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[Old_BANE]

I’ve had two Ram 2500s CCSB and two 36’ 5th wheels. Love those trucks but definitely recommend going for the 3500. Yes the 2500 will be enough for most short 5th wheels (<34’) but just BARELY. You typically end up going over payload/GVWR even though you could still be good on GCWR and GAWR.

Highly recommend you get a sliding hitch, preferably auto. My first Ram had the Mopar slider they’re trying to sell you and it sucks having to get out and manually move the slider. You have to get out of the truck twice: unlock the slider and chock the trailer, then move the truck/hitch, go back out and check the slider has locked and unchock the trailer. Then redo all of that when you’re ready to leave. The one time I didn’t slide mine back, it dented my cab, luckily I caught it before breaking my rear window though. Still cost a pretty penny to fix the dent; it wasn’t a small one they could just pop out with a suction cub.

Now I have a Superglide and love it. Don’t have to worry about it at all and I’ve been up to 90° without an issue. And you don’t have to be perfectly lined up. If your site puts you at a bad angle, you can just unbolt the slider head and leave it on the kingpin. Though I’ve never had to do that and I’ve hitched up on some ugly angles.

[Old_BANE]

I’ve had two Ram 2500s CCSB and two 36’ 5th wheels. Love those trucks but definitely recommend going for the 3500. Yes the 2500 will be enough for most short 5th wheels (<34’) but just BARELY. You typically end up going over payload/GVWR even though you could still be good on GCWR and GAWR.

Highly recommend you get a sliding hitch, preferably auto. My first Ram had the Mopar slider they’re trying to sell you and it sucks having to get out and manually move the slider. You have to get out of the truck twice: unlock the slider and chock the trailer, then move the truck/hitch, go back out and check the slider has locked and unchock the trailer. Then redo all of that when you’re ready to leave. The one time I didn’t slide mine back, it dented my cab, luckily I caught it before breaking my rear window though. Still cost a pretty penny to fix the dent; it wasn’t a small one they could just pop out with a suction cub.

Now I have a Superglide and love it. Don’t have to worry about it at all and I’ve been up to 90° without an issue. And you don’t have to be perfectly lined up. If your site puts you at a bad angle, you can just unbolt the slider head and leave it on the kingpin. Though I’ve never had to do that and I’ve hitched up on some ugly angles.


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[traveldawg]

I’m headed in the other direction - going from short bed to long bed. I hope I’m not gonna regret this. I’m kind of looking forward to a goose neck hitch - either Reese or Gen-Y and getting rid of all this slider business (and the weight).

I’ve had auto sliders since 2006. I never had to second guess slopes or angles or U-turns (which I seem to have to do too much). I’d recommend the auto slider for a short bed every time - as long as you can afford it’s weight.

[Tom Traveler]

I've got a Ram 3500 short-bed dually on order and I think I looked at every hitch and pin box option available. Every 5th wheel nose is a bit different and every pinbox is a bit different. Some kingpins are further forward with respect to the nose of the trailer than others.

I've got a Solitude 380FL and a MoRryde pinbox. The short-bed HD Rams have just under 37" between the cab and the center of the rear axle. With this setup, putting the kingpin over the rear axle would allow me to turn the truck only 47° before the front corner of the trailer touches the cab - not nearly enough. I need the kingpin to be 13" behind the rear axle to go 90°. I'm not sure I'll ever need 90° but I've been in some tight situations in fuel stations and RV parks (with my cousin's long bed) and don't ever want to have to get out and ask the 3, 4, or more vehicles behind me to back up so I can get out of a tight situation.

Would a manual slider do the trick? Sure, but the delay of getting out to trip the slider and fussing could cause the already short tempers of the people you are holding up to get even shorter. Also, I don't want to worry about wiping out the back of the cab, the rear window, and the front corner of the coach in a moment of harried forgetfulness. So, in the end, I went with peace of mind and flexibility and ordered a Pullrite Superglide. It's got some downsides: it's heavy - 298 lbs - which could be an issue if you are short on payload; and, you need a capture plate.

If you go with the Anderson setup, your kingpin rides about 8" behind the axle so you'll get a tighter turn - 60° in my case - not enough.

If you are under 16,000 GVWR for the coach (and you are well under with the 303), I would give a serious look at the Reese Airborne Sidewinder and get a fixed hitch to solve all of the problems. That's what I would have gotten but I need 18,000. Reese used to make a 23,000 version of the Airborne Sidewinder, but the market was too small so they stopped several years ago. I would have bought that in a heartbeat.

There is one other problem with the manual sliders. If you trip the slider and pull forward while straight you have a good chance of wiping out the top of your tailgate with the back of the pinbox. My friend did exactly that to his 3 week old 2021 Ram 3500 Longhorn with the B&W companion slider. You'll need to open the tailgate slightly (but not all the way or the tailgate will hit the front of the coach - you'll need to tie it up about 6 to 8 inches open with something).

There is a lot to consider. I figured I'll have enough stress pulling a big 5th wheel in traffic without adding the worry of remembering to trip a manual slider or hitting the truck. I picked a setup that got rid of those problems.

[Spartacus]

This is why I partly went with a LB this time, but everyone has their prefer, do what you feel comfortable.

[Gregor]

I have a 2015 Ram 4x4 crew, 6'4 bed, w/the diesel. I pull a 2021 303RLS and did 13,000 miles last summer, my hitch is a Curt Q24 with no slider. never had a problem. I am fairly careful not to jackknife but really haven't come close to damaging the corners. By the way, the fifth wheel rides almost level with this combination. I have good clearance at the bed rails.

[FatTire]

I have a 2018 reflection 303 RLS. I started pulling it with a short bed 2018 ram 2500 with a 6.4 hemi. Weight wise it was perfect didn’t squat but I didn’t like how it towed. Just came out of a smaller truck with a travel trailer and was just tired of putting up with high revolutions over overpasses and hills so I upgraded to a 3500 diesel. I will tell you that the first time bringing it home backing into my driveway, even though I had a BMW companion slider I didn’t slide it back mainly because of all these comments you read in form saying you don’t need it etc. etc. Well I contacted the cab with the corner of the trailer and blew out my entire back window and crunched my cab. How’s that for a first time experience backing up a fifth wheel. Then I had to go to my first camp with a patched up back window looking like the Beverly hillbillies. So yes I slide the hitch back when I am backing up unless it’s a fairly straightforward shot. Sliding the hitch is not a big deal in the trailer response to steering commands a little bit faster when slid back then in its forward position. So my recommendation is to get the BMW companion slider. Get it from Etrailer.com they will drop ship it to you for free. Good luck

[FatTire]

And I don’t have to open my tailgate

[Longshhm]

I’ve got a Ram 2500 CCSB (with a 50 gallon fuel tank) and pull a Reflection 150 Series 295RL. The combination works well, but it gets a little close to the max payload when fully loaded for travel. For anything heavier than a 150 Series, especially when looking at payload, pin weight, etc., I’d go with the 3500. I think the regular Reflections are too heavy for a 2500. I’m also limited in what I can pull (alas, no Solitude) without having to upgrade my tow vehicle. If I had it to do over again, I would buy the 3500 (dually). Just my .02 worth…

[rbolam]

We tow our 260RD with our 2021 Ram 2500 6.7 4x4 with 6'4" Bed. No slider. We have the ram puck system and reused our Curt A16 hitch by purchasing the curt puck base for Ram, fits perfect. Our 260RD came with the Lippert Turning point pin box, so if your 150 295 has one you will not need a slider. Just unlock the pin box and add the proper wedge for your chosen hitch. The generic Lippert wedge that come with the trailer was too loose for our Curt hitch. For us, this turning point hitch box works great. No slider needed and less weight on payload as the slider adds 100+ lbs depending on the brand.
Since we have a 4x4 and sit higher than a 1/2 ton truck, I had to raise the trailer to get the trailer level for towing and proper bed to trailer height clearance. So you may have to keep that in mind if you have a 4x4. Its a great truck, we love it.