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The built-in automatic slider moves as you turn, giving you 14" of extra clearance between your truck cab and trailer. The rack-and-pinion gears control this motion smoothly, so you can maneuver at slow speeds without getting out to pull a lever. Each time you straighten out, the head slides back toward the cab on its own. This setup makes backing into campsites or tight parking lots much easier and removes the guesswork from short-bed towing.
A single-piece wraparound jaw completely surrounds the king pin for 360-degree contact. That tight fit cuts down on rattle and trailer movement during travel. A solid 3/4" steel locking bar reinforces the jaw once it closes, adding another layer of security before you roll out. The spring-loaded handle with a tethered safety pin lets you secure it in either the open or closed position, so coupling and uncoupling are quick and predictable.
The double-pivot head moves both front to back and side to side to match the angle of your trailer’s pin box. Three polyurethane dampeners cushion those movements to absorb road shock and minimize chucking noise between truck and trailer. As soon as your king pin contacts the hitch, the head pivots automatically into the right position for hitching, helping you line up faster and get on your way.
This heavy-duty steel hitch is rated for 18,000 lbs gross towing weight and a 4,500 lbs vertical load limit. The rust-resistant black powder coat finish keeps it protected from the elements tow after tow. With height settings of 16-1/2", 17-3/4", and 19-1/4", you can fine-tune your trailer height for level towing and proper bed rail clearance under load.
It installs on standard above-bed base rails using included pins for a solid fit. The design also lets you bolt on side plates with multiple height positions to match your trailer’s pin box setup.
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.
Alternate Instructions
Ratings & Reviews
This hitch combined with the puck system makes it easy to hitch up my 5th wheel and tow it worry free. When done towing I simply remove the hitch and have the whole bed available to use. The auto slide works effortlessly to make maneuvering the trailer easy. Very excellent product at a fair price.
I would not buy this hitch again because --
1. It takes up to much space in the truck bed
2. It is over built thus weighs to much
3. It is very hard to hook up because the hitch swivels when unhooking, thus making the hooking up very difficult lining up on an angle.
4. With this hitch I cannot lock out the swivel feature. My old hitch I could lock it out
I would buy from E Trailer again there sales people are great and delivered time was great. The hitch choice was my mistake not E Trailer's
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.
The hitch works as expected. It is very heavy duty and has held up well. I have pulled a 13,000 pound trailer in excess of 10,000 miles with no problems. I purchased this one because it does not require any adapters for the pin box/capture plate. This means I can pull any standard 5th wheel. The other brands that I found all required a special plate and was specific to the trailer (Not one size fits all). The only downside is that the hitch is very heavy. But that is to be expected for a very heavy duty hitch.
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
Very well built and engineered. Great customer Sevice from etrailer and demco. If you plan to remove the fifth wheel from the truck demco makes a lifting pin. A gantry Crain is helpful too. This thing is heavy duty, good for a lifetime! I also purchased the rail adapter. Thumbs up for that also. Be aware that this setup is tall. My 2018 fwd Ram has a tall bed height combined with the fifth wheel height could make a lower trailer pin height a problem with tailgate clearance and trailer angle. I’m very happy with this setup.
Mark C.
1/20/2020
Its been a year and I would not hesitate to purchase again.
Quality is good. Installation was tricky without a lift. Some of the bed rail bolt holes (passenger side rear rail) where nearly impossible for a large hand to fit the nut on the bolt. Actually had to have my wife crawl under the truck and slide her hand in the brace to install the nut. Getting a decent size torque wrench into the space was also imposible. The front drivers side rail bracket required removing several vehicle lines and wires which was easy however the bracket covered the holes where the wires attached to the frame, so now they are hanging zip tied together. Hitch/ fifth wheel looks good quality but very heavy. Installed a 400 .lb capacity electric winch from harbor freight to lift the hitch. Firestone airbag helper springs was easy install but getting the exact straight cut on the hose end that hooks to the fill port was challenging to keep it from leaking
Videos were very helpful
Glenn
7/11/2021
Works Flawlessly
We absolutely love our Demco Hijacker auto-slider hitch. We have a 6.5 ft bed, and a rather large 5th-wheel. I never have to give a single thought to unlocking the hitch and re-locking it before / after maneuvering. Everyone who sees it in action has that "jaw drop" reaction to it. Hooking up is very easy, and the engagement is VERY positive - you cannot miss getting it locked in place. Under tow, it is much more quiet than the previous one we used (loaner), and there is zero "lurching" or "chucking" as we experienced with the previous unit.
My only (minor) complaint is that I wish it wasn't quite so heavy, but it IS built like a tank. I probably could have gone with a lighter-duty unit for my specific 5th-wheel, but didn't want to have to replace the hitch if I ever upgraded to a heavier unit.
As for etrailer: everything I've purchased from them has shipped quickly, arrived (undamaged) on time, and has been of excellent quality. Thanks!
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.
Easy installation.
Excellent product easy to install fit perfect and easy to hitch up well built exceeded my expectations.
Demco 18k Highjacker Autoslide
This slider works great never have to even think about it being back there it does it's job with out a care from me worth evert penny it cost.
Demco fifth wheel hitch purchase and installation pictures.
Has to do a little assembly, really easy. Tows super nice, when turning does move towards the back. You’ll need to adjust the guides for the fifth wheel.
Unit is heavy and well built. Install was easy, just bolt on side plates on, drop the base on the adapter plate and pin it, put head assembly on and pin that, that's all there is to it. Looking forward to many years of towing with this unit.
Installation was straight forward operates very smooth and quiet installed overhead winch as seen in photo to make install easy also to remove very impressed with the craftsmanship of hitch.
Demco auto slide hitch works very well with my crew cab short bed Ram. Fits under my tonneau cover nicely. Trouble free thus far. Had to purchase a Demco plate for the camper to make the Rhino box hitch work. etrailer personnel were great in helping ensure I had the right products and kept me well informed of shipping dates.
John
7/17/2023
Still working great!
Tows great. I’m a first time fifth wheel owner. This made it easy. Be careful because this hitch is capable of angle that your trailer axles aren’t especially on a hard surface like asphalt or concrete. Over all very pleased. Be prepared to hoist this hitch in and out of your truck if you plan on removing it often. Probably weights closed to 400-500 lbs.
Excellent choice for a short bed Super Duty . Have towed several thousand miles with no issues. This is a heavy hitch , but that is what you get with a heavy duty Demco hitch . Plenty of room between trailer and truck when doing tight turns.
I love this hitch. Never having used an automatic slider and moving from a long bed to a short bed truck it took me a few attempts to get accustomed to backing up.
I would recommend this slider over any other brand. No capture plate needed either.
I have owned this unit for over a year now. Here are the pro's and cons that I have experienced.
Pro- I have pulled with this hitch in some really tight spaces in forward and reverse and still have the rear window in tact.
Con- Heavy, really heavy.
Pro- heavy duty,smooth riding, and double jaw lock makes a great connection.
Con- manufacturer recommends 1/8 of separation between the slides on the top of hitch. When backing upon 40' wheeler in some tight spaces it is hard to align without opening the slides a bit more. This is not he issue. Remembering to tighten them in the rush of leaving is the hard part.
Pro- once you are attached to your truck there is nothing more you need to worry about until you disconnect.
Con- If you are a weekender like me and use your truck for work the rest of the week, you will need at least one person to help lift in or out pre or post travel. Works pretty well with gantry crane.
Overall, great products. The capture plate needs to be tweaked every time I use it and it’s finicky to get it just right but works well when it’s set. It requires a powerful impact wrench to do it. If it was easier to adjust I’d give it 5 stars. The hitch works beautifully with my short bed truck.
My wife and I are full-time RVers, and have used this slider hitch from the get-go while traveling around seeing the country over the past year. We are happy with our purchase, which has proven to be both easy to hook up, adjust, and functions well, as advertised.
The only matter I think you may want to address are the thick plastic removable maintenance access covers which tend to bow, and the areas around the attachment holes have melted, in the hot weather. Perhaps instead using a light metal for the covers would be better solution.
We are very happy overall with this hitch, and plan to keep it . Thank you.
Installed in my 2014 Silverado. This looks to be a very heavy-duty hitch that doesn't require a capture plate.
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
The new lower base for the Demco hitch arrived on Tuesday via Freight it was a great interaction the driver I actually knew from a previous delivery, me and a friend were able to lift the old one out of the bed of my truck and install the new one today and all I have to say is...
PERFECT FIT!
It appears that Demco has already redesigned the lower base compared to my original one to prevent this problem from happening again. I was actually kind of shocked to see that upgrade and change.
I cannot say enough good words about you with etrailer and Demco working with me to get this problem solvedm Yes it took a little bit of work, ultimately this time we got it. I cannot thank you guys enough.
My friend and I will be finalizing the installation and getting it locked down to the bed with a few custom spacers for the lower rails this weekend.
Here are a few pictures of the installation resuming. If I remember , when I finally pick up my new camper, I'll send some pictures along too. Have to give credit where credit is due . Not sure of you have a customer wall at HQ. I know we had one in my old shop.
Anyway.. thank you again .
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Gene T.
6/21/2020
Now that Ive had time to use this, it is awesome! never worry about having to adjust the hitch to make sharp corners. Worry free RVing at its best! Love it!