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This hitch is rated for 21,000 lbs gross towing weight and 4,000 lbs vertical load, so it’s ready to handle large 5th-wheel campers and toy haulers without breaking a sweat. The sturdy steel construction and black powder coat finish hold up to long miles and rough roads. Once you’re hitched up, the solid base gives you that rock-steady feel from the first mile out of the driveway to the last stretch of highway.
When you’re maneuvering through campgrounds or backing into tight spaces, the manual slider gives you 14" of fore-and-aft travel so your trailer clears the cab during sharp turns at slow speeds. It’s the right amount of movement to keep your trailer out of your truck’s way without adding complexity. Simple, solid, and effective when you need extra breathing room on a turn.
The wraparound jaw makes full 360-degree contact with the king pin for a tight, secure fit that minimizes rattle. A 3/4" thick, solid steel locking bar backs it up for extra peace of mind once you’re coupled. When the jaw closes, it locks automatically so there’s no second-guessing whether it’s latched. The result is a smooth hookup that stays quiet mile after mile.
The double-pivot head moves both front-to-back and side-to-side to make hitching easier and to help limit chucking. Built-in polyurethane bumpers cushion road shock and cut down on noise between the truck and trailer. Whether you’re driving over expansion joints or uneven pavement, this setup helps keep the ride steady and controlled.
Installing the hitch is fast since it drops right into the receiver pucks of the factory underbed rails—no adapters or complicated steps needed. Three hitch height settings (18-3/8", 19-5/8", and 20-7/8") let you match your trailer setup for level towing. The spring-loaded handle with a comfort grip makes coupling simple, while a tethered safety pin keeps everything locked where it should be.
Ratings & Reviews
Good quality hitch, light weight, easy to slide . Got about 1500 miles pulling 17000lb trailer with no problems
Excellent product. Easy to assemble and install. Easir to hitch to my trailer than my previous product. Trailer was awesome to work with when I purchased the wrong item to begin with. They took the item back sent me a return slip and back it went. They did ask that I pay shipping back, which was a pretty good value considering the weight of the product. Would purchase again.
Looks great nice workmanship. Easy to install.
Packaging on large components should be changed??? Need custom molded styrofoam to slide on two sieds and hold product in shipping box. Will include pictures of delivered packages
This is a really nice hitch for the money. Extremely easy to installl for one person. I can’t wait to pull my camper with it. The only problem I had was how badly damaged the package was when delivered. Fortunately the hitch was not damaged. The picture shows how it was when I got it.
The hitch took about 45 minutes to put together. Including putting on the side plates. I wanted the extra two inches of travel that the Recon gives you over the competitors. I would have gone with the auto slide but there was not a adapter plate to fit my old nine inch wide pin box.
Ordered hitch late Wednesday evening and received early afternoon on Friday, that is super fast delivery. Two cartons received with no damage and all parts were there as expected. It looks exactly as advertised online and it was at a great price. AND FREE SHIPPING.
Also made in the USA.
I am replacing my Demco Hi Jacker Auto Slider that weighs approximately 300 lbs with the Demco Recon that according to the shipping labels weighs 91 lbs. It will be installed on a Ford F150 with 5 1/2 ft bed and fiver with a Lippert Turning Point Pin box.
Rugged product, easy to install, quick latch system. easy to remove. Purchased the Reese adapter with this hitch, and installation was easy. Some minor adjustments with the cam over lugs, and setting the hitch posts into the adapter. Overall very easy set up. Looks good, and can be taken apart in pieces, for ease of removal and installation, after set up. Ordering was simple and all parts came in about a week.
Shipping was fast and installation was easy.
Customer service was excellent
The Demco Recon 5th Wheel Hitch w/ Slider – Single Jaw – Chevrolet/GMC Prep Package – 21K (#DM97YV) is a fantastic addition for my Chevy! It fits perfectly into the Chevy puck system, latches securely, and unhooks with ease. I love how quietly it pulls—no annoying rattles or noise. It’s definitely heavy, so plan for a two-person lift, but the quality and performance make it well worth it. Highly recommend for anyone needing a reliable 5th wheel hitch!
Parts arrived for the DM 8550043, received only the hitch base plate and adjustable shaft for the hitch head. Have been told that the hitch head is shipped separately. Now have a problem with the hitch plate fitting the bed rails. The holes for the pin that secures the hitch plate to the rails are to close to the bottom of the hitch plate photos are given of the problem a pencil was used for reference. There is NO WAY the pin will go through the rail and hitch plate. Waiting on a solution from etrailer. The hole that you can barely see the pencil is tailgate rails pin fits fine.
This hitch with the Airbourne Sidewinder worked great with the 2018 Ram 2500 Mega cab short bed with Ram boxes. Can maneuver a 90 degree turn without issue. Still have to get trailer lifted higher to get the trailer nose lowered, but for the complicated research we had on the right combo, this is tested and verified
Already pulled the rv with it. I like the design. Literally ripped open the box and put it together in a matter of minutes. The three pieces come apart fast lightening it up to remove it from the bed
Fit was spot on, built in USA a big plus, handles smoothly.
I like it’s design and how it sits in the bed. It seems to want to rotate some while pulling. I see some reviews that other people are having this problem also. Some have put a bolt down through the base into the truck bed. I haven’t wanted to do that as of yet. Otherwise I like the hitch.
This was a perfect fit into my 2500 Ram. It was delivered in perfect condition. I had a hard time finding the correct torque for some of the Bolts, for example the Bolts for attaching the Ram puk system to the hitch frame. It all worked out well. It took me one hour to put it together and install it in my Ram.
I had a Demco Recon 5th Wheel Hitch in the past I liked how easy it was to operate and the get in and out of the truck bed. I also like how compacted it is compared to most of the other brands. Go with what you know works for you.
The truck that got the install is a 2002 Ford F350 Super Duty 7.3 L Diesel dually. The Demco Recon 5th wheel hitch (DM8550043) looks like a well made, heavy duty hitch. All the welds are precise and well done. I like the single wrap around jaw with the real thick bar that backs that up. The handle that pulls out to unlock the jaw moves with ease and locks in the out position when the jaw opens. When the king pin comes in contact with the back of jaw, the jaw wraps around the king pin, the handle closes, you put in the safety pin and your ready to go RVing. I chose the Husky Custom Rails and installation kit (HT31405-686) for my install. The reason I chose these rails over the ones that etrailer had matched up for the hitch is, I had previously installed a set of Airlift Airbags and I didn't want the rail install to interfere with the airbags. It was a good choice, there was no interference at all. If I had not had the bags, I would have chose the rails and install kit that require no drilling. Drilling the holes went very fast and easy, it was torking the rear bolts down that was very difficult. There was not enough room to get a wrench of any kind around the nut. I wound up using a set of vise grips on the nut while a friend of mine torked the bolt slowly from above.
All and all I'm happy with the product and I'll give another review in a year.
Putting the OEM package together for the puck system was very easy. All components look and move as they should. So far so good! Thanks etrailer.com
Very satisfied with this product! A bolt on Teflon plate would be awesome instead of the round disks that wear out and become hard to keep in place during the hitching process.
I'm not real impressed with this hitch i had the trailer lifted bought taller tires and wheels and have all adjustments at lowest settings and still not level
Only have used it once but seems very well built and works great for pulling my camper.
I did have a problem the first time using the hitch with it unexpectedly sliding rearward and bending the locking pins. Kudos to Michael with Demco products for sending a replacement part and no issues since.
Purchased for my 2021 Ford F-250. Arrived 3 days ahead of schedule with excellent communication. Was professionally delivered in 1 shipment on 1 pallet in perfect condition.
Great instructions. Is easy to install for the mechanically minded. Will take a novice longer but they will have no issues if they follow the instructions. All I needed was a 3/4" wrench/socket, a 1 1/8" wrench, and a torque wrench. Puck handles were on upside down from factory but didn't matter you will need to take them off in step 1 to add or remove washers for the perfect fit on your OEM puck setup. Excited to hook up and start using it!
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Victoria H.
3/18/2025
Thanks Patrick! I appreciate you taking the time to share your valuable insight. It looks like you're ready to roll. Do you have any trips planned yet?