To see if this custom-fit item will work for you please tell us what vehicle you'll use it with.
This Curt A16 setup is purpose-built for serious fifth-wheel towing, rated for 16,000 lbs gross towing weight and a 4,000 lbs vertical load limit. The sturdy steel construction and carbide powder coat finish hold up to long miles and heavy loads without flex or rattle. It’s a system you can count on when pulling big campers or toy haulers across varying terrain.
The rounded, interlocking two-piece jaw wraps completely around the king pin for full 360-degree contact. That design keeps movement to a minimum and cuts down on clanking or chucking, giving you a quieter ride and a strong, confident hookup every time. It’s a noticeable step up from slide-bar hitches that allow more play between the trailer and the truck.
Curt’s color-coded lock indicator takes the guesswork out of coupling. A quick glance shows red for uncoupled, yellow for ready to couple, and green when it’s locked in for towing. You can see the indicator from the cab or at the handle, so you always know exactly what position the jaws are in before pulling away. The handle self-resets after uncoupling so it’s ready for the next hookup.
Backing into a campsite or making a slow turn is easier with the included S20 slider. It provides 12 inches of fore/aft travel to create clearance between your cab and trailer during sharp, slow-speed turns. The non-binding design moves smoothly in both directions and automatically latches once positioned. It helps prevent contact between your truck and trailer without forcing you to get out multiple times to adjust.
When it’s time to clear space in the bed, the A16 makes it simple. Pull one pin to remove the fully articulating head on your own, then lift out the base that locks into standard above-bed rails. Built-in zerk fittings make lubrication quick, and the included plastic lube plate keeps hookups smooth over time. Adjustability from 17-1/2" to 21-1/2" tall gives you flexibility to keep your trailer level and ready for the next 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
Great fit, just make sure you get the correct drill bits before you start your install. Sems to be holding up very well.
Pretty easy to install. As per instructions, I did have to drill one hole in the frame of the truck and Enlarge one hole. This brace system under the bed that attaches to the frame of the truck is a very heavy duty piece of equipment. I feel very safe with this choice because of this fact.
First time ordering from etrailer. Very satisfied with the ease of use of their site. All product came as advertised and shipping was seamless and fast. Will absolutely use etrailer again. Also will recommend to anyone in the market for their products.
First time ordering from etrailer. Very satisfied with the ease of use of their site. All product came as advertised and shipping was seamless and fast. Will absolutely use etrailer again. Also will recommend to anyone in the market for their products.
Awesome product good quality finish after a year minimal rust spots but that's just because I banged it a few times little black spray paint get his new
Ordered a fifth wheel rail and installation kit. It was delivered on time and was exactly what I ordered.
Custom fit brackets made the job fairly easy, even though this was my first time to install a 5th wheel hitch. The installation took several hours, since I took my time and measured several times before drilling.
the response and the information plus the feedback from the second I place the order was great.
Tracking my order was easy and simple. I will share photos once I get a chance to complete the installation and add further comments.
Thank you
The parts arrived on time and undamaged! Always great customer service and timely delivery.
Great recomendation by etrailer. Works great, positive lock and rides great. Im confident with this product, many thanks.
good product
Did the job. Took me about eight hours to install. Had a little clearance problem with a rivet in the truck frame, so I had to do a little grinding to the bracket. But other than that it was good.
Not installed yet but very fast shipping
Everything was exactly as described. The only thing that could have been different and better with the product in my application was the single front tab on the side plates could have been double, just like the rear of the plates. Simple, easy installation. Did have to drill the front side plate mounting holes in the truck frame, no factory existing holes present, but no problem. The right side front hole is directly behind the shock tower. Over-all a great product.
Second time I have installed Curt kit. Process is fairly easy and instructions are good. Thanks to etrailer.com for great installation videos and quick shipping.
Curt Custom Fifth Wheel Installation Kit for Ford - Carbide was received very promptly from etrailer.com. The product was a perfect fit and installed very quickly by a trailer and truck company. Thank you for a great product and reliable service.
MY Q16 5TH WHEEL HITCH WORKS WONDERFUL IT IS WAY EASIER THAN THE OTHER TYPES.I GOT RIGHT ON THE MONEY THE 1ST TIME I HOOKED MY 5TH WHEEL.ALSO I BOUGHT THE WIRE HARNESS TO INSTALL IN THE BED OF MY F350 AND IT WAS A BREEZE TO INSTALL.
Put these on my 2006 F250 about a year ago, they have pulled my 10,000 lbs 5th wheel RV like a champ and also a 14,000 lbs skid steer and attachments using the gooseneck adapter like a champ. Only thing that gave out was a tire on the trailer!
Fast shipping need new fith wheel hitch for new truck easy install took 2hrs think you
Fast easy and excellent quality
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.
Not too hard to install holes lined up. Had to make the hole in the frame toward the front larger. After measuring the rails perfect hole placement to installed the rails. Took about 4 hours total. Very good help from the customer service at etrailer to match up the item and also save me a few dollars.
Looks good just opened the box. Waiting for mounting brackets.
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