Of the brands of 5th hitchs is any better or is any of them crappy?

My truck had a Reese in it that was taken out by the previous owner , so I know a mine is already for a Reese. Do different brand hitches mount different.

I keeping a eye out for a deal on a 5er and a hitch.

Rick

 

You will find much about hitches at: irv2.com , RV.NET , and escapees.com. I think most 5er hitches today use the same rail pattern, but the guys on the RV forums will know for sure. When I buy another 5er hitch I will favor the http://www.turnoverball.com/ They have a companion 5er hitch that attaches to the gooseneck ball. This way when the 5er hitch is removed you have a flat bed surface for hauling sand.gravel, and such. I now use a Reese 16K hitch and it works very well, however, the bed rails are a real pain to work/shovel around.

 

I looked at that turnover ball, 5er attachment. Huumm. The base just sets on the bed no fasteners. Just the center pin to hold it.
I wonder how strong that is? Seems like there would be alot of stress on that one fastening point???

 

The main thing I would look for is something that pivots 4 ways (easier to hook up/unhook) and something that grabs the pin, as opposed to a bar that sits in the groove in the pin on one side.

The B&W works quite well, and the one attachment point is pretty stout (rated for something like 30k when used with a goose neck, 18K as a 5th wheel).

The base distributes the weight onto the bed, and the socket I think mainly handles the fore/aft forces.

I think there is still a photo in my gallery.

 

I'm using a Reese 20k which pivots all directions. Makes it nice on uneven terrain in those tight spots.

No problems so far. Then again, I've only needed to remove it twice, and it's much easier if you have two people for removal / installation. This is only because of the wieght of the hitch.

I'm towing a 36' 5th which weighs in at a little over 16k. GVW on unit is 17.

 

You may want to consider a Pullrite. Cost a bit more but well engineered and built like a tank.

Casey

 

I just intstalled the same Reese 15k into my new '05 gas guzzler that was in my '98, '01.5 and '03 Cummins powered 2500's. It's not a rocker and so far I haven't had any troubles hitching up or un-hitching. When the Reese feels like it doesn't want to release, I back into it a little and set the brake. Then it releases easy. The two jaw design is less likely to bind than a slider bar after a few years of heavy towing. That and I like to hear it clunk into it's locked position when I back into it. I like the Reese and my next hitch will also be a Reese.

 

I'm A Pullrite fan, I like the rap around jaw on their hitchs. I looked for about 1 year before desiding on what brand hitch. The Husky came in 2nd, Putnam 3rd in my opion. The ones I thought the least of were RBW Lil' rocker and some off brands that copyed them. I didn't like the locking jaws on the Reese.

As for as using the bolt holes that are all ready there. You will have to stay with the same hitch maker.

Reese and Drawtite are the same, made by the same company just different stickers.

Husky and Valley are the same, just different stickers.

Pullrite is the only brand they sale, that I know of.

RBW, I don't know much about them. I looked at their hitch at a dealer and didn't care for it.

All the fifth wheel hitchs tend to hang unhitching when the trailer is slide back in the hitch. Just back the truck up set brake the pull the release handle.

Most of the hitch makers will email you install instructions and a copy of the owners manual, for you to look at. I found this help full when I was looking.

Most people that have looked at my Pullrite like it over the Husky, Reese and RBW.

If you deside you would like a Pullrite pm me, and I will tell you where I got mine. I had 3 dealers within 6 to 50 miles of the house no one could touch their price.

This is my 2 cents, hopes it helps

Rodney

 

i must agree, the PULLRITE is more expensive however it is built like a tank. I'm using the SuperGlide due to being a Shortbox, however when I go to Long Bed I'm going to stick with PullRite due to their releability and locking mechcanics. I willhave to get another hittch from them but it's worth the money for the piece of mind

 

Go to Reeseproducts.com and check out the new Signature Series 5th wheel hitch. I like the looks of it...

 

I have the 18K slide signature on my truck. Very happy with the quality of it, one thing they do not seem to mention on the Reese site is the jaw on the signature is one piece that closes from the drivers side, it also has a indicator that shows when the hitch is locked, I think it would be hard to make a mistake with it and pull away without it being locked.

 

I have the 15.5k Pullrite Superhitch with the Super Rails and really like it. No tools to remove the hitch and rails leaving a smooth bed. I have towed now about 8k miles and have never had any trouble either hitching or unhitching. A very sturdy hitch.

George

 

Hijacker 21

I have a Hijacker and love it. They come in many models.
www.hijacker.com
some info on slick installations.

Truck Box Free of Bed Rails
Positive Locking Pins
4 - Easy to Turn Pins
Bed Hole Plugs Included
Vehicle Specific Mounting Kits
21,000 lb Towing Capacity
Double Pivot Head
Modular Design
5 yr Warranty
Durable Powder Coat Finish
Unique Jaw Bolt Adjustment
4 - 1” Height Adjustments
Quick and Easy Installation
Interchangeable Gooseneck Head

Cheers f

 

I'm a full time RVer and I have a Husky with a slider turned around backwards so I can shorten up when I need to.. It works great. The slider works with the trailer on also, you just to have someone to pull the latch while you take the pressure off of it...

 

I have the Advanced Air ride hitch in the Reese Rails.
Fully articulating and I bet that thing weighs near 300 pounds assembled.

Its pricey but well built and smooths out the ride a lot.

I have a 15K Reese sitting here that would fit the rails you have.
I think its still in my classified ads.

Scotty

EDIT: I just checked and all my ads are gone and when I went to place an ad I got this msg...

Warning: mysql_fetch_row(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL result resource in /home/httpd/html/classifieds/pp-inc.php on line 945

PM me and I will tell you about it if you are interested.

Scotty