New truck... need new hitch...input please

tdharley

Well-known member
Bought the new truck today & will be picking it up next Friday in Ill.

Wound up buying a 2007 Chevy 3500 Silverado dually.

I had a Pullrite Superglide and it worked great for me. Since the new truck has a long bed I will be replacing it with a non sliding hitch.

I saw the rep. from B&W at the Penn. RV Supershow and was impressed with their hitch. It broke down into peices quite easily.

I also need advice on the size hitch. I have a 3500RL with the center island & double door ref. The book says the rig weighs 10,950 lbs. I think I need to add the ref , kitchen island , washer/dryer combo & my crap.
I figure 13,000????? What do you think? I really do not have any weigh station close. I will weigh it next camp out in Conn.

I would rather not over buy on the hitch due to the weight differences.

Any input will help
 

katkens

Founding Illinios Chapter Leader-retired
I believe a 16K would be my choice more than adequate. I bought a Reese Signature Series 18K, the reason for this was the 16K didn't have 4-way pivot. I have under bed mounts and after removal have a clean bed. I believe ChopperBill has the B&W Hitch might talk to him for more insight. Nice truck and you will love the Allison. Happy Trails, :) Ken
 

HappyKayakers

Well-known member
My 3600RL has a listed dry weight of 11880. We're fulltiming in it and when loaded for travel, it weighs around 14500. We haven't had any problems at all with the Husky 16k pivoting hitch. Hope this helps.
 

sislv

Tom & Sharol
Reese 16K Hitch

We have the Reese 16K Hitch and do have 4 way pivot on it. The horizontal pivot came in handy last summer unhooking and hooking back up on two uneven ground sites.

Tom
 

ct0218

Well-known member
I have the Husky w/4 way pivot. I like the way it locks in when you're hitching up, automatic!
 

tdharley

Well-known member
There are some drawbacks to a slider hitch.

First you cannot unhitch at more than a 16 degree angle without having to remove clevis pins on the mounting plate and over elevate the unit.

Also you need to adapt the pinbox to accept the Superglide. After the adaption you cannot be hitched to any other regular hitch without a 140.00 adaptor. I worry about emergencies were I would have to be towed.

Besides those drawbacks the hitch did do what it was supposed to do very smoothly.
 

Tom of Ypsi

Well-known member
16 k hitch should be plenty. I have a 20 k Reese recommended by the dealer and Camping World because of the weight of my coach.
 

billd

Well-known member
Congrats on the new truck. Let us know how it works out for you. I have seen the B&W turnover with the companion, and it is a sweet setup and leaves you bed clean when you take the hitch out.

I think that would be your best overall hitch, I think you would be better adding the Mor/Ryde rubber pin box with the B&W hitch for a smooth towing experience.

Bill
 

nscaler2

Well-known member
Sounds like a great new truck. We have a 2006 F350 but would like the Allison transmission. It's too bad we can't have the best of all of them. Anyway, we have the B&W Companion and LOVE it. Besides being a great hitch to pull with, the ability to have your flat bed back is great. Just finished the day helping my daughter and her husband erect a pole barn on their property. It took me all of 10 minutes to separate and remove the B&W and I had my full bed back to haul things like a skid of concrete sacks, an air compressor and a number of other things. Love having the full use of a pickup with a flat bed.
 

tdharley

Well-known member
Thanks for all the input

I am leaning toward the B&W hitch with some sort of pin box cushioning system, have not decided whuich one yet.

I would of liked the Ford also (will miss my King Ranch) but all the articles & input I received made me go with the Chevy because of the 6 speed Allison tranny. It is a real plain truck, all the options but real boring exterior. I will be doing some matching decals.
 

fireflipper

EX-Travel Bug
fireflipper

TDHARLEY
I to have the suplerglide and went from a short bed to a long bed truck. I did not want to spend the money on a new hitch so I had my mechanic put the plate on the king pin with hex screws, about eighteen in all. He drilled the kingpin and tapped it to accept a machine screw thread. Now if I need to have it towed by some one else, I simply unbolt the plate and they can hook up.
I also tow fiver from Heartland for a dealer, and Pullrite does not make an adaptor to go from a regular king pin box to my slider. So I made up a jig that simply holds the plate to any king pin set up without the screws or bolts. As you know you cna not hook up a trailer without the plate to the Super slider. If you think this may become a problem, e-mail me and I will let you know how this is done.
 

tdharley

Well-known member
Thanks Fireflipper

Those are some good thoughts on the hitch and a work around.

I am going to throw my hitch on ebay and see what I get. I only need to get abut 800.00 for it to get the complete B&W system.

Work arounds and adapting things are not my usual way of doing things. With my luck I will get into an accident and some bureacrat from the NTSB or some other agency or worse yet my insurance company will blame it on me for not using the hitch for it's intended use.

PS My installer welded my plate on. :mad:
 

phranc

Well-known member
With the Reese/Drawtite hitch 'Signature Series', the 4 way pivot starts at the 18,000 # level.. With other Reese hitches you can have the 4 way pivot with different weight ranges..
The B&W was at the top of my list , but a local hitch shop made me an offer I couldn't refuse on the Reese Signature.. I like it also...
 

nhunter

Well-known member
What makes the Allison transmission so much better than the Ford. I like my torque shift and haven't had any problems in two trucks.
 
K

Ken Washington

Guest
To answer this question, all you have to do is come down a steep grade and you will find out. Hit the brakes one time and thats all! I think it is a very strong transmission also!

Ken
 

tdharley

Well-known member
My brother has a 2004 Chevy with a 5 speed Allison tranny. It is the difference between night & day.

I can tell you from experience, being able to drive both trucks, the Allison is much stronger. No whining down hills.
 

katkens

Founding Illinios Chapter Leader-retired
tdharley said:
My brother has a 2004 Chevy with a 5 speed Allison tranny. It is the difference between night & day.

I can tell you from experience, being able to drive both trucks, the Allison is much stronger. No whining down hills.
It's like having a exhaust brake built in and seems to know what you want to do a split second before you need to do it. My DW even thinks it awesome and thats really a complement.:) Ken
 
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