INSTALLATION SUPER GLIDE HITCH - Montana Owners Club

ALAN · 03-13-2009, 05:29 AM

We are in the process of purchasing our first 5th Wheel. I was wondering if anyone had installed their hitch or left it to the dealer? The dealer wants $500 for labor to install the hitch. I think my son and I could do it but not sure if there are some hidden issues I should be concerned about. Truck is a F250 short bed.

Thanks for your help.

Alan & Kathy

ols1932 · 03-13-2009, 06:05 AM

We had the dealer do it. My thinking was that they should have the best knowledge of exactly where the hitch needs to be placed. I'm not saying all dealers have this knowledge (they should) but I know mine did because they installed hitches in all my trucks.

Orv

Orv

Pete Hanson · 03-13-2009, 07:42 AM

I have the Pullrite slider and I let the dealer install it because I don't like drilling holes in my truck. :-) If you have the template that Pullrite offers for your specific truck the drilling should be easier.

Glenn and Lorraine · 03-13-2009, 09:48 AM

Dealer did my Superglide on both the 03 and the 05.

sreigle · 03-13-2009, 11:10 AM

Alan, are you talking about a standard hitch? I've installed a Reese fifthwheel hitch, no slider, in our first towing pickup. Two things to remember are measure, measure, measure, then measure again. Make sure the center of the pin hole in the hitch is no more than two inches forward of the axle center line and absolutely NOT behind the axle center line. Aft of the axle will cause handling problems. Use the numbers the hitch manufacturer provides.

Another issue, when measuring and drilling, make sure your truck is flat on the ground. Level ground. If you have it jacked up or on unlevel ground, there may be a bit of twist in the bed. The hitch will still work but you may have some difficulty removing the hitch from its mounts when you want to clear the bed. Actually, the problem is worse when reinstalling the hitch.

Another is to make sure you check the manufacturer's recommendations as to whether you can drill through the frame. On my Dodge, it specifically says NO holes in the frame. Hitch manufacturers make kits to handle this. Be sure you have the installation hardware kit specific to your truck.

And make sure you have a high quality drill bit capable of cutting through steel with reasonable effort.

Otherwise, sure, you can do it. Good luck.

on edit... well, shoot, I didn't read the topic completely. The above probably applies to a superglide but I'm not sure. I had the selling dealer install ours.

noneck · 03-13-2009, 01:27 PM

I did mine...not a super glide...tweaked the instructions as my short bed caused me to put closer to just a bit forward of my axle.

Montana Sky · 03-13-2009, 02:41 PM

I had the dealer install my Superglide...did not trust myself to drill holes in the frame of my truck.

swanny · 03-13-2009, 03:24 PM

dealer here. dropped it off and picked it up about 4 hrs later. very easy

**Rondo** · 03-13-2009, 03:43 PM

Bought mine at a business that does mostly hitches of all types! Not just the fiver hitches. I checked with them first and they had a used Reese slider and wanted half of what they sold the new ones for! I asked if there was any guarantee and they said it was totally reconditioned and had a full guarantee with it! I jumped on that deal and have had no problems with it at all! You might want to check around you local and see if you can find one that way OR check Craigslist in your area and see if there are any on it. You can usually get them much cheaper and then go to a hitch company and see what it would cost to install!

Papalr · 03-15-2009, 03:10 PM

Dealer installed ours while we were doing our PDI. They did an very professional job (including coating the hardware in the wheelwells). You've made an excellant choice with the super glide - our dealer talked me out of the Reese slider in favor of the Pullrite and I've had no regrets. Be sure to get the plugs for the holes in your bed.

mail2us · 03-16-2009, 03:03 AM

Alan, we have the SuperGlide 18k hitch and it has performed well since new..2 yrs. I do believe that many brands are very good and become an owner's choice as to type, and performance. The SuperGlide is heavy and removing it from your TV requires two people. The parts individually aren't bad but the base is large and heavy. Our Montana dealer,while selling another brand installed our SuperGlide and charged me 3 hours labor at $85 per hour. I ordered the unit from a distributor in Illinois and they shipped it directly to our dealer free. It was about $1000 less than retail. Good luck. Dennis

pulin_montana · 04-02-2009, 05:01 PM

We also went with the RV dealer install in our 08 350 SD short box, no problems with the installations, but hated to see that new metal cut!

Late in the season of our first year, I noticed the start/stop clunking when hitched, and when unhitched noticed the hitch slide itself backwards. Just found the manual description of adjusting that nylon pad in the front, and the weather is getting warmer!

Papair: "Be sure to get the plugs for the holes in your bed"... can you reply with where you find those? I did not measure the hole cut exact size yet, but like the idea of covering those 4 holes.

Thanks!

grampachet · 04-02-2009, 07:15 PM

I installed my Hijacker non-slider in about 3 hours in my short bed F-250 after removing it from my old TV. It was simple but did require some stretched fingers and arms to reach some of the bolts. As mentioned above, measure twice and drill once. My carpenter friend says he cut it three times and it is still too short.

gregh9999 · 04-03-2009, 02:01 AM

I installed a Superglide 18K hitch in a 2008 F-250 short bed. The installation was actually fairly easy to do. You just need to be prepared to take your time, and measure everything more than once. Taking a hole saw to the bed of my brand new truck was the worst part. But following the "1/8 hole and masking tape" way to finding the true center of the holes works great. I have four holes that are centered almost perfectly. I had my dealer put in my first SuperGlide in my F-150, and I ended up with two elongated holes where the tech had to "adjust" the holes after drilling them. So I decided I could do it at least that good, and it turned out perfect. I would do it again.

And, you will need a torque wrench that can go to 266 ft-lbs.

richfaa · 04-03-2009, 03:17 AM

500.00 seems high for installation. The dealer should be charging you no more than his hourly rate. There are plenty of places that have experience in installing hitches. Find one that will not over charge you.

8.1al · 04-03-2009, 05:02 AM

Sounds to me like the dealer really doesn't want to do it. I'm with Rich, go someplace else.

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