Best 5th Wheel Hitch for Towing a 2012 Heartland Greystone 27RK with a 2018 Ford F-350 6-3/4 Bed

Question

Question:

Thanks for your email and information and response. I did have a look at the fifth wheel hitch however, I am concerned over the “ease” of installing and removing the hitch when not needed as the hitch seems to weigh quite a bit AND with the restrictive guides on the receiving plate may make hitching up the trailer challenging when not backing in straight but at an angle???? What do you think of these concerns? I will have to check the clearance between the back bumper of the truck and the lower part of the trailer along with the clearance between the top of the box and the trailer when turning. Will there be adequate clearance to keep the hitch in AND have a retractable bed cover?

asked by: Lou

0

Expert Reply:

Thank you for all of the information, it really helped to narrow down what you are needing.

Typically I would say that you would need a 5th wheel hitch with a height of 13 inches so that your trailer can ride level (52.5 - 39.5 = 13), but since that will leave only 2 inches of space between your trailer overhang and the bedrails of your 2018 Ford F-350 Super Duty we will need to look at something else. We recommend having at least 5 - 6 inches of space between your trailer and the bedrails of your truck. That coupled with the need for a sliding hitch to accommodate your short bed leaves us looking at a sliding 5th wheel hitch that has a height range that includes 16 - 17 inches.

Please note that not having your 5th wheel sit level may cause more sway and not as smooth of a ride than if you were towing it level. Due to siderail clearance the added 3 inches of height is the better route to go.

I recommend going with the 18K Demco Hijacker Autoslide # DM8550024. This comes with mounting points that fit directly in the pucks from the prep package, an autosliding feature so that you don't have to get in and out of your F-350 when taking tight turns, and a height adjustment settings of 15-1/2 inches, 16-3/4 inches, and 18-1/4 inches.

The Demco autoslider will give you 14 inches of front to back travel which will be perfect for your towing needs. When you plug that into our clearance formula you can make sure that you will have the needed clearance as long as your clearance is at least 4 inches.

(A + B) - C = Clearance

A = Distance from center of fifth wheel hitch jaw to truck cab (you said 37 inches)
B = Length of offset (slider clearance or Sidewinder offset) (14 inches of the Demco)
C = Width of trailer divided by 2 (to get half)

This means your formula will look like this (37 + 14) - C = Clearance.

To increase the height of your 5th wheel so that it rides more level you can use an over-under conversion kit. We have part # K71-384-00 for a 2-3/8" axle and part # K71-385-00 for a 3" axle. The only other way to increase the height on your trailer would be to change out your current hangers for longer ones. I have attached a link to our selection of hangers for you to filter should you choose to go that route.

I have also attached a review video for you to reference.

expert reply by: Jon G

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click to enlarge

Lou

2/9/2018

Thanks for your email and information and response. I did have a look at the fifth wheel hitch however, I am concerned over the “ease” of installing and removing the hitch when not needed as the hitch seems to weigh quite a bit AND with the restrictive guides on the receiving plate may make hitching up the trailer challenging when not backing in straight but at an angle???? What do you think of these concerns? I will have to check the clearance between the back bumper of the truck and the lower part of the trailer along with the clearance between the top of the box and the trailer when turning. Will there be adequate clearance to keep the hitch in AND have a retractable bed cover?

Reply

Jon G.

2/9/2018

The Demco Hijacker is on the heavier side of 5th wheel hitches for a short bed truck, but it is the only option that we have that automatically slides. Usually the extra effort to get it installed is canceled out by the ease of use when making tight turns. As far as hooking up to your trailer at an angle goes, when you initially hook up to your trailer you will want to back up in-line with your trailer. Once you have done that you are good to go. If you were to park your trailer in a tight spot that you had to back up at an angle, when you uncouple your trailer the Hijacker head will stay in that exact same position. This will allow you to still hook up to your trailer when it is time to head out. If you would rather have a lighter 5th wheel sliding hitch that is operated manually then I recommend the Reese 16K # RP30051 which weighs in at about 140 lbs. For this to work with the puck system in your Ford you will also need the Elite Series Adapter # RP30156 which weighs about 50 lbs. As for a tonneau cover, you should be able to use one as the minimum height of your 5th wheel hitch will be about 17 inches and from the bed of your truck to the rails measures about 21 inches. The Titan will be close though because it sits 16-1/2 inches at the lowest setting and the adapter is about 3 inches thick which comes out to 19-1/2 inches. The most popular manually operated retractable cover that we have is the Pace Edwards UltraGroove # 311-KMFA18A44, while the most popular powered retractable cover is the Pace Edwards BedLocker # 311-BLFA18A44. I don't have a problem recommending either one of these covers as they are both excellent options. the side of the tonneau covers do sit in about 2-1/2 inches on either side so you will want to make sure that you have the proper turning clearance with your pin box. It may help to mockup your truck with the different measurements to see how everything looks. I have attached some additional videos for you to reference as well.

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