Towing question - Montana Owners Club

cmawendy · 12-03-2009, 02:12 AM

We have a 38' fifth wheel and are thinking about buying a 2008 Dodge 3500 dually mega cab. Our question is do we have to have a slide hitch or will the reg hitch we have in our long box dodge work?
Thank you for any input

Johnnyg · 12-03-2009, 02:30 AM

If I'm not mistaken the MEGA cab only comes with a Short bed which requires a slider.

John

SlickWillie · 12-03-2009, 03:37 AM

Very short bed from what I've seen. Definitely a slider. Wonder if they might require a special slider hitch?

stiles watson · 12-03-2009, 07:04 AM

Ditto all above.

mcgiver2 · 12-03-2009, 07:21 AM

Yes there all giving you the right info above, i was going to buy the mega cab dodge untill i found out about the hitch and i was worried about the cab being so close to the camper,but a friend of mine did buy one of the new automatic slider hitchs and he likes it..........(so all in all you do need a slider hitch )

DarMar · 12-03-2009, 07:34 AM

Mark: As you can see from our signature we have an 07 mega cab and we absolutely love it. Just so much room for passengers, dogs or stowing stuff and soooo comfortable too. As I recall the Dodge has the shortest distance measured from the front of the box to the center of the axle as well as the shortest box overall of the big three. For that reason I believe an auto sliding hitch, which we have, is a must. The mega cab and the Cummins are the two reasons we are driving a dodge 3500 today.

cmawendy · 12-03-2009, 08:12 AM

Thanks for all your input....I pretty much figured I would need a slider hitch but just making sure. We sure do love this website

**Rondo** · 12-03-2009, 09:00 AM

Wendy and Mark-- Not to change the subject but are you two still in Iowa putting up wind generators? PM us and let us know! Sorry for the "out of subject" reply!

exav8tr · 12-03-2009, 10:24 AM

Mark, you might look at the Pullright sliding hitch or the Superglide (They may be the same, not sure).

Capt Kidd · 12-03-2009, 12:37 PM

I have a megacab and a superglide hitch. I can make over 90 degree turns with no problem. I love the 3500 and the hitch.

northeastdiesel · 12-03-2009, 12:39 PM

I have the pullrite superglide 16K modle and they have a 18K and 24K modle. Great hitch and you don't have to worry about the camper hitting the cab. The only thing I would check into is the pin weight of the camper you want on the truck. I don't want to be the weight police here, but I had wished I had got the dually. You will love the truck and room you have. Your guests or 4 legged friends will love it more. Happy Camping and show us some pictures when you get it!

bafflefinder · 12-27-2009, 11:42 AM

I had a short box with a slider and they work good. My problem was my grand kids ride in the back seat and if we ever jack knifed, the camper will take out the back of the cab and maybe anyone in it. Something to think about.

bafflefinder · 12-27-2009, 11:46 AM

I had a slider in a short box and one concern I had was that with my grand kids in the back seat if I ever jack knifed the camper would take out the back of the cab and anyone in the back seat. Something to think about.

tspoon · 12-27-2009, 12:56 PM

I have the sidewinder

HamRad · 12-27-2009, 01:17 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by bafflefinder

I had a slider in a short box and one concern I had was that with my grand kids in the back seat if I ever jack knifed the camper would take out the back of the cab and anyone in the back seat. Something to think about.

Isn't the whole idea of the slider to allow you to make a 90* turn without hitting the cab? And if so then your worries are for no reason. Anyway that is what I thought the sliders were for.

HamRad

bafflefinder · 12-27-2009, 01:25 PM

That is correct, if you unlock the hitch so it will slide. Otherwise it would slide forward and back everytime you stopped and started. The idea is that when in a tight situation you can unlock the hitch, slide it back so it will clear the cab and make your manuever, i.e. backing into a tight spot. Going down the road the hitch is locked in the forward position so the weight is in front of the rear axel, hence jack knife and it will contact the cab on the corner. Follow the rasius around and I estimate it would be 1-2' inside the cab.

bafflefinder · 12-27-2009, 01:30 PM

Let me clarify further, I'm referring to a jack knife at highway speeds i.e. an accident. Also, whem I say it will hit the cab on the corner I had a 36' Monty on a 02 Dodge and that is where the dent was. When backing up in a tight turn and you tell your wife to," Watch the corner," make sure she doesn't confuse the rear corner with the front corner.

HamRad · 12-27-2009, 02:34 PM

BaffleFinder,
I am familiar with the slider even though I've never needed one. As I understand it there is the manual type and an auto type. If I ever needed one I would only have the auto type. Otherwise I'm sure I'd forget!

As far as jack-knifing at highway speed...... well that is a different story. I suspect the last thing I'd be worried about is how the trailer might jack knife. Of course I'd be worried but all sorts of things would be going through my mind. As far as jack knifing of the trailer I suspect it would do that regardless of whether or not you had the slider hitch. I do not believe it would be any worse than a regular hitch.

The only answer I see is for you to never have a situation arise where the jack knifing would occur. I plan to never have to deal with such a situation.

Of course one could always simply sell the trailer and never pull anything again! Don't know about you but we're gonna keep pulling as long as possible!
HamRad

sreigle · 02-02-2010, 01:22 PM

Actually, while the megacab bed is shorter than the shortbeds of the other brands and the quadcab Dodge, the important point is the distance from cab to axle center is nearly identical to the Ford's longer shortbed and also the GM's, although, if I recall from when I was measuring this, it's actually slightly longer than GM's. It's that distance from cab to axle that is critical. In other words, the difference in length of the shortbeds is almost entirely behind the axle. Thus, all of the shortbeds of the U.S. major brands are pretty much equal in length from cab to axle.

That said, without a slider you could crash truck sheet metal or rear window against the fifthwheel. That's true on ANY shortbed and is NO different on a megacab for the above reason. Many people get by without a slider by just being very careful and never have a problem. Others, for whatever reason, do crash parts together. A manual slider works well so long as one does use it when needed.

You may note from my signature we have the megacab. I used to have a Reese manual slider. It worked fine although was a pain at times and using it could cause a headache (from the crash when moving the slider while hitched up). But the biggest problem for me was getting overconfident and not using the slider when I should have. If you are very fortunate, as I was, this is what the result looks like...

As you can see, I was very, very fortunate Vicki saw it happening and yelled for me to stop. We now have the Pullrite SuperGlide automatic slider and can turn without worrying about it.

Mudchief · 02-03-2010, 03:57 AM

Steve, that is why I have the pullrite too. You just have to be over confident of forget just one time and you have more than paid the difference in cost.

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