Hitch question slider or no slider

[gslabbert5119]

Ok, I am a new 5th wheel owner of a Heartland BH 3685RL. The 5th wheel has a dry weight of 12192 lbs, a GVWR of 15,500 lbs and and a hitch weight of 2320 lbs. My truck is a 2015 Ford f250 extended cab 4x2 with a 6.7l diesel and a 6ft.8" bed.

As a newby i really would not like to have to hassle with having to get in and out of my vehicle like I see in the video on sliders, as I am likely to forget, and bash the 5th wheel against the truck, but Ibet that I will only forget once after having to pay for the repairs, however I digress.

Anyway like everything there are good hitches and not so good hitches as I am setting this all up I am COMPLETELY open to which hitch to fit and why and it would be silly for me not to tap into the knowledge of experienced 5th wheelers.

Do I go with a 16k hitch, a 18k or heavier and which brand model should I use and is the non slider really even an issue to use.

Thanks in advance for the input

 

[farside291]

I would say that as long as you don't exceed your GVWR on your fifth wheel you should be just fine with a 16K. Also, the front of the fifth wheel is angled on both sides to accommodate short bed trucks so no slider is needed. I won't lie though, I have never attempted to tow my Big Country with a short bed truck others may do so and will chime in with a response.

 

[Lynn1130]

A search should yield several recent threads about short bed trucks and sliders. By and large the majority seem to get along fine without a slider, me included. I have made some pretty tight turns with no issues.
As for the hitch I think you are fine with a 16K but if you want wiggle room (which may not be necessary) then 18K gives you that plus if you upgrade at some point you avoid that expense, again. While there is a lot of good experience here we also need to keep in mind that advice many times comes from from one point of view. In my case I could recommend Valley who I believe was bought by Reese but then, that is the only one I have ever owned. You might get a lemon with the same name. Your local bumper/hitch sales place as well as on-line feedback will help with a final decision. I have found, when researching, that most shops and businesses will not try to oversell you. They want your future business as well as recommendations to other so they will do their best to send you in the right direction.

 

[Dean-Pam]

As many will tell you, with the design of the nose, you may not need a slider. For me, I went with the SuperGlide, which automatically pushes the camper away from the truck as you start to jack knife into a spot of backing up. I also didn't want to have to get out of the truck to pull pins to move the hitch back and then do the same to get the hitch back into the normal tow configuration. If you never need the slider, then it is money wasted, but I have had to use it several times when we were in a tight spot and glad I had the slider. Good luck on your decision.

 

[Oregon_Camper]

I did the same type of research you are doing....some people say you'll be ok...others say you wont. In the end, I decided to spend a little extra on the Reese Airborne Sidewinder pin box replacement. It moves the pivot point back 22" to the point where the pin box attaches to the trailer. I LOVE this setup. You can get either the Reese Airborne Sidewinder (with airbag to help remove chucking) or the Reese Sidewinder (no airbag).

As an added bonus, you recover a lot of the bed space as the hitch is not moving (you'll see what I mean in the video below)

While I am new to 5th wheel towing, I can't ever see myself not having this setup.

Here is a 7 min video that does a good job of explaining all the value.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkL0CPmqx6U

 

[Bob&Patty]

I had a slider in a S/B. Never used it and finally got tired of all the clunking and banging from it. I replaced the supports with non-slider ones. I have to turn over 88* in our cul-de-sac to back in our drive way and have never hit the back of the truck. Are the weights you posted from the HL web site or from the yellow sticker on the door frame? The pin weight you posted seems a little light for a 3685. I bet when loaded for travel it will be closer to 3K. BTW, I would check the weight ratings of your 250 as you might be at or over your trucks ratings.

 

[JohnD]

I just picked up my new 5th-wheeler last Friday (six days ago), and I did have a slider hitch installed.

I have a short bed 2015 Chevy Silverado 2500HD, and even though our new 2015 Heartland Prowler P292 has the 88% turn radious on it, I decided to go with the Reese 16K manual slider so I have the slider option if needed.

When I tried the slider option, the king ping was only an inch or so from the tail gate, so I may need to look into one of those tail gate options . . .

But so far I am extremely happy with my hitch option!

At least if you go with the slider, you'll have it if you need it . . . I like to have the tool in the tool box if needed!

 

[Boatman]

We also have a short box (6'4") and although have never had to use it, we installed a 20K Curt slider. Nice to have if needed. My feeling on size of hitch is to go big. If you later buy a larger rig, you won't have to buy a bigger hitch.

 

[SLO]

Ditto on the Reese 5th Airborne Sidewinder. Had it on my 2012 Bighorn 3070RL. Took it off when I traded it in for a 2016 3685RL. Put in on the 3685RL before I did anything else. Love it and wouldn't be without it.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[gslabbert5119]

Thanks bob&Patty.
To address the towing capacity of the 250, after some serious checking I have found according to Fords towing sheets that the following is true as per their docs.

The F250 supercab and the F350 supercab both gas and Diesel have exactly the same towing capacity (the 250 is cleared to tow 100lbs more than the 350), yeah really lol ...
It seems as per the towing chart that the 4x2 can tow 400lbs more than the 4x4 (another mind blower for me)

With that being said, I am still pretty close to the Maximums and am somewhat concerned about long term hauling that close to the max, but can absolutely not afford a F350 or F250 Crewcab or bigger so the F250 will have to do, but will probably have to change the standard rear differential from a 3.31 ratio to a 3.73. This change will move my towing capacity fro 16,300lbs to 24,800lbs which the F250 and F350 crewcab can do. (it is fitted with a 3.73 diff)

i have spoken to Heartland and they assure me that I will not require a slider and the general consensus here is that I do not need a slider other than to have it as an extra tool, and I totally agree with you that it is a nice tool to have in the toolbox so to speak.

Thanks again for your thought provoking messages, you have helped me immeasurably and thanks for the input, and keep it coming.
Gavin

I had a slider in a S/B. Never used it and finally got tired of all the clunking and banging from it. I replaced the supports with non-slider ones. I have to turn over 88* in our cul-de-sac to back in our drive way and have never hit the back of the truck. Are the weights you posted from the HL web site or from the yellow sticker on the door frame? The pin weight you posted seems a little light for a 3685. I bet when loaded for travel it will be closer to 3K. BTW, I would check the weight ratings of your 250 as you might be at or over your trucks ratings.

 

[Bob&Patty]

Gavin, it's hard for me to believe a 6.7 PS and a gasser have the same ratings. BTW, a C/C and 4WD will reduce the GVWR because the truck it's self is heavier. The 4WD truck weighs about 500# more than a 2 WD. That's way the rating is different. My 3500HD 4WD is 500# less than a 2WD truck to truck. The things you have look at is people, kids, dogs, cats, the weight of fuel, 200# for a hitch and anything you load into the bed of the truck. If you add a aux fuel tank, what ever it carries in fuel (8# per gallon) takes away from the GWR of your truck. What your truck weight ratings is...will still be what it is, no matter what you change. Different gears, air bags, more springs will not change the "legal" rating posted on the drivers door frame. If anything happened and your truck was over (legal weight) loaded you could in big doo doo. Here in Ca. a county mounty will only look a the GWR sticker for the trailer and they dont care how much it really weighs. Then they will look at the GWR of the truck. This issue has been beat to death on the forum. Your truck can carry what it carry and all the mods you do wont make it legal. A Ford truck is heavy to start with. I would go weigh your truck, full of fuel, and you in it, and see where you stand. Your going to be surprised and I bet you will be close to 8K. So, 15500# plus 8000# will be 23,500K +/_ a few pounds. I think you are close to legal...but barely. JMHO

PS, you need to check with the DMV in Florida to see what you need to have as a drivers license. In Ca. your need a non-commercial CDL for anything over 150001#. Just saying.

 

[avvidclif]

Gavin, it's hard for me to believe a 6.7 PS and a gasser have the same ratings. BTW, a C/C and 4WD will reduce the GVWR because the truck it's self is heavier. The 4WD truck weighs about 500# more than a 2 WD. That's way the rating is different. My 3500HD 4WD is 500# less than a 2WD truck to truck. The things you have look at is people, kids, dogs, cats, the weight of fuel, 200# for a hitch and anything you load into the bed of the truck. If you add a aux fuel tank, what ever it carries in fuel (8# per gallon) takes away from the GWR of your truck. What your truck weight ratings is...will still be what it is, no matter what you change. Different gears, air bags, more springs will not change the "legal" rating posted on the drivers door frame. If anything happened and your truck was over (legal weight) loaded you could in big doo doo. Here in Ca. a county mounty will only look a the GWR sticker for the trailer and they dont care how much it really weighs. Then they will look at the GWR of the truck. This issue has been beat to death on the forum. Your truck can carry what it carry and all the mods you do wont make it legal. A Ford truck is heavy to start with. I would go weigh your truck, full of fuel, and you in it, and see where you stand. Your going to be surprised and I bet you will be close to 8K. So, 15500# plus 8000# will be 23,500K +/_ a few pounds. I think you are close to legal...but barely. JMHO

PS, you need to check with the DMV in Florida to see what you need to have as a drivers license. In Ca. your need a non-commercial CDL for anything over 150001#. Just saying.

That's all good on the trailer. As you said he will only look at the GVWR, not actual. AND he will do the same on the truck.

 

[avvidclif]

Thanks bob&Patty.
To address the towing capacity of the 250, after some serious checking I have found according to Fords towing sheets that the following is true as per their docs.

The F250 supercab and the F350 supercab both gas and Diesel have exactly the same towing capacity (the 250 is cleared to tow 100lbs more than the 350), yeah really lol ...
It seems as per the towing chart that the 4x2 can tow 400lbs more than the 4x4 (another mind blower for me)

With that being said, I am still pretty close to the Maximums and am somewhat concerned about long term hauling that close to the max, but can absolutely not afford a F350 or F250 Crewcab or bigger so the F250 will have to do, but will probably have to change the standard rear differential from a 3.31 ratio to a 3.73. This change will move my towing capacity fro 16,300lbs to 24,800lbs which the F250 and F350 crewcab can do. (it is fitted with a 3.73 diff)

i have spoken to Heartland and they assure me that I will not require a slider and the general consensus here is that I do not need a slider other than to have it as an extra tool, and I totally agree with you that it is a nice tool to have in the toolbox so to speak.

Thanks again for your thought provoking messages, you have helped me immeasurably and thanks for the input, and keep it coming.
Gavin

I try not to carry any extra weight and a slider adds abt 100 lbs.

 

[mrcomer]

I've had a short bed truck all of our camping/fifthwheel life and have never used our slider on the hitch.