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Old 01-29-2007, 04:53 PM   #1
Montana_6770
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5th wheel hitch choice

Spike and Karen Happy Valley, Or. (Southeast of Portland)
We have just purchase a 2007 3400RL and are awed by its beauty and size. Going from towing a 2003 Sprinter trailer will be quite and experience I'm sure. But we are really looking forward to it. We also puchased a 2007 Chevy 2500HD DuraMax/Allison Tran QuadCab with a short bed to pull the 3400. We have been told that we DO NOT need a slide hitch for the truck bed. Can anyone recommend a hitch that has been successful and whether or not the no slide recommend is valid???? We would very much appreciate advice. We will take delivery in 2-3 weeks!!!!!! We are ready!!
 
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Old 01-29-2007, 07:10 PM   #2
JH Sechelt
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Hi Skdav,

Welcome to the MOC. We have a shortbed Ford and I have managed to touch the rear side of the cab with the Monty. I have a Reese 16K slider but have never slid the hitch back. I was making a wide turn ( so I thought ) in a large empty parking lot at the time. I was sure I've had made tighter turns but this time the trailer put a small dent in the back right corner of the cab. Not that bad, in fact I've never got it fixed.
But if I ever had to make a 90 degree turn, or close to it, I'd take the back half of the cab off. I've towed 5Vers for 11 plus years with short bed trucks and never had to slide the hitch back. Pardon me I now can remember a few times I did, to get better traction on the rear wheels of the truck. Anyways I would not go with out a slider. Better to have one and not need it then to need one and not have it.
When I retire soon, I'll get something like the Pull-rite.
Enjoy your New toys.

J&D
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Old 01-29-2007, 10:03 PM   #3
harleyrider
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A sliding hitch is a must for a short bed right.Most of the time you never have to use it,but the times you do its nice to have that option.

Pull Rite makes a automatic slider(no getting out of the truck to slide)Another option that will be coming on the market is the "5th Air Borne Sidewinder"This is along the same lines as the "Pull Rite" but for less money.

Better to be safe then sorry-get a slider.
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Old 01-30-2007, 12:38 AM   #4
Glenn and Lorraine
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I know from personal experience that a sliding hitch is an absolute with the Chevy/GMC short bed trucks as I have owned an 03 Silverado and now an 05 GMC. Be it an Automatic SuperGlide such as I have or the manual sliders, I would in no way shape or form want to be without a slider in my short bed.
Sliding hitches come 2 ways, The manual slider where you must REMEMBER to get out of the truck while you are still inline with the trailer and pull a lever, pull the truck forward to activate the slide before making that turn. Fine in a campground but not so fine on the hiway where you may find yourself in a tight u-turn situation due to an accident ahead.
The PullRite SuperGlide is completely AUTOMATIC. As the driver you NEVER have to get out of the truck to activate the slide. You NEVER have to be concerned about getting too close to the trucks cab and rear window. Make everyone of those 90 degree turns, forward or reverse, with complete peace of mind. The SuperGlide is a bit pricey but worth every penny when it comes to absolute piece of mind. By the way, the damage to the cab or rear window when you forgot to manually slide the hitch will be more than the additional cost of the Superglide.
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Old 01-30-2007, 02:49 AM   #5
sreigle
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We have one of the new Montanas with the new nose. We also have a shortbed truck with slider hitch. Since getting this new nosed Montana, I no longer see a need for a slider in a shortbed truck. It would be very rare indeed when I'll ever need to use the slider. I only used it four times in eleven years, anyhow, including almost four years of fulltiming. That was with fifthwheels with the older style nose.

Yes, it would be possible to turn too sharply and maybe drop a wheel in a dip that causes damage between truck and fifthwheel. But with the new nose the turn radius is so much better I see no need for a slider. If we ever get a different hitch, I'll not bother getting a slider.

Just my opinion. Those who would be more comfortable having a slider should get one, by all means.
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Old 01-30-2007, 04:00 AM   #6
Ozz
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I have the new 3400RL, like Steve. I also have the short bed Ford 3/4 ton. I have never unlocked the slider, and have jackknifed the truck 10 or so times. Could have saved the money. You will not need the slider, if the rig is set up correctly by the installer. (So far for me, anyway.)
Good luck, and keep posting here.
Ozz
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Old 01-30-2007, 04:27 AM   #7
Koerb
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For at least peace of mind I would go with a Automatic Slider, even though they say it not needed. Like I've heard before in these forums... "Better to have it and not need it than to need it and NOT have it" I'm going to go against the grain here but I picked up the Hijacker 18K Autoslide Hitch to tow my 3400RL with. I have a shortbed F250 Powerstroke and installed the hitch with the underbed option. I've only towed with it four times but in making some of the angles I've had to I'm very pleased with it. The hitch doesn't require a Pin Box adapter as some of the other Autoslider's out there on the market which was a plus for me. Very heavy duty, tows well and well priced. Check them out.
http://www.hijacker.com/main.htm
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Old 01-30-2007, 05:45 AM   #8
bsmeaton
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Spike,

There are sooooo many variables out there. The Chev has a shorter tailgate than the ford, the different hitch manufacturers are positioned differently, and even the pin box length on the same year/model Monty may differ as we have discovered. We have the short bed Ford, and we just picked up our new 3400 last week. I am almost ready to conclude we DON'T need the slider hitch (more tests to try out). The new nose design makes a big difference in how it attaches compared to our prior 2003 Montana.

At least for me, the requirement for the slider has always been kind of a handicap. There are a ton of nice air ride hitches out there, but few cater to the slide feature, and if they do, the costs are much higher.

Good luck in what you find out. You're pretty much going to have to hear it straight from somebody that has your truck and the new style Montana.
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Old 01-30-2007, 09:00 AM   #9
exav8tr
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I have a '06 3400RL which I haven't towed yet, (still in winter storage). It has the newer cap and the dealer told me that you can make up to an 85 degree turn without touching the TV. He then went on to suggest I get the slider hitch, just in case I needed the extra room. So, I got the manual slider hitch just in case I need the extra room. If you are following the postings of Connorsmom, she dinged her truck in a gas station parking lot. She forgot to activate the slide function.

I believe in better safe than sorry. That's why I went with the slider....

Phil P.
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Old 01-30-2007, 09:09 AM   #10
Old GI
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I had a F250 short bed when I bought my first 5er and I needed a slider for that truck, I got a reese 16K slider. When I bought my F350 long bed I just had the hitch slider and all moved to my new truck. Don't need the slider on the long bed but definitely needed it on the short bed.......Pete
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Old 01-30-2007, 05:18 PM   #11
Montana_6770
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Thank you all so much for the replies about slide or no/slide and our new 3400RL with our new Chevy 2500 DuraMax sb. The replies from all that had sb's and 2007 3400's say that my dealer was right because of the new bull nose on the Monty, those with older Monty's say rather be safe than sorry. It is fantastic having this forum to gain advise like this. It is very comporting making us feel that we are in a class room with lots of teachers!! Thanks again and keep the advise coming. Spike and Karen
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Old 01-31-2007, 02:21 AM   #12
Wrenchtraveller
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Here is another reason a slider can be a good investment. I also like Hijacker hitches and I have personally installed my present manual slider hitch on my last 3 trucks. My two previous trucks were short beds and the one I have now is a long bed but if you were ever in a situation where you wanted to allow a greater angle between the TV and the trailer, a slider can do this for you.
An example of this would be backing up a hill to park your trailer on a level slab.

This happened to me once 20 years ago, I sold a 5th wheel to a nice lady and she asked me to deliver it. The situation was just like I described above and the frame of the fiver nicely dented the back corner of my pickup. This is not a common situation for most people but my brother has to use his slider when he puts his unit in the back yard because of extreme angles.

Now here is a question, will the expensive auto slide hitches work in my extreme angle example and if they won't, is there a manual way of sliding the hitch back if you ever found yourself in the above situation?
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