[JoshSchutt]

I started out with a dealer-installed Husky 16K slider hitch in my CCSB 2004.5 lly Sierra. I had purchased a 2006 36.5 foot Landmark fifth wheel. It was the best truck I ever had, but the hitch eventually went to the big scrap metal dump in the sky. It had so many cracks everywhere (that I could not see), until I was trying to get one visible crack welded. (Bad idea. I know.) I had upgraded my truck to a DRW CC standard bed, so why not get a better hitch? Any way, I did some research and decided I wanted an Air-Safe Hitch. At that time their price was around 3K new. I searched Craigslist for 3 nearby states and found a used model. After I rebuilt it with new lines and bags, it is the ultimate best fifth wheel hitch ever. I do not even know I an pulling the fifth wheel anymore. No more chucking, banging and jarring. I have a little under 2,000 dollars in it now but it is good as new. The air assist pin box that came with the coach was worthless so I changed that out for a Roto-Flex model as the air hitch controls all the movement.

The bottom line is this. We are paying up to 50-75K for a diesel truck now and good fifth wheel models are costing 50-120K. So, is 3K too much for the best hitch? NO! After ten years of a mechanical hitch, my coach is showing it's wear and abuse. I wish now I had started with the Air-Safe hitch. I will never have any mechanical hitch again. There is absolutely NO COMPARISON between the performance of my Air-Safe 25K Omnidirectional Hitch and the antique mechanical hitches of old. I can't speak for the sliding options they may have but I only very rarely had to use my slider with my fifth wheel's nose cap design. Most coach manufacturers are trying work around the problem of short bed trucks pulling their fifth wheel, redesigning the nose caps and extending the pin-box forward, as it increases their marketability.

Is that the piece that goes in the bed of the truck? Bc I googled and can’t find a 5th wheel, I can find the pin box air ride but not the hitch part. Can you drop a link to it.

 

[BBworkdog]

5th Wheel Air Hitch For Sale by AirSafe™ Hitches This is the link to the manufacturer. I have had good service from the guys at Air Safe in obtaining parts, technical advice and information. They are continually re-designing aspects of their products to remain relevant to the industry as technology changes. They have adapter kits for all of the puck systems, I know. I don't know if they can crossover to the gooseneck conversions. Check out their website. I am so happy with this hitch that I have offered to let local people who have asked about it to use my rig to test drive their RV with. Most people are scared of the cost, but it is actually the cheapest insurance and low cost prevention to preserve their large investment in their RV. Not only can it prevent cracking of frame components but think of all of the joints and seals that keep our RV's in one piece and watertight. (Read reduced maintenance.) Cargo rides more smoothly and doesn't move around as much!

The Air-Ride pinbox came with my Landmark on a Lippert frame. It helped a little but not nearly enough. In 2012 we went from California to Illinois via I-80. A hellacious roadway for expansion joints. A very rough trip. I cracked two alloy rims and had a blowout coming back outside of Billings, Montana. When I bought my 2016 dually I then sought the upgrade in hitch. Air Safe does not recommend an articulating pin box be used with their hitch. The Roto-Flex pin box was the least articulating pin box I could find, believe it or not. As we were preparing to move, I did not have a lot of time to look for a basic pin box with the right forward extension. When I swapped it out, I just left it at the shop because I didn't have room to keep it.

 

[JoshSchutt]

5th Wheel Air Hitch For Sale by AirSafe™ Hitches This is the link to the manufacturer. I have had good service from the guys at Air Safe in obtaining parts, technical advice and information. They are continually re-designing aspects of their products to remain relevant to the industry as technology changes. They have adapter kits for all of the puck systems, I know. I don't know if they can crossover to the gooseneck conversions. Check out their website. I am so happy with this hitch that I have offered to let local people who have asked about it to use my rig to test drive their RV with. Most people are scared of the cost, but it is actually the cheapest insurance and low cost prevention to preserve their large investment in their RV. Not only can it prevent cracking of frame components but think of all of the joints and seals that keep our RV's in one piece and watertight. (Read reduced maintenance.) Cargo rides more smoothly and doesn't move around as much!

The Air-Ride pinbox came with my Landmark on a Lippert frame. It helped a little but not nearly enough. In 2012 we went from California to Illinois via I-80. A hellacious roadway for expansion joints. A very rough trip. I cracked two alloy rims and had a blowout coming back outside of Billings, Montana. When I bought my 2016 dually I then sought the upgrade in hitch. Air Safe does not recommend an articulating pin box be used with their hitch. The Roto-Flex pin box was the least articulating pin box I could find, believe it or not. As we were preparing to move, I did not have a lot of time to look for a basic pin box with the right forward extension. When I swapped it out, I just left it at the shop because I didn't have room to keep it.

Thanks. I will look into it. Plan on only buying one 5th wheel mount so why not make it a good one.

 

[Blake Laqua]

Im looking at getting the Anderson ultimate 2 hitch to pull a 18k 5th wheel. How much do you anderson users usually tow?


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[cmysstailights]

Im looking at getting the Anderson ultimate 2 hitch to pull a 18k 5th wheel. How much do you anderson users usually tow?


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Just under 15k lbs

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[njmurvin]

Im looking at getting the Anderson ultimate 2 hitch to pull a 18k 5th wheel. How much do you anderson users usually tow?


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I tow about 12K lbs. The AUH is easy to get in/out, provides extra cab clearance (if needed) when you position it accordingly and provides a smooth, quiet ride. The only downside is you have to figure out whether or not you want to use tow chains. Andersen says 'No" but the highway patrolman who pulls you over might have a different opinion. I decided I didn't ever want to have that conversation, so I use the chains (I also feel a bit more secure).

 

[BandJCarm]

I have a B&W Companion. Works fine. Friends went to an Andersen. But when you question Andersen owners, they always say "It is so easy to remove from the bed". Well, that's not why I buy a hitch. It's too light for my tastes, and I want more surface area between the truck and the hitch, not just a ball. The 5th wheel is not a Gooseneck (though you can make it one, and many do).

I am at the absolute limit weightwise, and my pin weight is way up there. I've upgraded to H rated tires and wheels, and put Independent Suspension and Disk brakes on 5th wheel. Best investment I've made.

If I had it to do over, I'd get a Hensley BD5. My 5th wheel (Cedar Creek 36CKTS) is over 16.5K loaded. Pin weight is approaching 4K.

 

[duecedriver]

Another option is to replace the pin box on whatever trailer you get with something like a Reese Goose Box, Gen Y Executive, or put an Andersen Ultimate in the bed. Then you don't have to deal with losing bed space or lifting a heavy hitch out of the bed.

you wouldn't catch me dead trailering anything with that anderson.. well actually .. you might find me DEAD

 

[duecedriver]

I needed a slider, and at the time went with a Pull Rite. Each model of hitch has its pros and cons. I like the Pull Rite stuff and it compares to the Demco, Curt, B&W and several others out there. Only issue with any of the true 5th wheel hitches is always weight. Goose ball converters and several of the goose ball adapters have been shown to have issues. If the converter moves the ball down from the king pin, most frame MFG (Likely LCI as they make a lot of frames) will void the warranty.

Find a hitch you like, make sure its well built. If you can find one that fits the pucks great, if not, look into the puck to ISR rail adapters. Something like #4444 20K Industry Standard Rail to OE Puck Rail Adapter for GM Trucks with pucks | Fifth Wheel Hitches by PullRite. Again find one you like, ensure quality and research. Remember for every 1 bad review, there are probably 1,000 or more happy people that do not write reviews.

One of the nice things about the Puck to ISR adapters is if you change trucks, the hitch will be useable. I have a puck SuperGlide and if I change trucks (even to new GM) it may not fit.

well yes and no on the puck thing being usable when changing trucks.. I just got a good deal on a slider with puck base for my '19 because it would not fit his '20 .. different layout.. same GM mfg ... changes more often than you know...

attempts to 'standardize' the puck layout have pretty much gone nowhere

 

[thunder550]

you wouldn't catch me dead trailering anything with that anderson.. well actually .. you might find me DEAD

Agreed, I went with the Goose Box on mine...saw too many pictures like the above to be comfortable with the Andersen.

 

[jdwarren]

you wouldn't catch me dead trailering anything with that anderson.. well actually .. you might find me DEAD

Agreed, I went with the Goose Box on mine...saw too many pictures like the above to be comfortable with the Andersen.

I bought the ISR/steel version of the Andersen and found that it would not fit into my ISR rail adapter. Etrailer and Andersen suggested that I "use a sledgehammer" to make it fit. I smacked my forehead and told them that under no circumstances was I about to strike any of the hardware connecting my truck and trailer with a sledgehammer outside of an emergency situation. After dozens of emails debating whose responsibility it was for eating the shipping cost on the order I was able to send the POS back. Very disappointing product from Andersen and equally disappointing customer service from Etrailer. I am no fan of Bezos and big tech but they need to take a lesson from Amazon when it comes to returns. Customers should not need to send emails or make phone calls to initiate returns of defective products, and there should never be any argument/debate about whether the customer has to pay return shipping for defective products. Wholly unacceptable.

Every picture I had seen of the Andersen made me scratch my head with regard to the pinched tubular sections; those connections are extremely prone to buckling due to their small cross section / area moment of inertia. I'm very curious about the design process that went into that product.

Below you can see the fitment issue very clearly. The tabs simply don't line up with the holes. I verified that the Reese ISR adapter was cut exactly to specification.

 

[405 hp]

I have B&W Companion hitch very nice well made and American made hitch its about $300 more than a Curt though.

 

[duecedriver]

I have B&W Companion hitch very nice well made and American made hitch its about $300 more than a Curt though.

B&W hitches that I have seen certainly look well built...

my Curt A16 is a way better head than the backup E16 head that I got for free when I bought the puck base/slider/head

the slider on the Curt, being manual, and a mediocre design works.. but if you trailer A LOT with a std/short bed that requires a slider.. the automatic ones might be worth the cash

overall 5th wheel to me seems really expensive.. the hitches are spendy and heavy... and for smaller 5th wheels.. the differences between going bumper pull vs 5th wheel don't seem as compelling..

now when you get into larger heavier trailers.. I can certainly see 5th wheel being safer and a more controlled towing experience..

anyone want to weigh in on short 5th wheel benefits...

 

[jdwarren]

B&W hitches that I have seen certainly look well built...

my Curt A16 is a way better head than the backup E16 head that I got for free when I bought the puck base/slider/head

the slider on the Curt, being manual, and a mediocre design works.. but if you trailer A LOT with a std/short bed that requires a slider.. the automatic ones might be worth the cash

overall 5th wheel to me seems really expensive.. the hitches are spendy and heavy... and for smaller 5th wheels.. the differences between going bumper pull vs 5th wheel don't seem as compelling..

now when you get into larger heavier trailers.. I can certainly see 5th wheel being safer and a more controlled towing experience..

anyone want to weigh in on short 5th wheel benefits...

The main advantage of a small fifth wheel over a comparably-sized TT is that the FW will likely have room for a generator and/or a large battery bank and inverter install. Those sorts of builds in TTs are often more difficult, especially in ones without a front bedroom (generally the under-bed storage is where you'd wind up putting the batteries, inverters, etc.). Adding several hundred pounds of crap behind the axles on a bumper-pull is something to be avoided.

 

[duecedriver]

The main advantage of a small fifth wheel over a comparably-sized TT is that the FW will likely have room for a generator and/or a large battery bank and inverter install. Those sorts of builds in TTs are often more difficult, especially in ones without a front bedroom (generally the under-bed storage is where you'd wind up putting the batteries, inverters, etc.). Adding several hundred pounds of crap behind the axles on a bumper-pull is something to be avoided.

good points

I was looking at layouts of newer bumper pulls and several have sliders front bedrooms and overall floorpans very similar to the comparable length 5ers ... the weight in the front storage is a good point..

what I find frustrating is with a '19 high country the payload weight is pretty dismal.. and with a 290lb hitch/slider further reducing that.. my pin weights are barely better than 1500 1/2 tons...

 

[scottydl]

Headroom and general interior feel of a fifth wheel is substantially different from a travel trailer too, sort of like comparing a "small" (say 28') Class A motorhome with a comparable size Class C. We really like our bunkhouse TT and it's a decent size (32' box, 35' with tongue) but we're really looking forward to the ability to upgrade to a 35'+ fifth wheel in the next couple years... now that I have a truck that can handle it!

 

[scottydl]

what I find frustrating is with a '19 high country the payload weight is pretty dismal.. and with a 290lb hitch/slider further reducing that.. my pin weights are barely better than 1500 1/2 tons... Yep, for a decent sized FW, the pin weight payload demands will put you solidly in 3500 and/or dually range. That's why I decided to "go big" from the start in buying a used pickup, so I can tow just about anything trailer-wise that we might want in the future.

 

[jdwarren]

good points

I was looking at layouts of newer bumper pulls and several have sliders front bedrooms and overall floorpans very similar to the comparable length 5ers ... the weight in the front storage is a good point..

what I find frustrating is with a '19 high country the payload weight is pretty dismal.. and with a 290lb hitch/slider further reducing that.. my pin weights are barely better than 1500 1/2 tons...

Yeah, the 2500s through 2019 are weak sauce in that regard. But it's really just due to the rear tires and springs. There are tires that will fit the stock wheels that will give you a lot more headroom. Add a pair of airbags or timbrens and you should be all set.

 

[duecedriver]

Headroom and general interior feel of a fifth wheel is substantially different from a travel trailer too, sort of like comparing a "small" (say 28') Class A motorhome with a comparable size Class C. We really like our bunkhouse TT and it's a decent size (32' box, 35' with tongue) but we're really looking forward to the ability to upgrade to a 35'+ fifth wheel in the next couple years... now that I have a truck that can handle it!

I have a small family so just the 3 of us.. and I am looking to stay under 33ft for on property storage and to have more compatibility for more sites at more campgrounds...
seems like when you get into the high 30s and up.. sites are few and some places just cant accommodate...

I like the idea of the bunkhouse even just the 2 bed versions giving the kid his own room.. but in 8-10 years it will likely just be the wife...

although with the horror stories I am reading about in quality of these 'modern' campers.. dont know if one would last 10 years any more...

 

[scottydl]

The majority of them are made from sticks and staples, that's for sure. Still, major problems are rare as long as you take care of it, and understand that "tinkering" with small fixes is a part of RV ownership.