Recommended 5th Wheel Slider Hitch to Replace 14-Year-Old Reese Hitch

Updated 03/01/2017 | Published 02/28/2017

Products Featured in This Question

B&W Patriot 5th Wheel Trailer Hitch w/ Slider - Dual Jaw - 18,000 lbs

(772)

$899.00

Question:

We have a 2011 Silverado 3500hd 6 1/2 ft bed. We currently have a 14 year old Reese 16K slider 5th wheel hitch that has given us good service thru 3 trailers. Our current 5th wheel trailer is a 2010 Arctic Fox 29 5T with a GVWR of 12,000 lbs. The head is getting difficult to lock and unlock from the king pin and we are getting considerable chucking when stopping and starting. The Reese has the industry standard rails. What would you recommend to replace our current hitch hopefully solving both our stated problems. Thanks.

asked by: David

Expert Reply:

I would say your 14-year-old Reese 5th wheel hitch has done its duty for you, lasting over the course of three trailers! That's pretty good. You obviously took very good care of it.

But a new 5th wheel hitch will likely have additional features not included on your Reese, and so a new hitch will benefit you not only from being brand new with nice, tight tolerances all around, but also potentially from having additional user-friendly features like a fully-articulating head (for easier hitching on uneven ground) and a cam-action latching handle that prevent binding.

Since you already have base rails in the truck there is no sense changing them out for a new installation kit. The slider hitch I suggest to go into your existing base rails is the 18K B&W Patriot # BWRVK3270.

B&W is a vertical manufacturer, producing almost everything in-house from raw U.S. steel. Their hitches are not fabricated or assembled overseas. They are made not too far from us in Humboldt, KS, where B&W began as a family-owned business...and it still is. If you have a chance to check one out in person you'll notice the quality of the metalwork and powder-coating, and also the sheer sturdiness of the components - such as the 3/4-inch thick dual jaws - clearly a cut above most of the competition.

This is an easy recommendation to bring you to the latest in 5th wheel sliders.

expert reply by: Adam R