5th Wheel Hitch Storage?

[backtrack2015]

Did you ever notice how they attach the Space Shuttle to the back of the 747 air plane for transport back to FL.? One can only imagine the forces exerted on the on the attachment points (the ball, the triangle design hitch) during flight. You do know the Pyramids are still standing from what design? You must remember from high school the arch and the 4 leg triangle is the strongest support method known to man, right? Horse and mega transport haul trailers have been using this method for eons. The one I use is the steel rail version with Reese puck adapter cause I was to cheap to buy the center ball design when I bought a new truck. The people that have trouble with the AU haven`t installed or use the unit correctly. People that like their heavy plate hitch is there business and really shouldn`t bad mouth someones else`s decision on a hitch. The pluses on the AU far out weigh any negatives.
Wait, was that a pun?

The weight of the AUH is awesome. As much as I wanted that convenience, I could not convince myself I trusted the aluminum gooseball version to keep the trailer behind my kids in an accident. It may do fine, but as an engineer, I don’t like the current design. Your steel rail-mount version is much preferable from my point of view. I’m free to critique all designs and will say what I think. I’m not a huge fan of the B&W slider mechanism either.

[bshgto]

The weight of the AUH is awesome. As much as I wanted that convenience, I could not convince myself I trusted the aluminum gooseball version to keep the trailer behind my kids in an accident. It may do fine, but as an engineer, I don’t like the current design. Your steel rail-mount version is much preferable from my point of view. I’m free to critique all designs and will say what I think. I’m not a huge fan of the B&W slider mechanism either.

You put 17,000 rolling lbs behind you in a head on or a deflected collision I don`t really care what brand or type hitch you have you are going to loose the battle of saving ones kids in the back seat. This is like arguing against--with Anut Milley`s way or method of baking a cake, at her house it`s done this way even if the other suggested way is just as easy and more likely simpler. I always had this argument with the engineers about the simple box beam that the was just as strong or stronger that the carpenters could assemble on the job against using the expensive steel beam that had to be certified by expensive engineer set with a expensive crane for 15 minutes of work, then the whole deflection problem came into play. But then Anut Milley was always right wasn`t she.

[billskinnerjr]

I keep truck in garage. have a $100 electric hoist over the bed. Just leaving the hitch hanging when I need it out of the truck.

[backtrack2015]

You put 17,000 rolling lbs behind you in a head on or a deflected collision I don`t really care what brand or type hitch you have you are going to loose the battle of saving ones kids in the back seat. This is like arguing against--with Anut Milley`s way or method of baking a cake, at her house it`s done this way even if the other suggested way is just as easy and more likely simpler. I always had this argument with the engineers about the simple box beam that the was just as strong or stronger that the carpenters could assemble on the job against using the expensive steel beam that had to be certified by expensive engineer set with a expensive crane for 15 minutes of work, then the whole deflection problem came into play. But then Anut Milley was always right wasn`t she.

I stated my desired improvements for the AUH design in my original post. It was not about the pyramidal design, triangles, or aluminum. I'm also not ever going to object to simplicity.

My truck has four pucks and I would much prefer that the weight of the trailer and any shock-loads be directed through the hitch to the pucks (rather than to the aluminum bed). I'd much prefer that the hitch be restrained from rotation in the truck by pins at the four corners rather than via a frictional attachment to the gooseball. I'd much prefer that the king-pin adapter be restrained by arms that extend laterally and capture the sides of the pin-box versus a frictional connection on the underside of the pin-box. I'd also love to see a lockable coupler connection. These are modest improvements that should be easy enough for Andersen now that they are a big player in the market.

These changes appear to me to lock the geometry better in a collision and provide more reliable force pathways. The existing gooseball-mounted design allows the hitch to rotate in the truck bed and the coupler to rotate around the pin. Changes in geometry during a collision complicate design efforts. You're also counting on the truck bed to keep up its share of the bargain with the hitch potentially in any orientation.

That's my rationale, right or wrong. You'll like knowing that I suffer for my choice every time I remove/install the hitch.

[fez111]

I'm not knocking your suggestion, but my brother has a B & W turnover ball slider in his Sierra that he has left torqued down for towing for the last two years. Two weeks ago he wanted to take it out so he could load the bed of his truck. I have a small hoist so he brought it over. With Michigan winters and salt, not to mention all of the car washes my anal brother has to do every week, It took over an hour under the truck with a 4 pound hammer and a large beater bar to drive the very rusty lock pin out. Just sayin'.

I am updating this post to finish the story... Having helped my brother get the pin loose on his B & W Turnover Ball hitch system I stared worrying about my own Turnover Ball hitch. Mine is not a slider nor does my truck ever see snow or salt (unless it snows over the two-day drive to Florida right after Christmas). However, my hitch is about 5 years older than my brother's hitch. Up until this past winter I had been removing/reinstalling my hitch every year, mostly just to verify the bolt torques. My truck blew it's engine in Ohio on the way to Florida last Christmas. We didn't get it back until March. I got lazy and didn't pull the hitch...I just checked the bolt torques.

Sunday, December 1st, I tried to pull my hitch. My lock pin was rusted in as well. My brother's truck is a late model Sierra, 3/4 ton, 4WD, short bed (hence the slider) and mine is an '06 F250 Super Duty with a long bed. Although my pin was not nearly rusted as bad as my brother's was, it was much more difficult to get to There was no way to even try to swing a hammer under mine. I had to remove one of the hangers and have a helper push down on the pipe. Then I used a pneumatic rivet gun with a 3/8 drive extension to drive the pin out. A small wire wheel on the end of a die grinder and some liberally applied Anti-Seize and its all torqued back down and will come loos next year when I pull the lock pin. I learned my lesson. I/we have to pull the pin every year just to make sure nothing rusts solid!!!