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May be too late but as an owner of the Reese 16K "Slider", I'm looking for a better, safer hitch. Got the hitch with my first 5th wheel; dealer only carried Reese, so options weren't available for another line. On 2nd trip out, my father in law was hospitalized & we had to head home. The sliding handle had extended out, then back in as was supposed to. Locked the safety pin down, etc., but as soon as I placed the truck in gear and moved, the 5er came down on the bed, doing a very embarassing rework on the truckbed. Apparently the kingpin had not locked in. Now, I always retract the front stab legs a few inches after hookup, set the trailer brake, and pull the truck forward a few inches to verify that the kingpin is locked around the hitch. Also, painted the kingpin lock "white" so that I can easily see that it IS closed. Also have found a very minimally expensive device (simple one, too) called a "bedsaver" (Bedsaver.com) which will catch the hitch if it were to come loose. Catches the trailer before it can drop onto the truck bed/sides. Have never had it occur since the first time but once is ENOUGH. My next hitch will not be the Reese. Also, my 2 bro-laws & I (all with the Reese) are noticing more "jolt" when acclerating/decelerating, coming from the hitch. Not terrible, but very noticeable. Also had a problem with the hitch when one of the "locking bars" broke while transferring from towing position to manuevering position. Local dealer replaced the torsion bar in 5 minutes but was afraid to tow the trailer home until the hitch was repaired. HMMMM?
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