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Backing into a campsite or turning tight corners no longer means stopping to pull a lever. The built-in rack-and-pinion system automatically slides the hitch up to 14" toward the tailgate during slow-speed turns, giving you the extra clearance needed between cab and trailer. When you straighten out, the head glides smoothly back toward the cab for towing. Every move is controlled and automatic, so you can focus on driving instead of manually adjusting the hitch.
The premium single-hook jaw completely surrounds the king pin for full 360-degree contact, cutting down on rattle and improving stability. A 3/4" thick solid steel locking bar reinforces that connection and automatically locks when the jaw closes. It’s a tight, secure fit that helps eliminate chucking and gives you a quieter, more confident tow every mile down the road.
The double-pivot design lets the head move both front to back and side to side, so it naturally follows your trailer’s motion on uneven ground. Three polyurethane dampeners absorb road shock and reduce towing noise, softening the bounce from rough roads. Hooking up is easier too—the pivoting head self-levels as it meets the pin box for a cleaner, quicker connection.
The hitch comes pre-assembled for a straightforward install. The included base rails and custom brackets bolt together without needing extra parts, and the side plates let you set your hitch height at 16-1/2", 17-3/4", or 19-1/4" to match your trailer setup. Once pinned into place, you’ve got a solid above-bed connection rated for 18,000 lbs gross towing weight and a 4,500 lbs vertical load limit—ready to haul heavy fifth wheels with confidence.
Alternate Instructions
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hello everybody. This is Jeff at etrailer.com. Today, we'll take a look at this replacement head and base assembly for the Demco Hijacker Autoslide 5th Wheel Trailer Hitches. This has an 18,000 pound gross towing weight capacity. This part will replace the head and the base assembly on your Demco Hijacker Autoslide 5th Wheel Trailer Hitches. It is designed to fit the Demco 5th Wheel Hitches part number DM8550022, part number DM8550024, and part number DM8550034.
All three of those hitches, we do sell separately on our website.This part is just for the head and the base assembly. It does also require side plates to install this into your truck bed, and those side plates bolt onto the side of the base right here. The side plates are what will allow you to drop this hitch into either a universal above-bed base rails, or into the Demco or Ford factory under-bed mounting systems. Those side plates, we do sell separately on our website. Just to show you, you can see these multiple holes here on the side of the base.
This is where the side plates will bolt to. When you go to install them, they will allow you to get you the correct hitch height, and also for what application you need for whatever connection points you have in your truck bed.This is an automatic slider, so it will provide clearance required for your short bed truck to turn safely at slow speeds. No more having to get in and out of your truck to operate a manual slider. This will automatically slide far to get you the clearance. It has this rotating hitch head here that'll turn up to 90 degrees with your trailer.
The re-rotation creates the force that'll activate the automatic slider. Once you have your trailer hooked up here and there's weight on it. Right now, I can't really show you how it rotates because there's not any weight on it. If you get enough weight on it, what'll happen is this head will slide towards the tailgate when you start to turn with your truck. As you keep turning, this'll rotate to get you the clearance and then slide back to get you more clearance.
Then, it'll come back towards the cab when you straighten out your vehicle and your 5th wheel.Basically, what it'll do is it'll give you 14 inches front to back amount of travel for clearance. It does use a nice roller and guide assembly here to create smooth and controlled movement. This is designed to fit standard pin boxes from 12 inches wide to 14 inches wide. The built-in brackets right here is what will stabilize that pin box, so it won't rotate in your hitch. There's no need for a separate capture plate for your standard nine cushion pin boxes. On the cushion pin boxes, they do require locking plates, which we do sell separately. The cushion pin boxes that they're required on is the Glide Ride, the MORryde, the Trailair Tri Glide, the Trailair Flex Air, Rota-Flex, and the Fifth Airborne.The head on this uses a nice wraparound single piece jaw, provides a secure connection, gives you a 360 degree jaw to kingpin contact, and that will give you less rattle and more security than slide bar jaws. Also, if noticed on this one, it gives you a nice three quarter inch thick solid steel locking bar in front here. This will reinforce the connection of your coupled trailer, and that will automatically lock into place when the jaw closes. I am going to show you how this jaw operates at the end of the video. I'm going to show sliding a kingpin in and how it all works.The head itself is a double pivot hitch head, eases hook-up, helps limit chucking. It'll pivot front to back and side to side, and they do use cushioning polyurethane dampeners underneath to help reduce noise and absorb road shock. The handle on it is a nice spring loaded handle. It has a nice comfort grip, allows for simple coupling, has the tethered safety pin right here to let you secure the handle when it's either closed or open. Right now, it's closed. If you need to open it, you just remove that pin, pull your handle out, and that'll lock in the open position, and you're ready to couple. Once it couples, it'll slide in and lock. To finalize it, all you have to do is drop your pin through, clip it, and that'll secure it.This is a sturdy, steel construction. Has a nice rust resistant black powder coat finish on it. It is made in the USA. The specs, it is designed for use on six and a half inch truck bed lengths, gross towing weight capacity is 18,000 pounds, and the vertical load limit is 4,500 pounds. As I mentioned, I do want to show you. Here's an example of what the kingpin would be like on your fifth wheel. When you're ready to hook up, what you want to do is remove your pin and clip. As I mentioned, pull your handle all the way out. Once you get it out far enough, it'll lock in the open position. You can see the jaws ready to accept the kingpin. When you go to back up and hook up, as that kingpin slides in on the hitch head, once it gets in there far enough, it'll let that jaw wrap around it 360 degrees. Then that locking bar, you can see, slides across and keeps it in there.It's very secure. It won't move at all. To finalize it, all you have to do is take your pin and clip, drop it through the hole that lines up, clip it, and then that holds the handle. To unlock it or unhook it, you just remove your pin and clip, pull your handle out, and that'll allow the kingpin to side right out. That should do it for the review on this replacement head and base assembly for the Demco Hijacker Autoslide Fifth Wheel Trailer Hitches, and this has an 18,000 pound gross towing weight capacity.
Ratings & Reviews
John
7/17/2023
Still working great!
Jimp
9/5/2019
Still loving it. My only complaint definitely a 1st world problem! is that the unit takes up a lot of space in our bed when were not using the trailer. I solved that issue with a cheap chain hoist, attached to a beam in my garage. Now when we return from a trip and know were not going to use the 5th Wheel for a while, I just hook up the hoist and pull it out. Simple solution to my only issue with the Demco Hijacker.
Glenn
7/11/2021
Works Flawlessly
Mark C.
1/20/2020
Its been a year and I would not hesitate to purchase again.
Mike L.
3/6/2019
The hitch is indeed heavy. If you have a chain hoist available, using a lifting bracket like part # DM6100 see link would certainly make installing and removing the hitch much easier.
Helpful Links
Heather A.
8/14/2018
This demco hitch part DM8550034 is a completely gear driven hitch. Whichever angle you uncouple at is the same position the head will stay in until it is coupled back up. It is a good idea to couple up at as straight of an angle as possible. If there is ever a situation where you have to uncouple at an angle you can physically turn the head back to a straight position by taking the head off the hitch and putting a straight bar through the assembly for some leverage. The head should not be swiveling during coupling unless the main bolt is loose. The bolt that holds the gear assembly together has to be torqued to the specific foot lbs in the installation instructions or the head may swivel and cause issues during coupling. That bolt is part 05366 in the instructions.
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Mike G.
9/15/2019
This hitch has worked well for me. It is now used in a 2018 GMC Sierra 2500. It is just tall enough that I can see it in my rearview mirror to make it easy to get lined up with the kingpin