Arrives before Christmas To see if this custom-fit item will work for you please tell us what vehicle you'll use it with.
Hitch slides automatically as you drive to give you 22-1/2" 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.
Automatic Slider Makes Cornering Easy
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 22-1/2" 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 Autoslide has a built-in roller-and-guide assembly that allows for smooth, controlled, and automatic movement. As your truck turns, this assembly also turns. When the assembly turns, an arm in the base of the hitch moves down 1 of 2 tracks in the interior of the base. This action causes the head to be pushed down one of the exterior tracks in the base. So, when your truck makes a sharp, slow-speed turn, the roller-and guide assembly inside the Autoslide forces 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 roller-and-guide assembly to function as designed, the pin box must be stabilized on the hitch head. Normally in a 5th-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.
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.
Secure Wraparound Jaw with Locking Bar
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.
Double-Pivot, Cushioned Hitch Head
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
The Autoslide hitch is designed to attach to the included industry-standard base rails, which install in your truck bed and anchor to your vehicle's frame with the included custom brackets. The hitch comes pre-assembled for an easy installation. All you have to do is bolt on the side plates and attach the head to the hitch base.
The side plates have 2 functions. They contain the feet that fit into the above-bed 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 (22-1/2")
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" + 22" = 58". If your fifth-wheel trailer is 102" wide, take half (51"), then plug in: 58" - 51" = 7" of clearance.
Note: At least 4 inches of clearance is recommended to safely execute a 90-degree turn.
California residents: click here
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're going to take a look at this Replacement Head and Base Assembly for the Demco Hijacker Autoslide 5th Wheel Trailer Hitches. Has a 13,000 pound gross towing weight capacity. Now this will replace the head and the base assembly on your Demco Hijacker Autoslide 5th Wheel Trailer Hitch. It is designed to fit the hitch part number DM8550040 and part number DM8550041.This 5th Wheel Hitch will mount in the bed of your short bed truck so that you can tow your 5th Wheel Trailer.
The hitch does come all pre-assembled for easy installation, all you have to do is bolt on the side plates and attach the head to the hitch face. Now, this does offer an automatic slider, which provides clearance that's required for your short bed truck to turn safely at slow speeds. There's no more getting in or out of your truck to operate a manual slider.This rotating hitch head will turn up to 90 degrees with your trailer. The rotation will create the force that propels that automatic slider. So basically the head will slide towards the tailgate when you turn, and back towards the cab when you straighten out.
Total travel it'll give you as about 22 and a half inches front to back. The roller and guide assembly that's underneath here in the base, creates a nice, smooth and controlled movement. If you notice on the hitch head right here, they have these built-in brackets. This just stabilizes your pin box so the king pin won't rotate in the hitch, and there is no need for any separate capture plate for a standard non cushion pin box.It is a rail free design, allows for full access to your truck bed when the hitch is removed. Does offer two separate tracks to allow for up to two and three quarter inches of side to side clearance, to keep your pin box from hitting your bed rails.
The jaw on this hitch head here is a nice wrap around single piece jaw, provides a nice secure connection. Gives you a 360 degree jaw to king pin contact, which will give you less rattle, more security than the slide bar jaws. Now, at the end of this video, I'm going to demonstrate how the king pin will slide in here. It does also use, if you look in front of the wraparound jaw, this bar right here, it's a three quarter-inch thick, solid steel locking bar. This'll reinforce the connection of your coupled trailer.
This will automatically lock into place when your jaw closes.The hitch head itself is a double pivot hitch head, eases hook-up helps limit chucking, pivots front to back and side to side. They do use cushioning polyurethane dampeners underneath the hitch head to help reduce noise, absorb any road shock. And the handle on this head is a nice spring loaded handle, has a nice comfort grip, allows for simple coupling. And they do use this tethered safety pin right here you can see. And when it's closed, to lock it in place you drop it through and clip it. And then to open it you just remove it, and it is tethered, you can see if you let it go you won't lose it. Go ahead and put it back in there.Now this is a nice sturdy steel construction, uses rust resistant black powder coat finish. It is made in the USA. Few specs again, the application, it fits standard pin boxes from 12 inches to 14 inches wide. Now locking plates, which we do sell separately, are required for use with the following cushion pin boxes: The Glide Ride, the Mor Ryde, the Trailair Tri Glide, and the 5th Airborne. Gross towing weight capacity on this is 13,000 pounds, vertical load limit or pin weight capacity is 3,250 pounds. Now it does come with this nice operator's manual that'll describe how everything goes together and how it operates.And again, the last thing I do want to show you, here's an example of what the king pin would look like on your 5th wheel. So when you go to hookup, what you'll do again is remove the safety pin there, and then you'll take your handle and pull it all the way out. Once you get it all the way out, it locks into the open position. So you can see it's going to allow the king pin to slide in there and push up against the jaw. So you can see when it gets in far enough, just like that, the wrap around jaw comes around. And that bar we talked about will slide all the way across and lock into place, give you that extra security. Now you're all ready to go. All you have to do is take your safety pin, drop it through the hole, flip it and it's locked the handle, you're all ready to go. To disconnect it all you have to do is, again, pull out your handle and that'll allow you to remove the king pin from your jaws.But that should do it for the review on the Replacement Head and Base Assembly for the Demco Hijacker Autoslide 5th Wheel Trailer Hitches. Has a 13,000 pound gross towing weight capacity.
Do you have a question about this 5th Wheel Hitch?
Info for this part was:
At etrailer.com we provide the best information available about the products we sell. We take the quality of our information seriously so that you can get the right part the first time. Let us know if anything is missing or if you have any questions.
Thank you! Your comment has been submitted successfully. You should be able to view your question/comment here within a few days.
Error submitting comment. Please try again momentarily.