That is a good point ^^^

I've towed a 5'vr with a fixed hitch and I can honestly say that I had no problems but I was very, very cautious about cranking it hard to either side. There's no clearance for the cab if you get too close.

I ended up getting a slider after having to give up some nice camping spots because the spaces were just too tight to back in without cranking it too far.

zogg said:

I just yesterday bought a brand new 2500 4x4 Crew Cab with the 6.5 foot bed. I am buying a 5th wheel (27.5 feet and 5900 lbs) and the dealer says I dont need a slider hitch.

Anyone towing a 5th wheel with a fixed hitch? Issues??

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"dealer says I dont need a slider hitch"
I heard the same thing but from my RV dealer, it is a statement that can be true, just depends on how high the angle of the turn is. Normal driving wasn't an issue, the problems came when manipulating in to a space at camp grounds.

Here are two pictures showing the room between the cab and the cap, and then the damage I did when the two hit, not once but I did it twice. After the second hit, I went with an auto-slide hitch set up (Superglide). I suggest you go with an auto slider and never have the worry. When manipulating, you have enough to watch and you can't see the cap/cab clearance. Despite what anyone might say, when you get to a campground, you have to deal with what you have to work with. Many campgrounds designed their spots at an angle but many are at 90 degrees, that is where the trouble comes.



This was an $1,800 repair, an auto slider is much cheaper.

Just don't turn too sharp.

I don't have a slider, got in a parking lot to test the turning minutes after buying the trailer

......

It mostly depends on the 5th wheel. As mentioned, a lot of the newer ones are better setup but that doesn't help much when you shatter your back window and dent the cab.

My 5th wheel is a 2016 Keystone Hideout is called a "mid-profile" and is specifically marketed as being able to turn 89 degrees w/o hitting. I have a slider just because I'm a nut and worry too much, but probably don't need it.

I'd say if your 5th wheel is specifically marketed like mine you could run w/o it. If it's one of the big boys like the Montana a few posts up you'd best get a slider.

I also got the slider because I have a somewhat unique circumstance with the slip alongside my house. It slopes down pretty sharply from the street and sliding back helps keep the underside of the 5th from hitting the back corners of my bed as the trailer is well down the hill and my truck's rear wheels are jumping up the driveway apron. I needed the slider with my old truck/5th setup with less bed rail clearance. I didn't know how this setup was going to work until I bought everything and now that I see it I could probably get by w/o the slider. Honestly, the excess weight of the slider ****** me off way more than the few hundred dollars extra it cost. I think my B/W weighs nearly 300#.

mtofell said:

My 5th wheel is a 2016 Keystone Hideout is called a "mid-profile" and is specifically marketed as being able to turn 89 degrees w/o hitting.

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The gotcha here is, the maximum degree of turn is based on what pin setting, I falsely assumed over the axle. My Montana is spec'ed to turn 88 degrees in a 6' 4" bed but not if the pin is sitting over the axle.

I just wish all the people I dealt with at the RV dealer would have been more honest and open with me, all my grief would have been easily avoided. Wife and I were new to fifth wheels and I though (thinking back, I did) I asked all the right questions.

When I first got the fiver, my son and I went out to a big parking lot on a Sunday afternoon and I practice, thought I had the turning radius down. When you get to a camping site and you are trying to watch all the corners, have a wife that changes hand signals on the fly (I love her though) and you can't see your cab/cap clearance, you are in trouble.

I had a 2015 Crew Cab short box pulling our 5th wheel to start with. I always told myself I'd never be that guy to tag the cab corner with it.... Long story short it happened... Fortunate for us I was the only one in the truck as I was just making adjustments to the camper and was in a local parking lot.

I'd strongly recommend a slider. You may not ever use it, but at least it is there...

I almost always slid it back when backing into my camp sites but rarely do i felt that i really needed it...

I would get the slider hitch. Pay the extra and not worry about it when you have to back into that super tight site and a super crowded campground. My new 5th wheel appears to be designed to provide clearance on the cab; however, you just never know when that day will come when you need it. I got a slider. I have it if I need it or if I have to move someone else's camper in an emergency.

Even with my slider I'm fearful as it's easy to not think you need to slide it back. I'd REALLY hate to be the guy with a slider who bashes the back of my truck because I didn't slide it back.

mtofell said:

Even with my slider I'm fearful as it's easy to not think you need to slide it back. I'd REALLY hate to be the guy with a slider who bashes the back of my truck because I didn't slide it back.

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This is exactly why I went with the auto-slider. Just the though of pulling into a parking lot at a shopping center for example, makes the auto-slider the choice.

I have a 2015 megacab. Pull a 28 ft Copper Canyon. I have a slider just because that is what came with my other trailer. I never use it, but its good to know it's there

As for the auto slider hitches. Which one are being used? Any to avoid?

BossHogg said:

The gotcha here is, the maximum degree of turn is based on what pin setting, I falsely assumed over the axle. My Montana is spec'ed to turn 88 degrees in a 6' 4" bed but not if the pin is sitting over the axle.

I just wish all the people I dealt with at the RV dealer would have been more honest and open with me, all my grief would have been easily avoided. Wife and I were new to fifth wheels and I though (thinking back, I did) I asked all the right questions.

When I first got the fiver, my son and I went out to a big parking lot on a Sunday afternoon and I practice, thought I had the turning radius down. When you get to a camping site and you are trying to watch all the corners, have a wife that changes hand signals on the fly (I love her though) and you can't see your cab/cap clearance, you are in trouble.

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Most women helpers don't understand the concept of 'if you cant see me in the mirrors I cant see you' when backing. After she helped me back into two fixed objects I finally bought a cheap set of radios. Now it doesn't matter where she stands. If I can just get her to key the mike before talking I will have it made.

02FLSTFI said:

As for the auto slider hitches. Which one are being used? Any to avoid?

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When I did my research earlier this year I only found two auto-sliders, Pullright Superglide and the Demco Autoslide. Both made here and with USA steel. I couldn't find any negative comments about either. There are two draw-backs with the auto sliders, one is the weight, they do weigh more but that wasn't an issue for me. The other is you also need to buy an adapter plate for your pinbox. The adapter has a wedge welded on it, it is this wedge that causes the auto-slider to slide on a turn. The adapters are about $130 but I found mine on Amazon for under 100 shipped.

I found several used auto-sliders for sale on Craigslist albeit 16,000 pound hitches, I needed an 18K hitch minimum so I had to buy new.

Tweetys sells both the Pullright and Demco and eTrailer sells only the Demco.

sandawilliams said:

Most women helpers don't understand the concept of 'if you cant see me in the mirrors I cant see you' when backing. After she helped me back into two fixed objects I finally bought a cheap set of radios. Now it doesn't matter where she stands. If I can just get her to key the mike before talking I will have it made.

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I have radios also but that opened a whole new door of learning, she is still working on the push to talk coordination before talking, just like your bride. She has five degrees, two are graduate, teaches nursing at two colleges and one university, and I love her to death but really... Sometimes I just have to jump out of the truck and run down the road holding my head while screaming.

BossHogg said:

I have radios also but that opened a whole new door of learning, she is still working on the push to talk coordination before talking, just like your bride. She has five degrees, two are graduate, teaches nursing at two colleges and one university, and I love her to death but really... Sometimes I just have to jump out of the truck and run down the road holding my head while screaming.

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Sounds very familiar...

Thanks for the feedback Boss. Those were the two I was looking at. My debate now is do I do the adapter plate and under bed work myself or hire it out. While I am very mechanically inclined I always get nervous when I have to drill 3.5" inches holes in truck beds.

02FLSTFI said:

Thanks for the feedback Boss. Those were the two I was looking at. My debate now is do I do the adapter plate and under bed work myself or hire it out. While I am very mechanically inclined I always get nervous when I have to drill 3.5" inches holes in truck beds.

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Didn't have to make that choice, I ordered my truck with the prep package. Over on the Cummins forum, there is a thread or two discussing the Mopar kit that will allow you to add the puck system, didn't seem to be too challenging but I don't think I would trust myself to drill those holes.

Sometimes you have to know when to write a check. In hindsight, there were a few times I decided to turn the wrench instead of writing the check which I did anyways, just for more money