Demco Recon 5th Wheel Trailer Hitch - Single Jaw - Above Bed - 21,000 lbs

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.609793

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Harvey

3/3/2020

This Demco 21K fifth wheel hitch is a great piece of equipment. I have pulled my 40 Heartland Bighorn fifth wheel as far north and west as Wisconsin and south and east as Florida. It has performed like I thought it should and beyond. I am sure glad that I chose the Recon over any of the more expensive brands. Its a real performer and it looks pretty cool too!

Excellent product and customer service was outstanding. I just bought the product so I haven’t towed with it yet but after many many years of towing with other fifth wheel hitches, I can tell this is going to be an huge improvement!1770597

by: Anth04/07/2024

very good product although when unhitching rv it wants to trip the latch. I had to address that problem by drilling a hole in the trip bar for the pin to hold it open.1761005

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.2002515

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

by: Ronald 07/17/2023

The only issue I am having with the fifth wheel hitch is latch handle will not stay open (out) when hooking up or disconnecting from king Pin sometimes (and yes, I know how to work a fifth wheel hitch). If it wasn't for that I would give it 5 stars.1624989

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. 553663

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

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 verified659228

Click to Enlarge

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.1294700

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

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. 609490

Click to Enlarge

Hitch came in two boxes UPS. The head was stapled and secured in one box. The base and upright piece came, not in a box, but rolled up in cardboard and taped up with clear packing tape. I put it together so I could hook up and set the height and there is no hitch pin and lynch pin. I don’t know if it was rolled up in the cardboard and lost in shipping or wasn’t packed at all. I also didn’t get the instruction manual and had to go to Demcos website for it. The base and upright being rolled up together banged up the base or it was used and returned and that is why it was rolled up and not in a box. Now I have a hitch that I can’t use because I didn’t get all the parts. Called etrailer for the hitch pin and lynch pin and don’t know when it’ll arrive because it’s not an etrailer part. I can’t review the hitch because as of yet I can’t use it.1667961

by: Robert K11/10/2019

works every time has never failed, replaced a curt 20k that i used for 10 years,lots of times it wouldnt click and lock .easy to use no chucking.very happy with this hitch.3 years ago i installed air lift air bags ,love them too!!etrailer is a great place to buy from724964

Robert K.

11/12/2020

real well,hooks up easily,the bolt that snugs up hitch head broke in half,called denco and had a new one in 4 days.very satisfied with hitch

Looks great 1769258

Haven't used it yet but it's unlikely to be anything but 5 stars. I'll update review if so. The hitch came in 2 boxes. The head was packages in a HD box. The box that the base came in was battered pretty bad. But, no marks in the base. All hardware arrived. Took about 15 minutes to assemble and get set up. 609214

Robert

3/1/2020

I am very happy with this hitch. Easy to hitch. Rock solid connection. Easy to disassemble to be removed. Great buy.

by: Daves04/08/2020

This was an upgrade from the dealer installed hitch. Best purchase since I didn't know how much longer the old hitch would last. After purchase, I was at the dealership and saw they were now selling the same hitch. Solid and rattle free.775980

Jane S.

4/9/2021

Excellent

The hitch arrived in four days was easy to install in truck not too heavy for a 70 year old man hooks up easy and I really like the double locking jaw the only issue I had was the wedge for my sidewinder the bolt holes did not line up took me about an hour making holes longer to be able to bolt up1590477

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 packages1141237

Click to Enlarge

The product arrived as scheduled and all the parts and pieces were in the two boxes. It installed quickly in my pickup and I hooked it to the fifth wheel and moved it forward and back. Seems to work well, takes all the slop out of the hitch. The hitch seems to be well constructed and the double latch is what I was looking for.408493

Jess A.

7/20/2018

I love the hitch it is possitive locking and there is no movement when it is latched around the pin

Seems to be a well built hitch and the 3 piece design is VERY nice in the load/unload space. Why this received 3 stars is that it was missing parts and the base was beat up badly (cosmetic) when received. Missing parts included the pins to connect the base to the rails and the pin to connect the neck to the base. Not usable at this point. Etrailer is sending out the parts, and I'll contact Demco for new stickers. Will update review and photos once I have used it.1450382

by: Steve M W03/17/2020

This was my first (and only, so far) fifth wheel hitch. I am towing a Jayco 25.5REOK Eagle HT, with a 2019 F150. (Before you all "go there", we ordered the truck especially for this purpose, with the max payload package, max tow package, FX4, etc. I've weighed the truck and trailer combination on certified scales, and actual payload, axle, and tow weights are under the rated capacities for t he truck. The truck sits perfectly level with the trailer loaded). Anyway, with a 6 1/2' bed, I wanted to use a rotating pin box, and the lightest hitch I could find that would satisfy that requirement. Enter the Demco Recon.

What I like: It is very light, as all steel construction hitches go - right at 100 lbs. And it breaks down easy into three primary component - the lower base, the head, and the thing in between. So not component is more than 40 lbs or so. Takes 5 minutes to break down and stow away, leaving the truck bed with only the standard hitch rails.

A few things I don't like (but have simple solutions for): The assembly has too much play, resulting in a very clunky operation and feel. The base assembly has too much play between the upper and lower parts of the base. There is a set bolt provided to take this play out, but the set bolt is located so that you can't access it with a socket, and it's tough to get to with an open end or box wrench as well. With some effort you can get it tight, but it loosens up after a couple hundred miles. My solution was to insert sheets of nylon (plastic) between the shaft of the upper part, and the tube of the lower part, so that the fit is tight, eliminating the play without use of the set bolt. Also the play between the lower base and the hitch rails are pretty generous. (I don't know how other hitches are, but this one has about 3/16" of play). My solution was to add leather pads as gaskets, between the base and the rails, which makes the J-pins a little tight, but eliminates the gap and play. Eliminating the play in these two areas makes the hitch much quieter and feel much better. The last complaint isn't an issue with the hitch per se, rather, the combination of the Sidewinder Pin Box and the hitch head. I am using the recommended locking wedge (SWW-05), but he hitch head has a rather steep ramp, and the wedge really doesn't "wedge" much of the head. That is, there isn't an abundance of contact between the wedge and the head. It's enough when the wedge is tight, but the the head will work the wedge back and out of the slot over time, even when tightened to the recommended 150 foot pounds. If the wedge moves more than a fraction of an inch, the trailer will start to handle poorly. You can feel it. And if you let this go, it will quickly become dangerous. So, I've leaned to recheck the wedge and retighten if necessary after every couple of trips, and I carry my torque wrench with the trailer.

Thanks for reading.766995

Product arrived on time, correct and in perfect condition.494960

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

product delivered on time and as described. This hitch is easy to move in and out of the bed of my truck with it being able to come apart. Thanks.487019

Randy

3/21/2019

I really liked the hitch as it was light and easy to use. I have purchased a new truck and needed a slider as it is a short bed. I purchased the rail kit from etrailer and as always it a superior product.

First shipment had a problem, the box with the base was ok. The box with the hitch head was empty except the release handle. Etrailer promptly sent out a second box with the hitch head that arrived intact. Etrailer had me send some pictures of the damaged first box and then handled the problem with UPS completely on their own. Prompt service to resolve the problem is highly commendable.359357

It was a SOB! getting it installed, welding process warped feet and did not just fit into place as expected. It took some coaxing with a nine pounder on the feet tabs to fit my rails, luckily mild carbon steel is workable, however it did upset the finish. A QA check needs to be done on final dimensions prior to powder coating!1177260

Jenny N.

10/19/2021

The Recon is designed to work with industry standard rails however we have seen rails that were not installed correctly in the bed or shifted so that it is throwing off the hole positioning as the rails are independent of each other. I would recommend measuring the rails to ensure that the front to back measurement is 29 inches and the side to side measurement is 22 inches.

Ed

10/12/2022

Worked great. However after being shocked by high fuel prices and a couple of trips we sold 5th wheel and down sized to a TT, You want to buy a slightly used Demco Hitch?

love the three piece set-up of these hitches...makes them light weight and easy to handle...also when not in use there is a topper on my truck and the covertability of the hitch allows me to use my bed platform without removing the hitch...just remove two pins and back off the lock bolt and its low enough to use the two tier stacking feature of most trucks543662

The hitch was better than expected. It was simple and easy to install. It comes apart easily thus allowing for one person to install and remove the hitch. When you examine the hitch closely you can readily see that it is well-made and is high quality, plus it is made in America!462616