Newbie to 5th wheels

[GBONO2]

I have a friend who is selling his immaculate truck and 5th wheel. He has tried to discourage me from buying them because his hitch is a slider and it hangs up. According to him this complicates hooking up and unhooking because the hitch is hard to engage and disengage. Is this a problem with the sliding hitches? Or did he get a crappy hitch?

Please give this newbie some advice folks.

[wingnut60]

Need the hitch brand--could be operator error.
If it is a Pullrite, the truck and fiver need to be fairly straight in line to hitch/unhitch without some hanging up.
If the trailer and truck are a good deal, go for it--you can always get another brand hitch.
And, no, they don't all have this problem.

[Stripit]

He may also not want to sell the rig to a friend for other reasons too? If it is just the hitch as WingNut stated, they are easily replaceable.

[GBONO2]

Hey there Wingnut & Stripit

He hasn't used the rig a lot because he dislikes it. He has told me that he finds the 5th wheel hard to set up and doesn't enjoy using it. The 5th wheel is a 34' 2004 Montana. Then the hitch is another aggravation to him. I don't know what brand hitch he has. His truck is a 2003 Dodge 4X4 w/88,000 miles on the 5.9 l Cummins. He is asking $25,000 for the rig.

[wingnut60]

I have always had a problem selling things to friends--too many things to go wrong just after the sale. Plus having to try to stay friends.
Having said that, your friend just has to make these decisions for himself--why a guy wouldn't know the brand of his hitch tells me he really doesn't know much about RVing/towing. Could be a good deal, could be a disaster in the making.

[Stripit]

Isn't that the truth, never fails, you own something for years, not one issue, a friend wants in and almost before he gets it home something breaks...and then who feels responsible...yep me.


I have always had a problem selling things to friends--too many things to go wrong just after the sale. Plus having to try to stay friends.
Having said that, your friend just has to make these decisions for himself--why a guy wouldn't know the brand of his hitch tells me he really doesn't know much about RVing/towing. Could be a good deal, could be a disaster in the making.

[GBONO2]

I have not been clear in my posting regarding the hitch. I have never asked him the brand. He is not being neglect, but rather he has been totally upfront. THIS SALE WILL NOT EFFECT OUR FRIENDSHIP IF IT TURNS OUT TO BE A DUD. With that stated guys, he has been nothing but upfront to me. My wife and I have talked it over and feel it's worth a shot.

Wingnut are you a 5ver?

[GBONO2]

Stripit -- he will never know a thing if it gives me fits!! He has done everything to talk me out of buying it because of the hitch and he hates setting it up.

[wingnut60]

GBONO2,
Sorry, I was going to a conclusion without all the facts. Yes, I am on my 2nd Suites.
But back to the hitching problem--I still think that if he has had the setup for some time and still has problems with the hitching, he wasn't concerned enough to find a cause.
Go for it, and let us know how you get along.
Joe

[GBONO2]

Joe --- this will be our 1ST camper. My wife wanted to get a bumper pull because we already have a Ford Excursion 7.3 Power Stroke. I didn't want to go that route, so we have been on the fence as to what to get. We had finally decided to go for a used Class A until this popped up.

On the hitch, he keeps talking about having to add a plate under the hitch and that makes it a tight space when trying to hook & unhook. Although, I haven't asked him about the brand and what he has done to fix the problem. We are dealing with Irma currently, after the storm is over I'll contact him and get the hitch mfg.

I know he doesn't like the time it takes to set up. He has told me it's time consuming especially if you are just doing an overnight stay. I know he hates the screw jacks in the back, but these can be replaced with electric.

I feel the hitch can be replaced if he bought the wrong brand and something new has come out. This could solve the hitch problem. I'll ask him if he has gone to a dealer about the hitch problem.

[wingnut60]

It probably has a guide plate that makes it necessary to be within 12 degrees of straight on to hitch easily (makes me think it is a PullRite Slider hitch). This does cause some irritation when having to use an off-level/short site that has the tow vehicle at a severe angle to the trailer. Does he have a short-bed pickup?
As to the overnight setup--that is a personal choice. We hardly ever used the jacks down when overnighting, just got used to the movement. The rear screw jacks don't have to be replaced, just use a cordless 20volt drill with the matching socket--amazingly easy/quick. However, when overnighting, the front jacks can be set to the ground, as can the rear jacks, for stability. I do this for front-to-rear leveling when overnighting--you just shouldn't lift the trailer to the point where it begins lifting the truck.
Again, if the deal is right, the units are right, a complete setup can be a great starting point to having what you need. Plenty of people find themselves in the same situation which results in some nice package deals if you can be ready when they pop up.
Joe

[GBONO2]

Joe

The truck is a short bed 2003 Dodge 4X4 w/88,000 miles.

Isn't a Pull Rite one that was mentioned as undesirable?

The 5ver is a Montana 34'. He just put on new tires, new brakes all around on trailer, & top just resealed by dealer. I only wish it had an integral generator.

My friend keeps his stuff up & doesn't drive junk. He is meticulous in his maintenance.

I really appreciate you sharing your experience.

George

[Stripit]

As Wingnut say's for the price, getting a set that seems well cared for should be the way to go, worst case you don't enjoy it you can always sell it off. Probably not lose much if anything at all. Also the short bed trucks with a hitch system that will move the hitch back so no contact with the back window can sometimes be a bit tricky if the site is unlevel. I never needed one for my truck, but have helped others with them and can attest there is a learning curve. For some folks it is a hard learning curve, others a snap. A 34 ft is plenty of room for weekends and extended vacations and still able to get into most parks without major issues. Hope all goes well and your have a blast.

[GBONO2]

Stacey --- as my heading states I will b going thru a learning curve w/this rig. He's asking $24k total for the setup. The truck is a short bed 2003 Dodge 2500 w/Cummins 5.9 diesel. The truck has 88,000 miles on it & he used it mostly to pull the 2004 Montana 34'.

Do you happen to know which of the slider hitches are the most forgiving and easy to use?

I really thank you guys for the advice and help.

[Stripit]

I really don't as I had an air hitch in my truck and no need for a slider hitch. I would suggest if you live near any rv park, stop at the office so you don't get into trouble and ask if you can drive through to see the park layout. If you can, idle through and look for any 5th wheel trailer being towed by a short bed truck and stop and talk with the folks. Ask what issues they may or maynot have had with their hitch, if a slider or not and see what the folks that are out there using them have to say. You should get the unvarnished version of real world users. Good and bad. There are a lot of shorth bed trucks not using a slider, depending on the 5th wheel trailer design, and how careful the driver thinks he can be.

[GBONO2]

Stacey

I found out the hitch is a Pullrite Superglide 3300. Is this his problem w/hooking & unhooking?

[Stripit]

I never had a hitch like that, but just did some Google searching and it seems like a really good hitch, not cheap but well constructed. I'm sure you will get the hang of it and with practice you should not have issues.

[wingnut60]

Friends and I went to AK in '12--he had an Open Range with the Pullrite Superglide--thruout over 12000 miles of travel, hitching and unhitching, he did not ever have to comment that it was a problem. He had mentioned that he needed to be fairly straight on to the trailer to hitch/unhitch. The PR had been the ONLY automatic slider for a long time and it is well made. I would not let the hitch be a deal breaker on a good setup like it sounds to be.

[Dmcfarden]

We pulled our 2012 TKSB3 with a short bed Ford and a Pullrite Superglide hitch for almost 5 years. No problems ever with the slider hitch except that it mounts high at around 19" off the bed which had our trailer nose high somewhat. I could turn as sharp as I wanted with no issues. We traded the truck for a 2017 Ford F-350 DRW and I bought a new hitch since i no longer needed a slider hitch.