Curt A16 5th Wheel Trailer Hitch w/ S20 Slider for Chevy/GMC - Dual Jaw - 16,000 lbs
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2021 Ford F-150
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2021 Ford F-150
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This setup is ready for serious fifth-wheel towing with a 16,000-lb gross towing weight and a 4,000-lb vertical load limit. The solid steel construction and carbide powder coat finish give it the durability to handle long hauls and heavy trailers. Each part of the design feels tight and secure, so once you’re hitched up, you know the connection is solid and steady mile after mile.
The interlocking 2-jaw system wraps completely around the king pin for 360-degree contact. That design cuts down on rattle and movement compared to slide-bar models, giving you a quieter ride and smoother towing feel. It’s built to keep the trailer locked in tight, so hooking up feels secure and the drive feels more controlled.
Short-bed setups need extra clearance when taking slow turns—this hitch handles that with its S20 slider offering 12" of fore/aft travel. The non-binding design slides easily when needed, keeping the trailer clear of the cab during tight maneuvers. It automatically latches in both directions, making it simple to use when setting up or parking.
The built-in color-coded indicator shows what position the jaws are in before you even climb into the bed—red for uncoupled, yellow for ready to couple, and green for locked for towing. It’s easy to check from the cab or side, giving you peace of mind before hitting the road. The handle also self-resets after uncoupling, so it’s ready to go next time you hook up.
When it’s time to clear your bed, pull a single pin to remove the head quickly—no tools needed. Two built-in zerk fittings make lubrication simple, while the included plastic lube plate helps the king pin glide smoothly during hookup. With its modular design and straightforward maintenance features, this hitch keeps setup and breakdown easy trip after trip.
Alternate Instructions
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hi everyone, Aidan here with etrailer. Today we're gonna be taking a look at this replacement fifth wheel head for your A16 or your Q16 fifth wheel hitches from Curt. So if you're getting this as a replacement head it's gonna function just like your old one. You can see right away It's got the same torsion system that's acting as a sort of cushioning system. When we're hooked up to our trailer it's gonna help us create a smoother ride going down the road with that side to side, front to back and even on the diagonal movement, all absorbing that shock but also helping us with the hookup process by moving and meeting the kingpin as we're guiding it back. The dual jaw system here, they overlap with each other to create really solid contact on the kingpin 360 degrees around.
And if we move over to the side here those jaws can be controlled by the handle secured in place by a pin and clip that can be swapped out for a padlock if you want that security aspect, pulling the handle out and back, we'll open up those jaws or in the coupling mode I've got a dummy king pin here that will slide back in. The open flare here will guide it into position and then as it backs up, we're hooking up to our trailer. The handle will snap back into place fully locked in and we can just resecure it with our pin and clip. Now a good way to know if we're fully coupled is the indicator on the back. You can see it's green right now which means we're positively coupled and good to go.
But if I undo that handle here, partially you'll see it switched to that red and in the fully open position it'll switch to yellow letting us know we're ready to back up to our trailer. And then as we back up that kingpin slides in, it'll swing past that red and when it's fully latched in, go back to green. With the positioning of this, it's easy to see from the cab of the truck so you don't have to get out to check on it. You can just look back there and see if you've got a good couple. With the fifth wheel head here we are gonna have a weight capacity.
It can handle 16,000 pounds of gross trailer weight rating. That's how much weight it can pull and has a vertical load limit, that downward pressure of 4,000 pounds. Be sure to check whether it be the leg kit, the slider base or your truck and go by the lowest rating component in the system but know that that's what the fifth wheel head can handle. You've got your three different points of height adjustment on the side. Again, depending on whether you're using the slider base like we are today or the just regular legs that are fixed, that height may change but you do have three different options for the adjustment.
What I can tell you though is that the whole spacing is 2" apart for each interval of that height adjustment. So just take that into account whenever you're setting this up for your truck and trailer combination. The whole fifth wheel head is gonna be a steel construction with a carbide black powder coat finish over top of it to help it resist rust and corrosion over time. Now with any sort of finished scratches and scuffs can be a danger to it because if you scratch away the finish it's way more susceptible to rust and corrosion over time. It does come included though with a lube plate which will sit between the head of the fifth wheel and your pin box with the kingpin right in the center here and reduce that metal on metal contact to make sure that the finish hopefully lasts a lot longer, keeping your whole fifth wheel looking like new. Speaking of keeping things operating like new you do have two zerk fittings on that dual jaw design here. So you can apply grease regularly to keep them operating smoothly. If you don't wanna leave this in your truck bed full-time and you want to take it out, it can be pretty heavy but you can separate the head into two pieces by taking out that first pin and clip and this large pin that runs through the center of the fifth wheel head. And that will allow us to actually separate the head from the body of the fifth wheel here. So it makes everything a lot lighter and easier to get in and out. And with it out you can see the rubber isolators that are located inside. That's part of the torsion system that we're talking about earlier. And what helps cushion the whole movement here and keep everything operating nice and smoothly as well as reducing noise. Being able to break it down really helps with the installation process because you can do it all on your own relatively easily. So let's go ahead and walk through that process with you now. Now since this is a replacement head you could be replacing it on a standard fifth wheel rather than this slider kit that we're doing this with in which case you'll be needing to use the hardware that came with your fifth wheel originally that bolt, lock washer and flat washer that threads into the legs on your A16 hitch. With that being said, if you are missing these, you will need to get new hardware because the hardware that comes with the replacement head is going to be that bolt and nut. Getting this installed, it might be a little easier to have a second set of hands, but if you can grab it by the center and get one of your bolts started just to help hold it in place on either end, that would be ideal and then we can get the nuts installed later after repeating this on both sides. Now at this point you wanna take your wrench and socket and actually start to tighten these down in all four corners and then we can torque it to the specifications found in our instructions. For the torque wrench, it's pretty easy to rent these out or borrow them but if you wanna get your own you can find those here at etrailer. Just make sure to find the proper torque spec and your instructions and repeat that for the other three bolts. With everything torqued down we can take the head unit and drop it down into place, securing it with the large pin going in through the back of the whole assembly and securing out front with our smaller pin and retaining clip. And that's really all there is to it for the installation process, it's gonna be a very basic easy to use replacement for your A16 or your Q16 fifth wheel hitches. Just deep in mind that if you're replacing one with the standard legs that you do have the appropriate hardware either reusing the old one or getting new hardware. And if you're gonna be dropping it in place in a situation like this with the S20 slider, know that the hardware it comes with is gonna be exactly what you need. But that'll do it for our look at this replacement fifth wheel head for your A16 or your Q16 hitches from Curt. Thanks for watching.
Ratings & Reviews
I would give it a 3 star review. The product itself was perfect. The package arrived in tact, but 2 parts were missing. Upon contacting you, I was told they would send out replacements. I was hoping they would overnight them since I had an appointment 2 days later for the installation of the 5th wheel rails. But they were sent standard usps mail. So I had to cancel the appointment. I ended up installing them myself, which took more than 6 hours, which the directions said 1 1/2 hours for a novice. Also, the measurements on the directions said 28 15/16" from the tailgate to the front edge of the rear rail. I drilled the pilot hole, and it wasn't even close. It ended up being 28 1/2" and I even have spray in bedliner. So I have mixed emotions about the purchase. They are installed, and seem very sturdy.
Great install! Had no issue with the installation of this unit. Directions were easy to follow. Great product and will be trying it out real soon 3975CK Crossroad Cameo 5th wheel!
E-trailer has detailed instructions and videos for anyone to install there on hitch.
The hitch looks strong enough but the installation was difficult for a man over 65 with big hands installed on my 2021 Chevy 2500.there were some very hard to get at places to get spacers and nuts on bolts took me 6 hours by myself probably would have been quicker and easier with two people.haven’t tried it yet will let you know how well it works.
No directions, but I’ve mailed them for directions. Fast! Excellent looking and heavy duty appearing parts with a hardware kit included! Excellent! Now let’s get some directions and get it put in.
The hole in frame that was supposed to line up with was about a 1/2" toward the back of the bed using the 28and 15/16" plus the liner on the instructions to the bed frame. I moved it back. Using the 1/8" to see where you will be is how I figured it out. Good idea.
I wanted to have the full side brackets (just my own insecurities) and didn't want to drill the frame. Instructions were good.
The time for install on the instructions is way off 40 min (professional) 80 min (DIY) I installed this kit on a 2025 3500 silverado long bed. It also has the factory overload springs whis also contributed to some of the issue. The left front cross rail bolts are on top of the fuel tank so it's a bit tight. The right side bolts are between the heat shield for the exhaust and the bed. I had to remove the shield to get access to the cross rail nuts. The U bolt was another issue as they were about 1/2" to long and would contact the springs when loaded. The last thing is I was shorted 1 carige bolt. Out side of that it's inatalled and seems to work as designed.
Product was as described. Fit and price were great. Just wish shipping would treat the package as their own. First couple pictures are from damage due to shipper carelessness.
Works fine
Works well with my new hitch, Installation was not the easiest in the corner on the driver side closest to the cab due to the truck fuel tank.
Easy to install with Basic tools .
Worked really well. Especially like the one piece mounting bracket. Secure and easy installation.
I ordered this to install in my 2020 Silverado 2500. The install was easy and took close to 2 hours. Have not pulled my fifth wheel yet so really no idea how this will hold up. Everything was in the box nothing missing. Shipping took 2 days to get to my house. Very happy so far with everything I have ordered fro you.
I installed myself on my 21 GMC Sierra 2500HD, Denali, Duramax. Took me around 3hrs to do with basic shop tools. Over all the unit itself is very nice. Heavy well treated metal, bolts are all good quality. Not one single alignment issue. Sucks that the truck manufacturers can’t make some sort of pre setup locations as it was some tight finger tip spots. But that’s not to the fault of This item at all.
Fit perfect. Easy install if you’re han dy.
Put it in my self went great towed camper home today!
Easy to install and it works great.
Installed these bed rails on my 2020 Silverado Duramax 2500HD. Heavy duty rails and of good quality. Install time was around 3 hours. Definitely remove spare tire and heat shield. I did find it very difficult to torque 2 of the nuts on the driver's side front rail. Everything else no problem. I did spray some undercoating on the frame rail ends and nuts. Just did that for extra protection and it will make it easier to see if there is any movement when towing.
I purchased this rail kit for a camper we bought. It’s fits perfectly with the hitch that came with the camper. I also bought the spider gooseneck adapter which works great with these rails!
Looks good just opened the box. Waiting for mounting brackets.
5 stars for the quality of the parts. Directions get you through but could be better. Video of installation makes it look way easier than it is. Took me 2 afternoons to complete the process.
This kit fit well and the installation instructions were very clear and easy to follow.
Installed on a 2021 GMC Denali DRW. The installation instructions and video need to be updated they are somewhat miss leading as to the difficulties of install. The driver side front rail nuts are almost Impossible to install because of gas tank. They will be impossible to torque without dropping the gas tank. Your will also have to remove the dual rear wheels to torque the frame plates Took almost 5 hours to install. Other than that have yet to use hitch.
Product itself is really nice, well engineered and extremely stable in the truck bed. It's not as scratch resistant as I had hoped, I moved an electric oven and it really scraped the rails.
It does hold the hitch in place perfectly while towing, the holes and pin placement slots are spot on exactly like they should be. Mates really well with my Curt Fifth Wheel Hitch. Overall, satisfied with my hitch rails.
The only drawback is the installation.... OMGH! Was going okay until we got to the bolt that's on top of the fuel tank, could barely reach it and only get one millimeter turn at a time, then the torque wrench got stuck....
Just an ass-kicker!
But perseverance pays off and we got it installed and torqued to proper settings. Hope I never have to do that again.
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