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Fifth Wheel Hitches

What does everyone use for a hitch for their fifth wheel? When we get to order our 340Rl, I plan to go with the Andersen Ultimate. It is very light, easily installed and removed, doesn’t make any noise nor is there any clunking or chucking from info I have read and seen online.

I have no actual experience with towing a fifth wheel. I am looking for feedback on the different types you use, if you like or love it and whether you would recommend someone else buying one

Pics would be great! Especially, any that show the camper hitched, side view showing bed rail clearances and whether or not you can still close a tonneau cover.
 
I struggled to find a sliding fifth wheel hitch due to availability constraints and switched my pin box to a Gen Y gooseneck and couldn’t be happier, I’m glad I was forced to go this route.
 

bhidalgo

Well-known member
Join the club - pulled my first ever fifth wheel trailer on January 14, 2022 - piece of cake!
Was scared to high heaven being able to handle it. After a few months all I still have to do is work on perfecting my backing up...probably going to be a never ending situation however. LOL.

My '22 SB F-350 sits on 20" tires and my clearance from Bed to Camper is at least 6".

So far no issues pulling our 310RL. Miniman chucking overall.

//Bill
 

Curtis

Well-known member
I have a Reese 20,000 and it has-been a great hitch. If I was buying today the B&W sliding hitch is what I would buy. I have seen the Anderson and people that have it love it. It is a paradigm shift, if you will, lol. I just like seeing bulk, a personal preference.
 
Thanks for the replies! It's official...my wife and I ordered a 3500 dually today. I am still leaning towards either the Gen Y due to torsion flex or the Andersen due to light weight. Truck is slated around 14 weeks. Camper is probably going to be ordered in late January 2023. If anyone has pics that would be awesome!
 

Tgrfan2

Member
Thanks for the replies! It's official...my wife and I ordered a 3500 dually today. I am still leaning towards either the Gen Y due to torsion flex or the Andersen due to light weight. Truck is slated around 14 weeks. Camper is probably going to be ordered in late January 2023. If anyone has pics that would be awesome!
We have a B&W Companion 20K slider. We bought it for our 2018 Ram 3500 CC SB SRW with the puck system in January 2021. There weren't a lot of choices out there then. Our 2004 Keystone Everest has a pretty squared off cap. So far I haven't had to slide the hitch back to make any moves in some pretty tight spots in our state parks. I don't expect to need to slide the hitch with the 385 much since it has a much more swept back cap.
I looked at gooseneck hitches too since I have used them since the early '70s with great results. I bought a Curt gooseneck hitch for the truck this past summer and love it. My nephew has a 40 ft flatbed we use occasionally and it does a great job.
Our 385 should be ready in a couple of weeks. I will have some pics then.
The only thing I don't like about the Companion is the long arced lever that locks the hitch. I have a large Cam Locker toolbox in the bed. I have to slide the hitch back to hitch and unhitch the fiver. I think I can modify that lever to clear the toolbox and still have enough leverage to operate it but I liked the old Reese with the pull out T rod in my D2500 better from that stand point. It used no usable space and is easier to reach to lock and unlock.
Good luck with the new truck and fiver. I am glad the "hunt" is finally over for us.
 
What does everyone use for a hitch for their fifth wheel? When we get to order our 340Rl, I plan to go with the Andersen Ultimate. It is very light, easily installed and removed, doesn’t make any noise nor is there any clunking or chucking from info I have read and seen online.

I have no actual experience with towing a fifth wheel. I am looking for feedback on the different types you use, if you like or love it and whether you would recommend someone else buying one

Pics would be great! Especially, any that show the camper hitched, side view showing bed rail clearances and whether or not you can still close a tonneau cover.
Everyone has difference circumstances. I did a lot of homework before buying my B&W Companion hitch. For me, I just have more comfort in having a couple hundred pounds of steel holding back a 16,000 lb. 5th wheel. I also don't plan on removing my hitch very often. If I did remove it frequently, I still get the B&W Companion hitch, but I'd get some kind of lifting mechanism to get it in and out of the bed of the truck. Good luck in your decision. Also, you would have plenty of clearance between your Companion hitch and a tonneau cover. I don't think clearance is an issue with most hitches.
 
Thanks for the replies! It's official...my wife and I ordered a 3500 dually today. I am still leaning towards either the Gen Y due to torsion flex or the Andersen due to light weight. Truck is slated around 14 weeks. Camper is probably going to be ordered in late January 2023. If anyone has pics that would be awesome!
I ordered my RAM 3500 in August and received it late November. I've always been a Ford guy. My son mentioned that 95% of all Hotshot drivers use RAM. There must be a good reason why. Ford has had a lot of quality issues this past year, and I won't get a truck with the CP4 fuel pump. So far, I love my RAM 3500 dually!
 
I struggled to find a sliding fifth wheel hitch due to availability constraints and switched my pin box to a Gen Y gooseneck and couldn’t be happier, I’m glad I was forced to go this route.
From what research I've done, if I ever had to replace my pin box, I'd go to GenY. It appears that they've got a nice system going.
 

Grassjohn

Well-known member
Everyone has difference circumstances. I did a lot of homework before buying my B&W Companion hitch. For me, I just have more comfort in having a couple hundred pounds of steel holding back a 16,000 lb. 5th wheel. I also don't plan on removing my hitch very often. If I did remove it frequently, I still get the B&W Companion hitch, but I'd get some kind of lifting mechanism to get it in and out of the bed of the truck. Good luck in your decision. Also, you would have plenty of clearance between your Companion hitch and a tonneau cover. I don't think clearance is an issue with most hitches.
I’m considering this for getting the hitch on and off the truck:
Also loading the generator, snowblower, etc.
 

Tgrfan2

Member
I’m considering this for getting the hitch on and off the truck:
Also loading the generator, snowblower, etc.
I have taken mine off by leaving it on the camper and also using a come along and a big tree limb. Leaving it on the fiver worked best for me.
How much reach does this have? It looks really short, looking at the deer, to reach anywhere near the hitch location. Does it swing?
 

Grassjohn

Well-known member
I have taken mine off by leaving it on the camper and also using a come along and a big tree limb. Leaving it on the fiver worked best for me.
How much reach does this have? It looks really short, looking at the deer, to reach anywhere near the hitch location. Does it swing?
Not much swing, maybe 40 inch swing from the ~20 inch arm. You still have to work it over to the proper location by hand. I have other things to lift and no suitable tree so it’s worth the price for me.
 

Tgrfan2

Member
I had looked at an engine lift. They are about $400. Working it over at the tree was tough for me and it doesn't slide to the pucks well at all. I have to "tuck" the front two under my toolbox so using the fiver landing gear and the slide of the hitch works best for me.
 

Focker

Well-known member
Everyone has difference circumstances. I did a lot of homework before buying my B&W Companion hitch. For me, I just have more comfort in having a couple hundred pounds of steel holding back a 16,000 lb. 5th wheel. I also don't plan on removing my hitch very often. If I did remove it frequently, I still get the B&W Companion hitch, but I'd get some kind of lifting mechanism to get it in and out of the bed of the truck. Good luck in your decision. Also, you would have plenty of clearance between your Companion hitch and a tonneau cover. I don't think clearance is an issue with most hitches.
B&W makes this to make it easy to lift out with a hoist if you ever need to consider it:
 
It seems that everyone is happy with their respective brand. No bad ones out there, which is good.

I am narrowed down to either the Andersen Ultimate or the Gen-Y Executive gooseneck replacement pinbox. The reasons are: USA made, easy to hook/unhook and very easy for me or my wife to remove if needing the truck bed. I don’t want to carry a lift system with me.
 

swgunn

Member
I'm setting up a B&W Patriot 16K hitch in my truck while I am waiting for a 30RLS.

Can someone with a 30RLS provide me with the distance from the ground to the underside of the kingpin plate when the trailer is parked on a level surface?

Measure king pin plate height.png
Thanks,

Steve
 

JWalker

Well-known member
I'm setting up a B&W Patriot 16K hitch in my truck while I am waiting for a 30RLS.

Can someone with a 30RLS provide me with the distance from the ground to the underside of the kingpin plate when the trailer is parked on a level surface?

View attachment 401
Thanks,

Steve

Our Avenue 30RLS on somewhat level ground.
2016 RAM 3500 Dually.
We are using a B&W hitch. Set at lowest setting.
I also raised the pin box up 2 bolt holes to bring the nose of the trailer down.
 

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What about the frame warranty? Does any hitch mod other than the Reese Goosebox void the warranty? I have been looking at reviews etc and they all mentioned that the Reese is the only one approved.
 
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