Do I really need a Slider with a Refection 5er ??

[raybbj]

Hi Folks,

A few questions for you. In my research and planning for our first rig, I had my heart set on a long box for the all reasons for wanting a long box, but in reality, a 260 inch truck is going to be a challenge for my parking spot at home. I’m now thinking about a short box, which brings a lot of new questions.

The Reflection line of 5ers have “Aerodynamic Front Cap with Max Turn Radius”
Does anyone know if this is capable of 90 degrees on a F350 short box without a slider? I watched this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayJUftYk9cI (skip to 6:45) and this guy is doing it with my hitch of choice (B&W Companion) with the hitch head 1” behind the axel. (Albeit with a different 5er)

How many of you are pulling Reflections in a Ford shortbed without a slider and how many degrees of turn can you get?

On a side note:
- how many inches of bed squat can I expect on a 2017 F350 4x4 with 2200'ish lbs of pin weight?
- how much towing stability will I actually lose going to a short bed vs. long bed (303RLS - 33feet - 11000'ish loaded)

I appreciate your insights.

Regards,
Ray

[Paul & Deb]

Welcome Ray and congrats on your future new 5th wheel.

I don't have a Ford, I do have a standard box (6'6"), I also have a completely different hitch so I can't answer those questions for you.

What I can add is that I have never needed to achieve a 90 degree angle. I'm not sure why you are targeting 90 degrees but the reality of many 10s of thousands of miles towing and thousands of back in maneuvers to park, I've never needed 90 degrees.

Sure, I've seen semi trucks use those extreme turns but the reality of 5th wheel towing is that it just isn't necessary. Nice, maybe. Fun to show off, okay, maybe.

Others will disagree but I back my opinion with some serious experience.

Just don't focus on "90 degree" turns. You have ample truck to tow any Reflection 5th wheels and many Solitudes too!

[perfpix]

If you search you will find plenty of stories such as "towed my 5th wheel for years without a problem but I just smashed the windows out of my cab". Most of the time the problem involves maneuvering into a tight sloped campsite causing the angle between the truck and the trailer to jut the corner of the 5th wheel out just a little further than usual. My biggest fear, however, is getting into a tight cornering situation, such as trying to get out of a gas station, and you can't make the turn past the pumps and have to back up some before going forward to get the extra exit clearance. You can close to a 90 degree situation pretty quick doing this. Has happened to me with my 12' cargo trailer, which being a v-nose trailer can get to close to 90 degrees if I need to. I'm more careful to avoid tight situations with my 5th wheel of course, but I'm still worried about it.

Therefore I purchase a auto-slider hitch. The peace of mind it gives me was worth it. My 2016 F350 4X4 cc short bed tows my 31' 11999lb 30BH with ease. My bed drops 2-3 inches when the 30BH is attached.

[BabyBober]

John hit it right on the head for me. Piece of mind. I have a 2017 F350 short bed 350 with a 303RLS but cant answer your question exactly. This is my first 5th wheel and to be completely honest, I am not the best backer upper in the world. To top it off the wife is even worse at giving me directions. We camp at a lot of state parks so drive through spots, paved pads, and level ground are words that don't exist for me. I put an auto slider on for piece of mind. THe issues come in when the 5th wheel is off level from the truck during the turn. Where it may have cleared in a level parking lot it may hit over the off angle turn. Do I need to do a 90deg turn? No, did I just do a three point k-turn to properly get me into a tight campsite last weekend? You bet. I have a hard enough time getting the unit into the spot correctly to worry that I went "just a little to far". Paul above may be 100% correct but I don't have 10's of thousands of miles under my belt and admit where I am limited... If you have the factory puck system, the Demco Hijacker autoslide drops right in. I have pictures of a 90% turn with lots of both side rail and cab clearance posted on this site is you go looking... Squat? Just like John said. 2-3 inches and no problems...

Jim

[Barbara & Dave]

Like so many things (4WD for example), you don't need it till you really need it.

By the by, in a 90° turn, your trailer tires are essentially sliding sideways. This is a great way to bend your axles, resulting in greater camber and rapid tire wear. (Ask me how I know &#128514


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[Second Chance]

We pulled a 337 about 12,000 miles with a 6'6" bed truck with a non-sliding hitch (Andersen Ultimate) without any problems. I kept a close eye on the corners and back of the cab when backing or turning sharply, though. The new front cap designs and forward placement of the king pins make for a much different animal than the older, square-front fifth wheels. We chose the Andersen Ultimate because we already had a 3/4 ton truck and needed to pay attention to weight. With a 1-ton SRW, you won't have to worry about that and can afford the weight of an auto-slider if you want/need one.

Rob

[TNFSolitude]

Do yourself a favor and get the slider. Speaking from experience you'll need it. It only takes a minute to put it into manuever position, it'll take you longer than that to back into a tight space without the slider.

[MtnGuy]

Does anyone know if this is capable of 90 degrees on a F350 short box without a slider?

The short answer is no.......at least with our rig. I can get about a 75* angle, and the trailer is getting really close to the back of the cab. But, you would usually not get that type of angle unless you were doing a prolonged forward turn with the steering wheel all of the way to the lock, as in a u-turn. In a normal 90* corner, you are straightened the truck back up after the turn before the camper has a chance to get a really sharp angle. If I can see light between my rear fender and the side of the camper then that is my indication that I need to straighten back out a bit.

How many of you are pulling Reflections in a Ford shortbed without a slider and how many degrees of turn can you get?

I am pulling with an F350 shortbed, but do have a B&W manual slider. No problems with clearances with the slide back. When entering a campground, I slide the hitch back while the missus goes in and registers. The slide stays that way until we are ready to hit the road again. No problem with a lowered tailgate hitting the camper.

On a side note:
- how many inches of bed squat can I expect on a 2017 F350 4x4 with 2200'ish lbs of pin weight?
- how much towing stability will I actually lose going to a short bed vs. long bed (303RLS - 33feet - 11000'ish loaded)

Expect the rear to squat ~2 1/2 to 3". 1 end of the upper overloads will be on the stop.

No problems with stability.

[Bamaman]

I've got a SuperDuty 6.75' bed with a B&W Patriot 16K hitch on rails. Our trailer's a 323BHS Reflection.

We've never gotten close to our cab with the trailer nose. And there are far more people towing these trailers without the slider than with the slider hitch.

I'm a fan of B&W because of the impeccable quality of their hitches and the fact that you can raise'em up and down, back and forth 4 inches or so. And I can remove the top half of my hitch in about 5 seconds--breaking it down to where each half is manageable for taking out of the bed.

My F250 has air bags and an extra helper spring that came with OEM. My 2K lb. kingpin weight lowers my rear end 2 to 3 inches before hitting the air bags and leveling the truck.

[Dave27]

I had the same question when we bought our Reflection. I bought a slider as an insurance policy, that if I need it, I have it. It actually didn't cost more than one that isn't a slider. So far I haven't used, but I am glad I have it.

Dave