Chevy 2500 HD, hitch advice request

Jeff and Carol,

I see you have a new Reflection 150 Series 226RK. Is that correct? Perhaps a 150 Series owner will chime in here with information specific to that 5th wheel line. That said, I believe the 150 series is delivered with a Turning Point pin. Those are functionally identical to the Reese Sidewinder and , I would think, eliminate any need for a slider.

Any 150 Series folks care to provide greater, and perhaps more accurate, detail? This thread is a great place to share your experience.

Yes we just purchased the 150 series 226RK.
And yes it has It does have a turning pin point/ fixed position.
In the fixed position there are two bolts the prevent it from moving and swivels at the hitch.
When the bolts are removed it allows the unit to pivot at the Rv and requires a block at the hitch just like the sidewinder that you mentioned.

Safe travels

Jeff
 
trying out the new hitch

I now have a hitch between my truck and 5th wheel. This is how it worked out.

I bought the B&W Companion OEM hitch with the base for the late model GM factory pucks.

Numerous measurements of the bed and hitch in the old F250 along with the measured bed rail height in the new Chevy 2500 HD suggested that a good initial position of the B&W hitch receiver in the base would be to set the 2 arms at the middle holes on height and flipped for rearward, farthest from the cab, for-and-aft position. According to the B&W literature this should locate the kingpin 18” above the deck of the bed and 3” behind the axle.

With the hitch installed we set the trailer on it, lifted the front legs and measured 7” gap between the top of the tailgate and the trailer at the middle, just behind the pinbox. Based on plenty of reports in this forum, I have been expecting to have the trailer ride nose high. My storage parking spot is not flat, so I can’t get a look at the levelness of the trailer without moving it. I decided to unhook and shift the hitch receiver down to the lower set of holes (17” above the bed). This would give me a 6” gap. So, after moving the hitch down, this is how it measures out and looks:

Vertical gap, trailer to bed rail top
6” at center
6.25” at corners

Truck “squat” under load, measured at center of fender wells
Front: down 0.5 inch
Rear: down 2.0 inch

Pulled out to a more-or-less flat region of tarmac and took the following photos.

IMG_0727.jpg
IMG_0725.jpg

I measured the height of the trailer from the bottom of the frame rail to the ground and found that the front of the trailer (just behind the front legs) is 1.0 inches LOWER than a similar measurement at the rear (near the bumber).

What are your thoughts on this? To me it looks pretty good. But….I could raise the hitch 1 inch. This would yield a 7” bed-rail gap at the cost of putting the trailer nose-high by almost the same 1 inch that it is currently nose-low.
 
That does look slightly nose low, but with the shadow it's tough to tell. I have the same truck and hitch setup and SumoSprings to reduce the squat, and the trailers level with just 4.75 inches clearance. I'm always worried that's not enuf, but have been in some rough spots w/o trouble so far.

If you reduce the rear sag by an inch you'd be perfect.
 
(third attempt at getting these images posted)

With the trailer as described in the previous post:

Took the rig out for a test drive. We had STRONG cross winds on a busy section of I-40. The rig drove and handled well. Quite happy with that.

Stopped at a Casino and experimented with how much we can bend it around.

IMG_0731.jpgIMG_0732.jpg
 
That does look slightly nose low, but with the shadow it's tough to tell. I have the same truck and hitch setup and SumoSprings to reduce the squat, and the trailers level with just 4.75 inches clearance. I'm always worried that's not enuf, but have been in some rough spots w/o trouble so far.

If you reduce the rear sag by an inch you'd be perfect.

Helper Springs are an interesting idea that I had not thought about. Just a 1/2-inch reduction is squat of the truck would level the trailer by picking the front up 1/2-inch and dropping the rear by almost 1/2-inch. Then again, it's pretty good the way it is.
 
This first run of the B&W hitch brought to light a curious issue. I did not find an obviously good place to clip the "rip chord" attached to the emergency disconnect brake switch. The previous with has a number of unused mounting holes that serve the purpose.

In the image below you can see (sort of, obscured by the cam arm) that I clipped-on to the retainer pin for the large pin securing the hitch head to the base. This seems a poor solution.

What have you B&W owners done to clip your rip-chords to the hitch?

IMG_0728.jpg
 
That's about where I attach my cord. Strictly speaking the cord should be attached to the truck, and not the hitch, just in case the hitch and truck part company. :)
 
Mine is a different hitch (PullRite), but I drilled a hole in a flat plate and put a machine thread eye bolt in it.

Rob
 
That's about where I attach my cord. Strictly speaking the cord should be attached to the truck, and not the hitch, just in case the hitch and truck part company. :)

Mine is a different hitch (PullRite), but I drilled a hole in a flat plate and put a machine thread eye bolt in it.

Rob

Right. I have been pondering fabricating something. And you are correct. The rip-chord should attach to the truck, or at least the base, and not the head of the hitch. Right now, the B&W hitch on factory pucks is so clean and simple as to make this more of a challenge.
 
Yes #Rob , I was referring to the position of the plate, thank you. I've read of some people rather vehemently insisting the brake cord should be separate from the hitch for reasons mentioned above. I've never felt that way, and was curious if it was a commonly held belief.
 
I am moving from an old truck to a new one.

New truck: 2023 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD, crew cab short bed (6.8 foot bed)
HAS OEM 5th wheel/gooseneck under bed mounting pucks.
...

1b). B&W Companion fixed position hitch:
Lighter than the slider, but NOT a slider (what does this weigh??)
Any folks out there with 303RLS and Chevy 2500/2500 short beds using this? What is your experience?
...
What am I missing? What is working well for you?

You are not missing anything that I am aware. While my truck is a Ram 2500 Crew Cab w/ standard (6'4") bed, I considered a "slider" hitch, but then went with the B&W Companion hitch. It comes apart for easy removal/installation and is a very solidly built unit. The price difference between various brands was minimal, but the quality of construction impressed me. I have a dealer nearby, and they gave me a good deal. I left my bed mat in place, but cut out four holes to accommodate the installation and "puck" mounting. I set the height and longitudinal settings to midrange and it works perfectly. This hitch allows for some fairly tight turns if necessary just as it is, and provides sufficient vertical clearance as well. As a bonus, it is as foolproof as any such hitch can be... once latched and pinned, it is good.
 

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What have you B&W owners done to clip your rip-chords to the hitch?

I clip it to the pin that holds the locking lever and jaws closed (actually to the c-shaped guard that snaps over the end of the pin. It's not on the bed, but it's on the hitch's frame. Not perfect but it works with no binding when maneuvering.
 
This first run of the B&W hitch brought to light a curious issue. I did not find an obviously good place to clip the "rip chord" attached to the emergency disconnect brake switch. The previous with has a number of unused mounting holes that serve the purpose.

In the image below you can see (sort of, obscured by the cam arm) that I clipped-on to the retainer pin for the large pin securing the hitch head to the base. This seems a poor solution.

What have you B&W owners done to clip your rip-chords to the hitch?

View attachment 43715

IMG_0801 (2).jpg
We have used the cargo tie down located on the rear left upper side of the truck bed with excellent results. No turning or interference issues. Also if you use your bed when at home. I suggest a hoist from amazon to lift the entire companion hitch at once. Works excellent and is a one person job that takes >5 minutes to remove. Built a rolling stand to set it on when in the garage. Setting back in place is just as easy by myself. DW said that the best $100 we have spent on the RV yet!

Dutchman2
 
Have you had any occurrences of the brake cable snagging on shifting items that might be in the bed?

We typically leave this area open. When we have placed what we thought were heavy enough items in the area they were MIA by the time we arrived. There is to much turbulent air in this area. We stack what little we do load in the front of the bed. Also on ours the shock cord does not sag to much so there is still good clearance to the bed floor.

Dutchman2
 
I had a Chevy 2500 and used the B & W Patriot Slider to haul our Solitude S Class 3950. I up graded to a 3500 and still use the same hitch. Both trucks are the 6'9" bed and it works fine. Trailer is long at 42' but rarely use the slider function unless its real tight or in difficult areas I need to back in to. I did have to put rails in due to not having the factory setup in either truck.
 

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