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If you’ve ever worried about clearance while backing into a tight campsite, the automatic sliding action on this hitch makes it effortless. The built-in rack-and-pinion gears give you 14" of smooth travel front to back, so the head shifts toward the tailgate when turning and back toward the cab when straightening out. You don’t have to climb out to release a handle or set a lever—it does the work for you, letting you keep your focus on maneuvering safely.
When you’re towing heavy, a confident hookup matters. The wraparound, single-piece jaw gives you full 360-degree contact around the king pin, and a 3/4" solid steel locking bar reinforces the connection. That tight fit cuts down on rattle and movement compared to slide-bar jaws, so the trailer feels locked in and steady no matter how far you travel. Once coupled, the jaw automatically locks into place, adding an extra layer of security without extra steps.
The double-pivot head moves front to back and side to side to match your trailer’s motion, which keeps things feeling calm even on rougher roads. Three polyurethane dampeners cushion those movements and help absorb shock, keeping noise low and chucking to a minimum. The hitch head naturally pivots into position as you back up to couple, taking the guesswork out of lining up under load.
When it’s time to use your truck bed again, this hitch lifts out cleanly thanks to its rail-free underbed design. The custom mounting kit uses four receivers in the bed—just unlock the handles, pull the safety pins, and lift it out. With no exposed rails left behind, you’re free to load up whatever else you need once towing season wraps up.
Matching your trailer height is simple with three hitch height settings built into the side plates. You can raise or lower the head to get a level setup and proper bed rail clearance for your pin box. It’s a small tweak that makes a big difference in how balanced your rig feels rolling down the highway.
Alternate Instructions
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Today we're going to take a look at the replacement side plates for the Demco Hijacker Autoslide fifth wheel trailer hitches, and this is for the underbed mount. Now this will replace the side plates that came standard with your Demco Hijacker Autoslide underbed fifth wheel trailer hitch. They are designed to bolt onto your hitch base so that you can attach your hitch to the custom underbed rails. This is designed to fit the 13,000 pound Hijacker, Part Number DM8550041. It also fits the 18,000 pound Hijacker, DM8550022, and the 21,000 pound Hijacker, DM8550037 models. This is a simple bolt-on installation to your hitch base. There are multiple rows of bolt holes on these side plates and on your hitch base, so depending how you line them out, it will let you adjust the hitch height.
The hitch height settings will go from either 15-1/2 inches to 16-3/4 and 18-1/4, so you have your choice of those three settings to get your trailer and tow vehicle as level as possible. These do have a rust-resistant black powder coat finish. They are an all-steel construction. It does include the instructions. It will include the mounting hardware, and it also includes two 1/4-inch spacers and two 3/8-inch spacers, and the spacers are used for adjusting your hitch mount with the bed pockets of your truck, and this part is made in the U.S.A. The way that these would open up is you just pull the clip, pull the pin out, and you can see each one of these will rotate out, and when you rotate those out, it will let you drop it into your underbed mount, and then once there, you just turn this back in to lock it, and then put your clip right through there just like that. This part is made in the U.S.A. That should do it for the review of the replacement side plates for Demco Hijacker Autoslide fifth wheel trailer hitches with the underbed mount..
Ratings & Reviews
The demco hitch was easy to install.
Held up well with 0 issues over the past year.
Works great, I have a bike rack on the front of camper, which clears the front of the camper. It’s a heavy slider but that’s ok
Love it. I like that it comes out and you get your bed back. If I had one thing to say bad on it is that when you back up to it you have to be lined up straight with it. You can't come in on an angle. But it's not the end of the world. It's great you don't have to get out in the rain to slide it back for the sharp turns.
Nice product. Pretty much idiot proof once you get it set up. After that just hook up and go. No worries about crushing your cab when running a short bed. Built well. Heavy duty. Only complaint would be the weight manually getting it in and out.
Unit is built heavy duty. Installation was pretty straight forward. Towed fifth wheel from West Virginia to Pennsylvania with no issues.
Arrived quickly. Heavy duty hitch. Folks at E-trailer kept me updated and were polite and professional when I spoke with them on the phone. Installing myself so going slow but I have the time.
When you use google chrome it does not move you to the next page to custom fit.
So it just tells you your truck shows you the product and I order 6k worth of items without putting in the custom specs that you don't know to hit. Somehow with the info I put in my two other products work but this one doesn't and I have to pay for shipping to this to fix it. Wish if you ordered 6k worth of Items they would be a little more understanding that their site does not walk you what needs to be done and help you fix the problem without charging you more. Prep and Puck systems are two different things now I know.
2003 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD 4x4 extended bed Duramax
Hitch works perfectly. The auto slide is awesome! Very well built. Very heavy. Not something you want to be taking in and out of your bed all the time. My only complaint is that you have to be pretty straight when you hook or unhook the camper.
Seems to be very well made and high quality. Definitely takes two to lift up and into position. Minimal work required to get this slider running as it’s nearly all preassembled from the factory. Just needs the locking pin rails installed. I installed mine on the medium height setting and it has worked out very well so far with my 2020 F-250 shortbed.
The star rating is a 5, Review for etrailer is the date promised on delivery was right on, delivered direct to installer and the Product Demco slide hitch is all that Demco claims it does.
Smooth operation and being a auto slider you just hook up and don’t have to worry about sending the trailer through the cab of your short bed truck because you forgot to unlock your slider. It’s pretty awesome.
Very good fifth wheel. No problems works good. have used it alot since installed cannot hook up to trail air with out plate being installed on trailer hitch
The Demco Autoslide is the only way to go for a 5th wheel hitch for a short bed truck. The extra 14" of travel is great. Left me truck almost 90 degrees. It was even easy to install by yourself with a lot help from another person.
So pleased with this hitch! Works great on my 2015 F250 short bed. Works well with my retractable tonneau cover, fits under perfectly on the low adjustment points. If you have a short bed this hitch is the one to have.
etrailer customer service was awesome as usual!
The instructions provided with the hitch were very detailed and provided enough information for me to install it myself. I love having the mounting rails below the bed. the auto slide worked flawlessly. For the winter I left the hitch coupled with the trailer to keep my bed clear.
Hello,
This hitch has been awesome. It works perfectly all the time. My only gripe would be that the head doesn’t fall down automatically. I have to get out of the truck to tilt it down when connecting to my trailer. Other than that, I’m very satisfied with the design and operation of the hitch.
Thank You
Really like our Demco hitch, had some issues with chunking when turning, took to Demco in Iowa when passing through and they completely refurbished and readjusted to bring up to their new specs. Would deffenately buy another Demco Autoslider!
Love this hitch! Works great in 2019 F250 CC w/short bed, I can turn 90 degrees and still miss cab of truck. No problems latching and unlatching as long as everything is fairly level. I installed hitch with under bed kit by myself, wasn't too bad. I've had hitch for a year now with no problems. I would recommend Demco Hijacker Autoslide hitch.
INVOLVED INSTALLATION BUT VERY STURDY. COMES OUT EASY BUT A LITTLE
DIFFICULT TO DROP INTO THE RECEIVER HOLES IN EXTREME TEMPERATURES
DUE TO DIFFERENTIAL METAL EXPANSION IN MY AREA , NORTHERN NH
Thomas S.
2/7/2019
THE BEST FUNCTIONAL SHORT BED 5th WHEEL HITCH OUT THERE BUT ALSO THE HEAVIEST AND THE MOST DIFFICULT TO REMOVE AND REINSTALL. I HAD TO TAKE IT TO A GARAGE TO REMOVE IT AND AGAIN TO REINSTALL IT. I JUST LEAVE IT IN THE TRUCK BED NOW RATHER THAN FIGHT WITH IT.
Overall I love the auto slider mount and it works as advertised. Easy to hook up and unhook. Just have to make sure your truck is in a straight line with the RV when unhooking because you don’t want to leave this thing turned or it can be very hard to hook back up. I learned this the hard way. Turning it by hand does not work either.
The plastic inserts to cover the holes when the mount is removed don’t work because the holes are too shallow on my F250,, but that makes no difference to me because the mount is way to heavy to remove anyway. The only thing that does bother me is the rust. I have used a wire brush and rustoleum paint on several spots now. Perhaps better rust proofing would be something the company could look into for future mounts. I mounted mine in a 2017 F250 with the 6.5’ bed and added a toolbox in front of it. Had to go with the in-bed box because my rv would have hit one of the boxes that sits on top of the bed. When backing up and turning my RV (Grand Design Reflection 307MKS) misses the cab by a good 3 inches. Installation of the mount rails that go under the bed was time consuming, not much room to use a wrench under there so each bolt took a while to tighten into place. The slider is big and heavy so it was a chore getting it dropped into the holes, I got 3 big guys to help out with that part. If I had to do it again I would not have done this install myself, I would have found a shop to do it prior to buying the RV. But I already bought the RV and could not wait for a shop to get it done.
this hitch works as advertised.was a great suggestion. very heavy duty and well constructed! never have to leave the cab to release the slide just drive! custom fit under bed rails worked perfect on my 2016 f 250.no drilling frame rails. installed it myself. i am a.s.e. master auto / truck mechanic.every one at e trailer was very help full when i called with questions.they did as they said they would.was so pleased with every thing.i purchased a hitch for the front of the same truck.it to works as as it should also. thanks!
Buddy
Buddy R.
3/24/2019
good happy with the whole set up.had a small issue that demco remedied swiftly.only other thing is the finish does not seam to last.it is covered when not in use and it chips and rust,s easily
This was the best solution for my Dodge RAM 2500 towing my Alliance 340RL 38' 5th Wheel. My son helped me install the rails under the bed and now it is very easy to remove the hitch when I am not using it. It is very strong and I highly recommend this for anyone with a short bed truck.
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Condition: Installed
Notes: Item has been previousy test fitted and has minor cosmetic install marks as well as some scratches.
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Andy
3/15/2022
The Demco hijacker 18 K I think is the best hedge out there by far three different height settings and the auto slider part of it is awesome haven’t had an issue at all