Cyclone, Short Bed and Non-Slider Hitch

Just bought a 2010 Cyclone 3850 and pull it with a 2009 Dodge 2500 Mega Cab. There was some doubt in the industry as to whether a slider hitch was necessary with the short bed. The answer is emphatically "No". My Mega Cab has a 6'3" bed and with the Cylone attached to a Reese 24K Signature Series hitch - the patented cap on the Cylone does everything Heartland claims it will do in a turn. It will definately go 88 degrees on level ground without hitting the cab without a slider. I had my doubts because it was a Mega Cab, but any short bed (6' or better) will not require a slider with a Cyclone. I have equipped the non-dually 2500 with air bags and it pulls the triple axle 3850 like it was on rails. Thanks to Mike Aplin at Heartland for all the support in putting it all together. Brooks Yeilding

fby737 said:

Just bought a 2010 Cyclone 3850 and pull it with a 2009 Dodge 2500 Mega Cab. There was some doubt in the industry as to whether a slider hitch was necessary with the short bed. The answer is emphatically "No". My Mega Cab has a 6'3" bed and with the Cylone attached to a Reese 24K Signature Series hitch - the patented cap on the Cylone does everything Heartland claims it will do in a turn. It will definately go 88 degrees on level ground without hitting the cab without a slider. I had my doubts because it was a Mega Cab, but any short bed (6' or better) will not require a slider with a Cyclone. I have equipped the non-dually 2500 with air bags and it pulls the triple axle 3850 like it was on rails. Thanks to Mike Aplin at Heartland for all the support in putting it all together. Brooks Yeilding

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I too have a 07 Dodge Mega cab 3500, at that time there was still much debate on slider hitch or not and I had a Montan Big Sky at the time. After much debate and homework I decided to go with the Sidewinder pin box. When I picked up my Big Horn I had the dealer put the Sidewinder on the new unit just to be on the safe side.

I have a slider hitch in my short box GMC. I had a Coachmen before the BH and would always have to slide the hitch on tight turns and backing. Have been pulling the BH since 9/07 and have not found one occasion where I needed to slide the hitch. Will be upgrading to a heavier hitch soon as we are looking at going with a bigger trailer, and have every intention of not getting a sliding hitch.
Fred

Had a slider with my previous trailer (Gulfstream)... It worked good, but all the movement and clunking noise made me unconfortable... When we bought our Big Horn one of the deciding factors was the 88 degree turning radius, so I changed the hitch to a standard model... Glad I did: The front cap performs as advertised, and I have been in some tight situations...

Best part - The whole thing seems much more "solid" (too me) with a conventional hitch...

Congrats on the new Cyclone.

We are on our 3rd week long trip since picking up our new Cyclone last month.

On my truck at 90 degrees the trailer is just under 7" from the cab on level ground. And that is with the SuperGlide all the back at 14". So at least in the SB CC GMC I need the slide. You can see pics in my 3010 post.

Maybe I will never have the opportunity to actually have to go 90 degrees, but it is not always the sharp turn as much as it is the grade. I will post pics when we get back from our current location of the "entrance" and you will see what I mean.

I did leave a "white" scuff mark on the top of my bed this time, glad I had the tonneau cover rails off

I have to say I agree with Porthole. It's not so much the sharp turn as it is the grade. I have a 06 F250 CC SB. I can bang a tight uturn in my driveway to get my Sundance turned around. This past weekend we had an off grade back in. I was tight and watching my spotters, not my truck.. I got a huge crease/dent in the passenger side of the cab. Not happy about the dent but no damage to the trailer and no rear window shatter. Could have been worse. The lesson I learned is that I need to stick to just my wife helping. I would have been paying more attention to the right side if she was the only one on my left. I could use a slider.......

FBY737 so your towing a 3850 with a 2500 diesel. What air bags did you end up going with and how much do you think they bumped up you tow capacity? I have a customer right now that is looking at a 3950 and he has the same mega cab truck. I informed him that he will be overload, but he said that he is looking into the dual rear wheel conversion or possibly air bags.

I hope to give him some insight on a few options. Let me know what you used and how you like it. Because dry this things come in right at 14000lbs.

Thanks,
Mike

I put a slider 2 inches ahead of the axle for more weight on the front end of the truck, and haven't had to use it yet with my cyclone. I was very impressed the first time i turned it short, except the hitch cover hitting the side of the bed.

For some reason they made the hitch covers lower than the bottom of the hitch plate. I trimmed the cover to match the bottom of the hitch plate aprox. 2". Also my hitch instructions called for the hitch to 3 1/2" ahead of the axle which is great for putting some weight on the front axel.

2500 and Airbags

Yes SundanceKid, I am pulling a 2010 3850 (18,000 GVWR) with a 2009 Dodge 2500 non-dually (single is better for everyday drive and the triple on trailer makes up for no dually, I think). Sorry it took so long to look at threads - just got back from Balloon Fiesta. Installed Firestone airbags. Run at 15psi empty and 50psi towing and they work as advertised. Can't speak to any published weight figures, because there aren't any that I know of. It just pulls it, stops it (Tekonsha P3 on 10 and boost 2), and rides smoothly (MoreRyde pin box and TrailAir Equaflex). Came home in 35 mph cross winds up I-25 at 75 to 80mph with no problems and no sway. The diesel just seems to be happier at 70 mph or better and the aerodynamics between the truck and RV seem well matched. Installed a Edge with Attitude computer and tow on setting 2. It gives a little extra HP at that setting and allows me to monitor more engine parameters as well as view engine codes and clear them myself if minor. Good luck with your match.

Hitches for short bed 2500HD

JWG said:

Had a slider with my previous trailer (Gulfstream)... It worked good, but all the movement and clunking noise made me unconfortable... When we bought our Big Horn one of the deciding factors was the 88 degree turning radius, so I changed the hitch to a standard model... Glad I did: The front cap performs as advertised, and I have been in some tight situations...

Best part - The whole thing seems much more "solid" (too me) with a conventional hitch...

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sir,
I see you have a chev or GMC not sure which and it is a crew cab. I see where you bought a none slider. Which one did you get? I have a 2006 Chev 2500 HD 4x4 Duramax Short bed. LBZ engine. I bought a 40 foot Landmark and want to make sure I dont need a slider.
Can you let me know the brand of hitch you used.
C

skywagon02v said:

sir,
I see you have a chev or GMC not sure which and it is a crew cab. I see where you bought a none slider. Which one did you get? I have a 2006 Chev 2500 HD 4x4 Duramax Short bed. LBZ engine. I bought a 40 foot Landmark and want to make sure I dont need a slider.
Can you let me know the brand of hitch you used.
C

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we have a 2008 silverado cc sb duramax 2500 and are pulling a cyclone 3850, i first used an anderson ranch hitch goose neck conversion and a B&W turn over ball. the problem was the ranch hitch hit the sides of the bed on the truck and really caused a significant amount of "chucking", i removed it, with a ton of "i told you so" from other members and now use a B&W 5th wheel hitch that hooks into my turn over ball system and it is rock solid and feels great, and the best part is i loosen one bolt then pull the whole system out in 2 easy to move pieces and i am back to a flat clean bed!

What the heck its the pin weight of that big ol' cyclone? I know I'm a bit over my GVWR (2007 mega cab 3500 SRW) with my little bitty Bighorn 3385. And while we're on the subject, why, oh why, is 3500 Megacab dually rated the same payload capacity as the SRW version. This makes no sense to me at all.

skywagon02v said:

sir,
I see you have a chev or GMC not sure which and it is a crew cab. I see where you bought a none slider. Which one did you get? I have a 2006 Chev 2500 HD 4x4 Duramax Short bed. LBZ engine. I bought a 40 foot Landmark and want to make sure I dont need a slider.
Can you let me know the brand of hitch you used.
C

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You can use any brand that you prefer and still get the turning radius you want. It is the installation of the hitch that counts. The distance from the axle center line to the center of the hitch where you lock it in. Most shops mount them within fairly strict tolerances, however some move them to far back or to far ahead of the axle. Check your measurements and you will know where it needs to be. You want it forward of the axle for the best handling and weight distribution. HL did a good thing with the 88 degree turning radius. Makes short bed towing a dream for sure. I should add, check with the shop you are going to have do the installation and verify that against the hitch manufacturers instructions. Check the measurement's and you will be good.

The Dodge 2500 GCW IS 20,000 LBS, I would not go more then 40MPH with that setup. The truck is way to light to pull that trailer.

There's no difference in a 2500 Dodge (Diesel) and a 3500 Dodge other then the overload springs. They are the exact same vehicle otherwise.