Which Hitch Is Better?

[River17]

Buying a used 2008 Dodge 3500 Mega that has a Gooseneck ball.
I was wondering what kind of 5th wheel hitch do I need to buy for a Mountaineer Edition 295RKD.
And where would I get the best price??

[lasater]

If your goosenech ball hitch happens to be a B&W Turnover-Ball Hitch, then your best choice is to go with the B&W Companion. I have one that I can remove in about 10 minutes to clean the bed or install in about 15 minutes to haul with. Here is a link to their web-site. http://www.turnoverball.com/

I ordered the Companion, assembled it myself and have pulled the Monty over 20,000 miles with it with no problems.

Whatever you do, stay away from gooseneck adapters. With the extended pin boxes on todays units, the adapter can easily cause extensive damage to your frame, warranty, and pocket book.

[exav8tr]

QUOTE: Which Hitch Is Better?

That is a loaded question as everyone has their own opinions. I think the consensus would say to stay clear of a gooseneck hitch as this will probably void your factory frame warranty due to the excessive forces placed on the frame. I think the B & W Companion sounds like a great idea. If I was not fulltiming and needed the bed of my truck to haul things, I would go with that. As it is, I wanted a hitch that would give me a good ride and help protect the trailer. I am convinced that the TrailerSaver Air hitch fills both those needs. Much depends on you lifestyle. i.e. fulltimer, long timer, part timer, or weekender AND how much you want to spend. My hitch is rather expensive but I wanted the best for my situation....

[8.1al]

Our Reese hitch has served us well for 13 years. Whatever you get make sure it swivels side to side, makes it much easier to hitch-unhitch on uneven ground.

[RRman]

I had the same situation with my used Dually and decided to "risk" using a high quality Gooseneck Adapter, aka the Star Performance Gooseneck Adapter which includes a glider motion for reducing fore and aft stress. I think I paid around $700 for mine three years ago. I've towed my 05 Montana for over 7K miles with it. An O7 Montana was parked next to me for a few weeks, he also had a Gooseneck Adapter. Currently in my RV Park six of about 35 Fivers have Gooseneck Adapters.
Advantages include a unencumbered truck bed (assuming your Ball is rotating or removable), gently raising and lowering hookups, and unlikely to accidentally drop on the truck bed as you're either on the ball or not and the adapter may also provide clearance. It does take a little longer for hookups as you must wait for the slow jacks to raise and lower the Fiver off the ball. Email or PM me for more info if desired.

[Jdrobone]

Agree on the side to side movement. Only had this hitch 6 mos and already needed to prop one side of truck up to hitch.

[SlickWillie]

quote:Originally posted by River17

Buying a used 2008 Dodge 3500 Mega that has a Gooseneck ball.
I was wondering what kind of 5th wheel hitch do I need to buy for a Mountaineer Edition 295RKD.
And where would I get the best price??

Mega cab; isn't that the super short bed? If so, I would put a slider in it, preferably the Superglide. No way I would go with a conventional gooseneck or stationary fifth wheel hitch with that bed.

[RRman]

I forgot to mention that the 07 Montana next to me had an EXTENDED Gooseneck adapter with his shortbed (he said it was medium or standard length) Chevy pickup. The adapter had a big box that clamped to the kingpin VERY securely and at the bottom end was a 1/2 steel plate that ran forward at least 9 inches (?) with the coupler on the end of it.
I don't recall the brand but the owner said he ordered it online and had to drill holes into his Fiver hitch as part of the attachment (on my adapter, bolting is optional and easily removed).

Talk about the "danger zone" towing a 36' Montana with a shortbed 2500 Chevy and a Gooseneck adapter (BTW, he was from MN camped next to me in LA)

[Capt Kidd]

If you have a MegaCab you really need a slider hitch. I use the SuperGlide 18 in my MegaCab and really like it. Never have to worry about hitting the Monty no matter how tight I turn and never have to do anything for it to work.

[sreigle]

The MegaCab is a shortbed and thus I'd very highly recommend a slider, either manual or automatic. As someone said, it's a shorter shortbed than GMC's and Ford's but that doesn't matter for this purpose. The "missing" part is aft of the axle. The measurement from cab to axle is almost identical to Ford's, which is slightly more or very close to the same than GM's. A slider works well. See my signature to see how I know.