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This hitch slides automatically as you drive to give you 14" of additional clearance for tight turns. A wraparound jaw provides a smooth ride and a locking bar offers added security. Pivoting head allows easy hook up and helps to limit chucking.
Features:
Specs:
Note: This fifth-wheel trailer hitch is not compatible with Sidewinder or Revolution king pins. Do not use any device that changes the pivot point of your trailer's king pin with this hitch.
Most often used on trucks with 6-1/2' beds, a slider helps to eliminate clearance problems during slow-speed turns. When you are towing a fifth-wheel trailer, your hitch must be situated on the cab side of your truck's rear axle. However, at slow speeds you can use a slider to slide the fifth-wheel hitch (and the trailer) toward your truck's tailgate and past the rear axle, creating enough space between the cab of your truck and the trailer to permit less-restricted turning.
Normally, you'd have to get out of your truck and pull a lever to release the slider before every turn, but what if there was an automatic system? Imagine having 14" of extra clearance while towing your fifth-wheel trailer. Now imagine having this without needing get out of the truck to move your slider. The Demco Autoslide makes this fantasy a reality. The Autoslide automatically glides back smoothly when you make a sharp turn so you can maneuver effortlessly around tight corners within campsites and parking lots.
The base of the Autoslide has a built-in rack-and-pinion gear system that operates automatically. As your truck turns, the pinion in the base also turns. This activates the rack gear, which causes the rotational force of the truck to be converted into the linear sliding action of the hitch. So, when your truck makes a sharp, slow-speed turn, the gears inside the Autoslide force the hitch head to slide down toward your truck's tailgate in a smooth, controlled motion. This way, any time that your truck turns more than 10 to 15 degrees, the Autoslide will ensure that there is enough clearance for your trailer to complete the turn as well, and it will do so without any jerking or binding.
In order for the rack-and-pinion assembly to function as designed, the pin box must be stabilized on the hitch head. Normally in a fifth-wheel hitch, the king pin moves inside of the hitch head so that the trailer can turn. With the Autoslide, the king pin remains fixed inside of the jaws of the hitch and it is the hitch head itself that turns. This is thanks to the capture brackets on the sides of the head that brace the pin box from both sides to hold it in place on top of the hitch head. This is done to ensure that there is enough resistance within the hitch when your truck turns to properly activate the rack-and-pinion gear mechanism.
To stabilize your pin box on the hitch head, simply push the capture brackets up against your pin box once the trailer is coupled and tighten the outer bolts and the inner jam nuts. The Autoslide head and brackets will fit standard pin boxes that are between 12" and 14" wide. If you have a Glide Ride, Mor Ryde, Trailair Tri Glide, Rota Flex, Lippert Road Armor, or 5th Airborne pin box, you must install a special locking plate (sold separately) as well.
When you straighten your rig out again and your trailer moves back in line, the hitch head will rotate back to center and slide back toward the cab into the straight towing position.
The single-piece, strong wraparound jaw completely surrounds your trailer's king pin for 360 degrees of contact. This wraparound jaw provides a more secure connection than standard 2-piece jaws that close in on the king pin from the sides. The increased jaw-to-king-pin contact on the Autoslide offers tighter tolerances around the king pin, which minimizes both rattle and chucking, for a smooth, quiet ride.
A 3/4" solid steel locking bar spans the area in front of the jaw. This bar provides an added barrier of protection against accidental disconnection so you can have peace of mind that your trailer is secure. The locking bar is attached to the jaw and to the spring-loaded handle. The bar automatically locks when the jaw closes around your king pin.
The double pivoting, cushioned head improves your towing experience dramatically by helping to reduce jarring and unwanted noise. Built-in pins allow the hitch head to pivot back and forth and side to side. And hooking up is easy because the hitch head will automatically pivot to the proper angle when it comes into contact with your pin box.
Three polyurethane dampeners help to cushion the movement from the pivoting head and to reduce towing noise. Two of these dampeners are built into the head assembly to cushion the head's side-to-side pivoting. The third dampener cushions the back-and-forth motion and must be installed in the hitch prior to use. Installation of this third dampener is easy - simply press the dampener up into the pre-drilled hole underneath the hitch head.
Easy Installation
Included with the Autoslide hitch is a rail adapter that's specific to the Ram factory prep package. Just drop the adapter into the puck receivers built into your truck bed and lock them in place. Then you can position the pre-assembled hitch base in your bed and easily pin it to the rails. Just bolt on the side plates and attach the head to the hitch base, and you'll be ready to tow.
The side plates have 2 functions. They contain the feet that fit into the rails, and they allow you to raise or lower the hitch head to better match your pin box height. After you choose your desired height setting, simply bolt the side plates to the hitch base with the included hardware. Then attach the base to the rails with the included safety pins.
Clearance Formula for Short Bed Trucks
Use the formula below to ensure there will be enough space between your truck cab and trailer when executing a 90-degree turn.
(A+B) - C = Clearance
A = Distance from the center of fifth-wheel hitch jaw to truck cab
B = Length of Travel (14")
C = Width of trailer divided by 2 (to get half)
For example: If the distance from the center of the hitch to the cab is 36", 36" + 14" = 50". If your fifth-wheel trailer is 84" wide, take half (42"), then plug in: 50" - 42" = 8" of clearance.
Note: At least 4 inches of clearance is recommended to safely execute a 90-degree turn.
Alternate Instructions
California residents: click here
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Jeff: Hello everybody, this is Jeff at etrailer.com. Today I'm going to take a look at this Demco fifth-wheel rail adaptor for the Ram OEM fifth-wheel towing prep package, and this has a 25,000 pound weight capacity. Now this is a custom fit part, it is designed to fit the 2013 and newer Dodge Ram and Ram 2500 and 3500 trucks that have the OEM fifth-wheel towing prep package. Basically, this adapter's perfect if you want to use your standard fifth-wheel trailer hitch that'll mount to above-bed rails with the Ram's trucks factory installed under-bed fifth-wheel mounting kit. This will convert that factory installed under-bed kit from your Ram to the standard above-bed fifth-wheel base rails. You can see right here, these are the rails that your fifth-wheel tabs will drop into.I wanted to show you how this mounts to your factory system, I'm going to zoom in on one of the corners.
You'll do this on all four corners. But basically you'll have this handle here, and you have this safety pin, so you'll pull out the safety pin just like that, and then you'll rotate this handle all the way 90 degrees. When you do that, these tabs on the bottom here will line up with each other, and that'll allow you to remove it are inserted into the factory system. You just drop it into the pucks, and then to lock it into place, all you do is rotate this back 90 degrees until the hole lines up, and you'll notice it locks it into the tabs. And then you just take your safety pin for safety, push it in and it'll hold it into place, so there's no drilling or welding required with this.
And again, this is on one corner, you'll do this on all four corners. Just zoom back out and you can see you'll do it on all four corners.What you also want to remember is that the Ram trucks use different size tabs and sockets on the front and the rear of the vehicle, so you want to make sure when you install this, that you install it correctly. Basically they even have an arrow here that shows you pointing this way, meaning towards the cab. So up here is the smaller tabs, that's always on the cab side or the front of the Ram, and on the very back by the tailgate is the larger rear tabs. And to even help you with it, besides this arrow here, if you look at the front ones, the bolts are silver-colored, or the tabs also underneath.
And if you look at the rear ones which are larger, they put a yellow zinc finish on them, so that will even help you determine which is front and which is rear.The adapter itself is a nice rust-resistant black powder coat steel construction. It is made in the USA. Again, the application is for 2013 and newer Ram trucks that have that OEM under-bed towing prep package. Maximum capacity, which is stamped on it right here is 25,000 pounds. Just to let you know, when you do install this, this adapter will add about 1 3/8" height to your fifth-wheel hitch.
But that should do it for the review on this Demco fifth-wheel rail adapter for the Ram OEM fifth-wheel towing prep package, and this has a 25,000 pound weight capacity..
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