[Mike Bell]

I have a 44ft toy hauler and a mega cab. I'm trying to decide on which hitch to buy. I was told that I'd need a slider. The sliders seem to come in 10in-11in and 12in slides. I don't have a hitch yet, but when I position my hitch pin over the gooseneck hole in the bed that is centered over the axle and close the tailgate, there is only about 7-8 inches of room for the trailer to slide back before the pin box would hit the tailgate. The tailage would have to be lowered to slide the hitch back. It seems like there would be plenty of clearance from the tailgate to the trailer with the slide back. Is this normal to have to open the tailgate to slide the hitch back?
Thanks

 

[MegaDieselEater]

I have a mega cab and a 30 ft fifth wheel. I installed a Reese hitch that doesn't slide. Haven't had a problem yet. Those cab corners I watch lots, but haven't caught one yet. Sorry can't help you with your slide questions.

 

[iamjk]

My old man has been pulling 5ers with a MC since Mega Cabs came out in 06 (I bought my truck from him). Had a slider in his first and never used it pulling a 42' Toy Hauller. Now he's got a '13 MC Dually and uses the Anderson Ultimate GN Mount to tow a 38' 5er and loves it because he can get it in and out of the truck by himself.

 

[KATOOM]

I dont have a Megacab but I do have a short bed and I tow a 38' 5th wheel. When I researched what you're asking I found that there is no black and white answer as it really depends on the truck and the trailer design and the pin box. Some 5th wheel trailers are square nosed with short pin boxes making it almost impossible to tow with a short bed. Some newer (within the past decade or so) 5th wheels are way more short bed friendly, and there's even some which are specifically designed to work with short beds and no slider hitch.

Will you need a slider?.....maybe but I strongly suggest getting one because you never know when you'll need it. You want to believe that you'll always keep an eye on the trailer to cab distance but what you'll find is that the distance changes greatly when you include incline angles or approaches to the variable when towing. Manual sliders are convenient because they give the option of sliding when you want but auto sliders are great because you never have to worry about it. I have a Curt manual slider which slides back for plenty of room but if I was to shop for another hitch, this is the one I'd get. ISR Series SuperGlide 18K | PullRite Hitches

And yes, your observations are correct that if you're not careful you can contact the tailgate of the truck with the slide all the way back. Again.....especially if you're in a decline angle. Towing tailgates help stop that pinbox to tailgate contact but I just remove my tailgate when I'm towing my 5th wheel. To keep anything from rolling out of the bed I just place a 2x6 across the bed in the vertical slots made for the piece of wood. Cheap and easy.

Lastly, I dont know if you have a Megacab dually or SRW but a 44' 5th wheel will have a pretty heavy pin weight and if you have a SRW truck then you'll want to know what that pin weight is so you dont overload your rear tires. Without scaling the trailer, the general rule of thumb is 15%-25% of the total trailer weight is going to be the pin weight. :thumbsup:

 

[casperthehomicidalghost]

I say get a B&W gooseneck then get the B&W auto slider that goes into the flip over hitch for the gooseneck. I have also done the 5th wheel pin box swap out to a gooseneck pin box and felt it slammed around to much. I'll see if I can find a link for both.

 

[casperthehomicidalghost]

Here you go. Goes right into your flip over gooseneck so no install and no stupid rails in the bed.
http://www.etrailer.com/Gooseneck-and-Fifth-Wheel-Adapters/B-and-W/BWRVK3400.html

 

[Mike Bell]

Thanks for the replies. I should have included more info. My 2014 truck has all of the mounting holes in the bed for gooseneck and locking pin holes for a fifth wheel. My 44ft toy hauler is new, it is designed for 88 degree turning, so the decal said. LaMesa, where I bought the toy hauler, thought I needed a sliding hitch. I haven't contacted Heartland or one of the trailer supply houses in town for their recommendations. I think the trailer pin would line up over the gooseneck hole if I had a hitch in the forward position, with the trailer positioned this way and the tailgate closed, there is only about 7-8 inches of room for the trailer to slide back before hitting the tailgate. Not enough room to slide without opening the tailgate. Is this normal or acceptable. I wasn't sure if I'd need the slider, but figured I'd better be safe, but it won't be able to slide without lowering the tailgate.

 

[14MegaCab]

I have the pullrite ISR 24k hitch in the bed of my 2014 Mega. It slides 18.5 inches. It uses a capture plate to auto slide. I do not have to lower the tailgate when it starts to slide. It basically has a cam guide so the more you turn the farther it slides. When you hit 90 degrees it's at its full 18.5 inches but the pinbox is at 90 degrees so it doesn't hit the tailgate. The hitch is heavy and I'm using the pullrite picture frame adapter to adapt it to the factory fifth wheel prep package. I will post some pics if you are interested. Photo bucket is currently down for maintenance.

 

[14MegaCab]

Here are the pics. With my trailer at 90 degrees I have about 4 inches of cab to trailer clearance. My trailer is 102.5 inches wide.
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll30/sickcrewcab/20140926_150540.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll30/sickcrewcab/20140926_150548.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll30/sickcrewcab/MegaStealth.jpg

 

[Mike Bell]

That's brilliant! I never thought about that benefit of the auto slider, that it doesn't slide until it rotates, so it won't interfere with the tailgate. That's certainly something to consider. Thanks.

 

[Mopar_Mudder]

Here are the pics. With my trailer at 90 degrees I have about 4 inches of cab to trailer clearance. My trailer is 102.5 inches wide.
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll30/sickcrewcab/20140926_150540.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll30/sickcrewcab/20140926_150548.jpg

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll30/sickcrewcab/MegaStealth.jpg

Any chance you could give me the height on how high above the bed your setup is? I am looking at putting the same thing in my 15 one using the Ram adapter instead of the Pullrite. Concerned that it looks to tall, has to clear a bed cover also.

 

[talonhead]

I have a SG 16k traditional. I am looking at the 24k ISR for my '14 Mega.

 

[14MegaCab]

My trailer is pretty nose high with this setup. My pinbox is set as high as it can go. I have 7.5 inches of clearance at the tailgate. And with the pin weight at 2700 pounds plus the 300 pounds of hitch. The truck sits almost perfectly level.

 

[14MegaCab]

Any chance you could give me the height on how high above the bed your setup is? I am looking at putting the same thing in my 15 one using the Ram adapter instead of the Pullrite. Concerned that it looks to tall, has to clear a bed cover also.

Not sure if my last reply was sufficient. Are you asking for trailer clearance above the bed? Or are you asking how high the hitch is above the bed rails? The hitch does not come up over the top of the bedrails. If I remember right I had about 2 inches below the bed rail. I currently don't have the hitch in the truck to give you exact measurements.

 

[Mopar_Mudder]

Not sure if my last reply was sufficient. Are you asking for trailer clearance above the bed? Or are you asking how high the hitch is above the bed rails? The hitch does not come up over the top of the bedrails. If I remember right I had about 2 inches below the bed rail. I currently don't have the hitch in the truck to give you exact measurements.

It is at least below the bed rails, that helps. I was trying to figure out how high it is above the floor in the bed of the truck to compare to the height of my current Highjacker hitch. Just seems that adding this picture frame adapter under the hitch is really going to up the height of any hitch, wish they made an auto slider that would go right in the puck mounts with no adapter. I am also trying to look at air ride pin boxes but from what I can tell they hang lower then the standard pin box also. Which will make the problem even worse if the hitch is a little higher also.

 

[KATOOM]

They make an 18k auto slide which mounts to the standard universal rails. Came out a couple years ago. :thumbsup:

 

[14MegaCab]

The only reason I chose to go with the 24k ISR is for the extra 4 inches of slide. I measured out the position of the 18k auto slider that i had for my old truck, and at 90 degrees it would have hit the cab. I rarely go 90 degrees but in order to cut my trailer in the storage spot at my house it's needed.

 

[Mopar_Mudder]

The only reason I chose to go with the 24k ISR is for the extra 4 inches of slide. I measured out the position of the 18k auto slider that i had for my old truck, and at 90 degrees it would have hit the cab. I rarely go 90 degrees but in order to cut my trailer in the storage spot at my house it's needed.

I didn't realize their was a slide difference between the two, I will have to look into it. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[SpeedyWs6]

I do not use a slide hitch but my trailer has a trail air hitch that sticks out and the cap has rounded corners.

 

[idahocountryboy]

They make an 18k auto slide which mounts to the standard universal rails. Came out a couple years ago. :thumbsup:

I'm fixin on getting back in an RV... I posted this on an RV forum... KATOOM is right... the ISR (Industry Standard Rail) System is the way to go if you have that in you rig already as I do .... I will be getting the 18K (for those 17,000 lbs 35+' 5'er's)

RV Forum Post:
Well it looks like I may need to be getting back into a 5'er, and travel on the road for work (lineman). I am going to try to give lots of pics so there is no confusion.

A few years ago, I pulled my "03 42' Holliday Rambler Presidential all over Texas, then up to N. Idaho for my wedding and back to Texas... Crossed the Continental divide 7x, and through the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone

.




So that is just a little on my experience with pulling a 5'er... I pulled that trailer with this POS (Not a fan of this hitch)


Now, as much as I did not like getting out of the truck in the middle of streets and having it bind up and the big thud when/if it locks in place... but I NEEDED the slider because of my headache rack on my truck (cab dent where there when I bought the truck... Long rodeo nights if you catch my drift), and even then it was CLOSE

, and inch along on any turn with an incline.


So... for the long and longer of it. Here are the two options I'm looking at.
1) The 18k Pullrite Supergluide ISR (Industry Standard Rail... which is what is in my truck now)


From what I have heard/read about this hitch it has a few pros and cons for me
Pros... ISR system, Pullrite brand (hear they are the best auto slider), and with in my budget.

Cons... I hear that it is "too tall" for some people rigs. My truck is not lifted but it is a 4x4 and a little high. I don't want to be worried about turning on incline again. They also seem to be heavy... but honestly... all sliders are heavy, my last one was well over 200 lbs (not too worried about that)

My second choice is this Reese 18K Sidewinder Kin Pin with turret.


Pros... it 22" back (Compared to the 14" on the Pullrite),

Cons.... have to buy that AND a hitch, not sure on the turning clearance, and not sure on ride quality.

So I was wondering what y'all thought of my options, who has pulled with them, and if there is better option that i don't know about.

More info y'all may want to know... I'll be living in one of the 5 mountain states of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and or Utah. So cold and snow will be a factor, as will mountains and wind.