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This Curt A20 5th-wheel hitch is rated for 20,000 lbs gross towing weight and a 5,000 lbs vertical load limit, giving you a solid base for hauling large trailers with peace of mind. The sturdy steel construction and durable carbide powder coat finish hold up over the miles, keeping your setup secure and consistent trip after trip. It’s the kind of strength that feels steady and sure every time you hitch up.
The A20’s two-piece interlocking jaws wrap fully around the king pin for 360-degree contact. Compared to slide-bar designs, this setup locks in tighter with less rattle or play. That solid grip translates to smoother starts and stops, less trailer movement, and a quieter ride overall. It’s a design that makes towing heavy fifth wheels feel stable and predictable.
No guesswork here—the color-coded indicator tells you exactly where things stand. Red means uncoupled, yellow means ready to couple, and green means you’re locked in for towing. The indicators are visible from the cab, so you can verify your connection without climbing into the bed. And when you unhook, the handle automatically resets to the ready-to-couple position for next time.
For those slow-speed turns that need extra clearance between truck and trailer, the S20 slider delivers 12" of front-to-back travel. It slides smoothly without binding and automatically latches in both directions, helping prevent contact between cab and trailer when maneuvering in tight spaces. The design keeps movement controlled while still feeling solid when locked in place for towing.
When it’s time to clear your bed, the fast one-pin head removal makes it manageable for one person to lift off the hitch. Built-in zerk fittings make lubrication simple, and the included plastic lube plate helps the king pin glide smoothly into position when hooking up again. It’s practical touches like these that make setup and teardown faster every time you tow.
Alternate Instructions
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hi everyone, Aidan here at etrailer. Today we're gonna be taking a look at and showing you how to install this replacement fifth wheel head for the Curt A20. This is going to be just the head assembly here today. So if you already have a sliding base or the legs for it, and you're looking to replace a broken or damaged head, or maybe you're just adding it to a sliding base, like the S20 we're using today, then this is gonna be the one for you. If you need the full kit, be sure to check out one of those full kits on our website. But as for this replacement head, let's check it out.
This is gonna operate just like your standard A20 fifth wheel head with the 360-degree dual jaw design. It's gonna get full contact around the kingpin here and those jaws are controlled by this lever on the outside of the fifth wheel hitch. We can unpin this handle right here. The pin could be swapped out for a padlock, if we wanna keep it secured when you're not around. Pull the handle out and back to open up those spring loaded jaws, and then we can back up to our fifth wheel.
That will drop into place. The kingpin will slide in. And it'll snap into place and you can see that 360-degree contact. Repin that handle or relock it back up to secure it, and then we're ready to hit the road. Now as we're hooking up, you probably saw a lot of movement in the fifth wheel head here.
Now it's by design. It's got a torsion system built into it, which gives us front to back, side to side, and even diagonal movement, really all around in a 360-degree motion. It can move around and adapt. So what it's gonna do is a number of things. It's gonna help guide the kingpin in so if we're not perfectly backed up to our trailer, this can kind of move and meet the kingpin where it's at to make hookup a lot easier.
But then when we're driving too, that's gonna act as a shock absorber, helping to reduce the hitching and just any of that road shock we're experiencing going down the road, but also limiting noise. To keep things operating smoothly, we've got our Zerk fittings located on the jaws here, so you can apply grease and keep them operating smoothly for a long time. The indicator at the back, visible from the cab of the truck will let us know if we're properly latched and coupled ready to tow. So we right now, we've got it locked in ready to tow. I'm gonna pull the handle out and back. And you can see right now we're in the coupling mode. And as I bring that dummy king pin back in, it's not fully coupled yet. And when it finally snaps in, (wheel head snaps) you can see it's got that green indicator. We can pin it in place and then we're ready to tow. So it's nice that you have that built-in and then it's visible from the cab of the truck. As for your weight capacity here, the fifth wheel itself can handle 20,000 pounds of gross towing weight and 5,000 pounds of your vertical load limit. Be sure to check on if you're using a sliding base like this one that it can handle that weight as well as your truck and go by the lowest rating component in your whole system. All around, you got a very durable steel construction with a carbide powder coat finish on top to help it resist rust and corrosion over time. Now that doesn't make it immune to things like scratches because that can scratch away the finish and cause it to rust and corrode quicker. But your kit does come included with a grease plate here that will slide in between the head of the fifth wheel with your kingpin in the middle here and help reduce that metal and metal contact. Keeping the head of this hopefully looking new for a lot longer and keeping those scratches and scuffs away. If you don't wanna leave this in your truck bed all the time, getting it removed can be a bit of a pain because of how heavy it is, But the head will separate from the main body here with this pin and a very large pin running through the center of everything. That is completely removable so that we can take the head on its own and lift it from the main body. So it's a lot easier to get in and out of the truck bed on your own like this. And if we look a little closer there where the pin runs through, you can see those rubber isolators that help dampen that impact and act as shock absorbers when we're going down the road. Now whether you're upgrading or replacing your existing head, it is going to be a very straightforward installation process. You will need a torque wrench for it, but aside from that everything's pretty straightforward and easy to do straight out of the box. So let's check out that process now. It comes pretty much fully assembled in the box. You will only need to attach the handle to the head, but I chose to also separate the head from the main body here, just to lighten the load a little bit and make it easier to attach. For our application today, we're attaching it to our sliding base here, the S20. So I'm just gonna get it dropped in place. And then, loosely get these bolts installed, line them up through the outer holes at whatever height setting we want, (metal clanging) and then attaching the nuts on the inside. (metal clanging) And at this point, once you've got it set to your proper height, you can tighten it down and torque it to the specifications found in your instructions. (metal clanging) (wrench rattling) If you don't have a torque wrench at home, they are pretty easy to rent, or you can find them here at etrailer. And repeat that process for all your other hardware. And then the head simply drops in place in the center and secures with the large pin feeding in through the back to the front. And then secures in there with this pin and retaining clip at the front. Now you're ready to hook up. And as far as the replacement head for the Curt A20 goes, that's really all there is to it. It's a very simple installation process. It comes with all the hardware you need. So if you already had an A20 fifth wheel hitch and you're just looking to replace a broken or damaged head, this is gonna drop right into place and do that for you. Or maybe you've got the S20 slider like we do here and you've got one of the kits maybe with the A16 and you're looking to upgrade the head to really max out the weight capacity potential of the slider itself. You can do that too. Like you see it is dropped in place Bolt it in with the included hardware and you're good to go. But that'll do it for our look at an installation of this Curt A20 fifth wheel head replacement. Thanks for watching.
Ratings & Reviews
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.
Arrived fast works well
Works fine
The hitch has worked very well. It is very sturdy, and I have had no problems. I would recommend this to someone with a short bed for the ability to slide the hitch.
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 .
Quick shipping and delivery. Took longer to assemble but was first time.
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!
Nice hitch. Straight forward install.
This kit fit well and the installation instructions were very clear and easy to follow.
First, the is a very heavy duty hitch. I watch the etrailer videos and the installation was simple. No issues at all. Second, I order from Matt who was very helpful an knowledgeable on the product. He said it would be delivered in two days. I laughed but low and be hold it was delivered in two days and the packing was incredible. I Thank you Matt for all you assistance.
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.
Easy to install and works perfectly!
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.
This was an easy install. Very heavy and ready to pull my trailer!
An excellent experience with etrailer.com
Gwendolyn Y.
4/17/2025
The New hitch looks great in your truck, Frank! Have you taken it out for a spin yet?
Gwendolyn Y.
4/18/2025
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.
Cammi, my customer support person was awesome. I told her what I needed and she recommended to perfect hitch. I was impressed with her knowledge of their products and how fast it was delivered. Installation was simple as long as you follow the very well written directions.
Brooke M.
2/5/2025
Cammi is going to love to see this review, Scott. Thanks for taking the time to write it! Ill be sure she gets to see it, and Im so happy to hear installation went off without a hitch! ;) Please let either me of Cammi know if we can help you out with anything else!
Scott
2/2/2026
My hitch is working great still. Easy to use no issues.
I previously owned the Curt A16. We needed a larger tow capacity so we purchased the A20 and decided to buy the S20 slider base as well. Too many sharp turning issues with our 6’8” Chevy standard bed HD3500 during maneuvering. The S20 slider should eliminate this issue. Also I love the design of both the A20 and S20.
Harvey
4/8/2026
This was a great purchase and it’s made backing into tight camping spots so much easier. 100 satisfied with this hitch and slider system!
Do you have a question about this 5th Wheel Hitch?
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Matt
7/9/2026
One year and zero issues after many trips pulling our 43ft toy hauler.