Hitch recommendation for 303rls and gmc 2500?

[strat62]

thanks, that seems like an excellent idea

now, just to find somebody....

[Second Chance]

thanks, that seems like an excellent idea

now, just to find somebody....

@strat62 -

Here are a few forum tips:

1) If you use "Reply With Quote" (to the right of "Reply") as I have here, folks will know to whom you are responding and that person will get a notification.

2) You can also tag folks using the "@" symbol and their user name (as I have done yours) - they'll also get a notification that way.

Rob

[LMagelitz]

thanks, that seems like an excellent idea

now, just to find somebody....

I think you were responding to me, but not sure. First decision is if you want a slider. If so, I don’t know of any slider air hitches. If you don’t want a slider, then the next factor is whether you can handle the extra weight of an air hitch. As a result, they are harder to remove, so if you frequently need the bed clear, it will be a pain in the neck.

Bottom line is how many miles you will be towing. If you are putting on a LOT of miles, you will love the comfort of having the trailer isolated from the truck. The MORRyde pin box helps this greatly as well. I’ve only had the Hensley BD5, never a fixed hitch, so I can’t give you experience of the alternative. What I can say is I don’t feel any bumps that the trailer experiences. When I hit a bad bridge approach, I’m glad the trailer doesn’t get hammered by the truck, and vice versa.

I think the goosebox has air bags incorporated, so that might be a great option. Many on here have them and love ‘em.

[nprario]

With the 2500 you could be tight on payload. The sliders are on the low end at least 80 pounds heavier than a equivalent non slider hitch. I have the Chevy standard bed with the OEM puck system and a non slider B&W and can get to almost 90 degrees. Never say never but I have been in some tight spots and have not come close to the back of the truck with my setup with my Reflection.

[txgals5561]

Check out the Curt Crosswing. It's light weight and has a 5" offset. With my Ram 6'4" bed I can get almost 90°, much further than I would ever attempt while backing up. I avoided a slider because a lot of people I talked to spent the money and ended up never using it, or an auto slider is around 300lbs and way too expensive.

Ditto on the Crosswing. Very easy to hitch/ unhitch. Pulls well, no chucking yet.

[cstratton73]

Gets yourself an Anderson Ultimate 5th Wheel Hitch and you will never go back to a conventional type hitch again! It's only around 35-40 lbs and you can take it out or put it back in, in less than 5 minutes! Read about all the advantages online! Don't pay any attention to the ones that mention the crash statistics...that was before they modified the hitch! You will not be disappointed... TRUST ME!

[cstratton73]

Couldn't have said it any better...I absolutely love my Anderson Ultimate 5th Wheel Hitch!

[tdginctr]

With the 2500 you could be tight on payload. The sliders are on the low end at least 80 pounds heavier than a equivalent non slider hitch. I have the Chevy standard bed with the OEM puck system and a non slider B&W and can get to almost 90 degrees. Never say never but I have been in some tight spots and have not come close to the back of the truck with my setup with my Reflection.

Ditto on the B&W and not using a slider. In my opinion, you really don’t want or need your trailer to turn 90 degrees to your truck; there would be a whole lot of scrubbing on the tires/wheels and sideways force on the axles if you’ve got duel or triple axles. I also use the B&W Companion but I don’t have the puck system. Instead, I installed a B&W Turnoverball Gooseneck hitch and then the Companion just sits on top of it. I only did this because I did not have the OEM pucks and this allows me to easily remove the Companion if I want to clear the bed.

[bdelcurto]

Lots of replies here. This topic always brings a lot of attention. So, for what it’s worth, here are my two cents. I thought I’d chime in because I have first-hand experience with several of the recommendations people have made.

For reference, I have a Ram 2500, with a 6’ box and a Reflection 340RDS.

I have owned and used both the B&W Companion slider and the Anderson Ultimate.

I got rid of the B&W for two reasons:

1. It was a beast. Extremely well-built, but impossible to move by myself.

2. It’s a slider , but the manual slide feature is almost worthless in my opinion. Having to get out of the vehicle to engage the slide option is both a pain and not always possible, depending on the circumstance you find yourself in.

I am currently using the Andersen Ultimate and you’ll find posts of mine on this forum raving about it. It is so easy to install and remove and it is very light. It certainly addresses my #1 issue with the B&W noted above. However, it does eliminate the slide option that I had with the B&W. Granted, as I mentioned, that feature on the B&W was “almost worthless” but did have some value when I was in a tough spot and could get out of the truck to engage the slide feature.

All of that said, my son recently purchased a new Momentum; he has a Ram with a 6’ bed as well. I encouraged him to consider the Pullrite Superglide, which is an auto-sliding hitch (no getting out of the truck to “engage” the slide feature, it just happens automatically). The reason I recommend he go this route was one, he’s new to fifth wheel towing and two I’ve found myself in a handful of situations where not having a slider with my short bed truck has put me in some difficult spots. I am very good about not getting myself into tough spots, but sometime you arrive at your site and find it’s a very tight or there are are vehicles or other obstacles in your way, making the situation a bit more stressful. Anything can come up, right?

Long story short, my son did go with the Pullrite. I had the opportunity to tow his setup recently and I was sold! The spot he stores his unit in is quite tight and narrow. It was sooooo easy to get in and out. I wasn’t at all worried about crushing the cab (that’s ALWAYS in the back of my mind when towing using my Andersen). Yes, the Pullrite is on the heavy side (although not as heavy as B&W Companion I previously owned) the peace of mind I had while towing his unit made me forget all about the weight.

As much as I have loved my Andersen, I’m switching to the Superglide this week and I have now doubt I’m going to absolutely love it.

If you don’t mind buying used, there are quite a few hitches (of any make or model for sale out there). Many times you can find something in great shape for 50-75% less than what they sell for new.

Hope my experience with these various hitches helps. I wish I’d gone with the Pullrite Superglide from the start…would’ve saved some money and some stress, but hey, live and learn.

If you’re sold on the Andersen Ultimate, I’ll have one for sale in a week or so. [emoji6]

Good luck to you.

[PJOB]

[QUOTE=strat62;471533]my bed is 6'9" I believe


Our truck is a 2500 diesel w/ just over 3000 lbs. payload - plenty of excess payload; rides better than a 1 ton as a daily driver. The bed is 6’10.5” (standard bed as of 2020). We have the factory puck system and use the Andersen hitch. Easy in and out. Have cranked 90 degree turns on uneven ground with zero issues. Hitching is a breeze; you can clearly see the ball on the hitch (as opposed to some types of hitches where the ball sits in the bed of the truck) and simply align with the coupler. Have disconnected and reconnected at some pretty extreme angles - again, no issues. Andersen Customer service has been superb.