Reese R20 5th Wheel Trailer Hitch w/ Round Tube Slider - Serrated Dual Jaw - 20,000 lbs

Video Transcript for Reese Fifth Wheel RP30870 Review

Today were going to review part number RP30870. This is the Reese R20 fifth wheel trailer hitch with the round tube slider, and it has a 20,000 pound weight capacity. This fifth wheel hitch with the slider will mount in your truck bed so you can tow your fifth wheel trailer. It has the cast dual jaws right here, as you can see, which will provide more jaw to kingpin contact than your traditional dual jaw hitches. The geared teeth right down here will ensure even, secure closure for a full 360 degree contact. The secure connection will mean minimal jawing and chucking.

The head has a nine inch wide two prong European style funnel which makes it simple to guide the kingpin into the hitch, which will make it work great even if the trailer and the tow vehicle are not in a straight line. It has the four-way pivoting head which will ease hookup even on unleveled ground. It has a five degree side to side pivot and a front to back pivot. It will have a smooth, quiet ride which is created by this cast pivot beam, which holds the hitch head to the cross member. It uses heavy duty vibration dampeners, which Ill show you, that will help minimize rattle and noise even on rough terrain.

If I spin this one to the side youll be able to see right here, theres this yellow. Its a hard yellow rubber. Theres one on this side and one over here. If I rotate it completely around youll see on the back theres one here and theres one on the other side right here. You have one here, one here on the inside, one over here and one over here.

Those vibration dampeners will help minimize the rattle and the noise. If youll notice on the back here, the pivot bolt that goes through has a large castle nut on this end with a pin and clip in it. Basically over time as that will wear and loosen up you can remove the pin and clip, tighten down that castle nut to take up some of the play. This is the pop-up indicator on the head here. When the kingpin slides in it will push on this indicator right here which will pop out, and then when youre in the cab of your vehicle you can look out the rear window and see this green.

If its popped out that means the kingpin is securely attached on the hitch head. I just want to rotate it this way Ill show you the operation of the handles here. Basically on the hitch head right here, if youll notice its color coded on the handle. Right now with it in the down position it will be green pointing down which means its locked. It means the dual jaw is securely around the kingpin. If you push it up the red is pointing up. That will unlock it and that will allow you to pull open the dual jaws. Once it locks around the kingpin you can just push it down, which is pointing down green, means its locked. Right here you can run a pin through, a pin and clip, or you can run a padlock through, which is sold separately for additional security. Basically on the slider hitch portion, to move the slider on the round tube, right now, the pin indicator says its unlock position, which will allow the slider to move forward and backward 11 inches. If you move this that way, that is the locked maneuvering position. Basically what that does is it will allow you this slider hitch to move fully to the back of your truck bed and it will lock into the rollers, or the round tubes, and that will keep it from moving forward or backward, but with it fully to the back of your truck bed toward the tailgate, that will allow you the maneuvering position so it doesnt hit the cab of your truck. Then when youre ready to move from your camping position, if you go the other way, full towing position locked, what that will do is it will slide with the fifth wheel, all the way forward closer to the truck cab, and that will allow you to lock in position and youll be able to tow on the highway in the towing position. Basically the red part, the pin up and down is unlocked. This way is the locked maneuvering position. That way is the locked towing position. This hitch is made of sturdy powder coated steel, which is corrosion resistant. I am demonstrating this hitch on the rails and the installation kit, but the base rails and the installation kit will be sold separately. You would have to order them for your specific application. This hitch will work with the industry standard above bed rails made by Curt, Draw Tite, Hidden Hitch, Pro Series, Reese and Valley. You can simplify your installation with a vehicle-specific bracket kit. The gross towing weight capacity on this hitch is 20,000 pounds. The vertical load limit is 5,000 pounds. As I mentioned, the travel on the slider is 11 inches front to back. I do want to show you some adjustments you can make. If you look on the side here, on this cross member there is four sets of holes that go up and down. You can do a hitch height adjustment above your trailer bed, or your truck bed. Basically if you put the bolt, when you install these slider legs, if the bolts are in the very top holes that would give you 14 inches above the truck bed. If the bolts are in the very bottom holes that would give you 18 inches above the trailer or truck bed. You can also, when this is bolted to the legs, the legs have elongated holes so you can actually move this cross member one inch front or rear to help improve the cab clearance. One nice other little feature is if youll notice on this hitch head, it does come with an included plastic lube plate. The nice thing about that is it will help when your kingpin slides in, the fifth wheel trailer hitch will slide easily on this lube plate and it will help prevent from scratching the head on the hitch. Also, if youll notice these pockets right here on the plate are for grease to be put into. That will help lubricate the connection between the fifth wheel and the hitch head. That should do it for review on part number RP30870.