Fifth wheel hitch - Montana Owners Club

Montana_828 · 01-18-2005, 01:01 PM

Having fifth wheel hitch installed on F350 and the guy was asking if I wanted a plug on the hitch, said sometimes the cable from the rv doesn't reach to the plug under the bumper. Has anyone had a problem with this. Purchased a Montana at the show last weekend in Tampa.

Montana_657 · 01-18-2005, 01:31 PM

No... but I demanded a plug in the box when I bought the hitch...just don't like wires hanging over the tailgate.

Emmel · 01-18-2005, 01:32 PM

I haven't had any problem with the plug under the bumper, plenty of cord to reach. Just remember if you put a 5th wheel tailgate on your truck to keep your cord from dragging, experience talking here. There is pros and cons for putting the plug in the bed, I personally like mine below, one less thing in the road in the bed when you carry anything there. Try it below first and if you want to put it in the bed later you can.

Native Tex · 01-18-2005, 01:42 PM

Florida Gal great to hear of your new purchase. Congratulations! As far as the plug, I still use the one under the bumper. I considered putting it in the bed, but decided that the length of the cord wire was not an issue and it just wasn't worth the trouble to move it. I have not had any problems using it as it comes from the factory. Good luck.

Glenn and Lorraine · 01-18-2005, 01:56 PM

Mine is under the bumper and has not been a problem yet BUT If I was given the choice I would have prefered it being in the bed. I do plan on moving it just haven't done so as yet. Less chance of it getting caught on something going in and out of some camp sites.

sreigle · 01-18-2005, 02:40 PM

Our '99 TV had the receptacle in the fenderwell in the bed. The '03 and the current TV both have the receptacle under the bumper. I liked it in the bed except when the truck was wet from rain and it caused me to get my shirt wet plugging the cord in. (I kept a throw rug in the truck to throw over the bedrail to avoid this problem). The cord is plenty long to fit under bumper. I bungee the cord to the V-tailgate because the cord will rub the finish off the tailgate otherwise, if you do enough miles in tow.

DHenry · 01-18-2005, 02:49 PM

I have one in both places. I use the outlet in the bed for the 5th wheel and camper and I use the one under the bumper for anything else I tow.

Montana_883 · 01-18-2005, 03:29 PM

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I have one in both places too, like DHenery. I also use the outlet in the bed for the 5th wheel now. I use to use the bumper plug but it got caught on on a stick as I pulled in to a camp ground. It pulled the leads from the juntion box in the hitch.
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RC and Samantha · 01-18-2005, 05:37 PM

We also had one installed in the bed of the truck. They weren't going to and we noticed it and had them add it. Makes it easier to hook up and less vulnerable to the elements and things tearing it up.

Patty

Montana Sky · 01-18-2005, 10:20 PM

I have a plug in both locations, and found that having the Superglide hitch I prefer having the coach plugged in the bed. Less chance of the cord getting caught on the moving hitch. The plug in the bed is only for the coach, the rest of the trailers use the one on the bumper.

Montana_2779 · 01-19-2005, 04:25 AM

Our 2005 Chevy 2500HD was purchased with the tow package. With that, we got the under-the-bumper 7-pin. When we purchased the PullRite Super 5th hitch (GREAT hitch!) from Lone Star RV in Houston, they were kind enough to install a fantastic 7-pin receptacle on the rear inside post of the bed (just ahead of the tailgate). Not only does it look really cool there (yeah, I know that's really important)

but it's SUPER easy to attach with the tailgate up or down! Kudos to Lone Star! We use ours exactly the same was Montana Sky does, and for the same reasons. I can't imagine NOT having the terminal in the bed, now!

Montana_2341 · 01-19-2005, 05:53 AM

We are using the bumper plug outlet. I mentioned an in the box outlet to the dealer at delivery time and the dealer was not keen on the idea. As he pointed out it was another place for the connections to go bad. As you can tell both locations have there pros and cons.

party of 5 · 01-19-2005, 06:31 AM

I had 2nd plug put in the bed and I still have the one below the bumper. That way I have both of them if I need them.

DiananColin · 01-19-2005, 09:19 AM

We also have sockets in both bed and on the bumper. Our dealer must have gone to the same school as Pete Alford's - he did a really neat job. Very useful and having the pullrite slide I ahve the same concerns to make sure nothing gets in the way of the slider

Montana_657 · 01-19-2005, 09:42 AM

Dealers are never keen on anything that causes them to expend some effort... or am I the only one who noticed that???

Montana_2779 · 01-19-2005, 10:14 AM

A BIIIIIG "Amen" to Gruffy's sentiments! We are, in fact, the proud owners of our beutiful Mountaineer because of another brand's salesman and his inherent laziness. We were dead set on purchasing a $45K Open Road. We asked the salesman to give us a written quote and provided him with a detailed WRITTEN list of what he was to quote (model and options). Couldn't be easier, right?! Well, the fella quoted us two options that were not on the list and left off three options that WERE on the list! Three phone calls later (yep, I'm a glutton for punishment), we had a half-@$$ quote that had been all marked up. Needless to say, I'm not giving a penny (much less $45K) to some fella that can't take 20 minutes out of his day to provide a legible, professionally composed quote. Heck, I used to be in industrial distribution and provided a couple of dozen quotes to major petrochemical buyers every day. It just ain't that dadgum hard!

In the end, I should thank this fella. I now have a Mountaineer that I love, and I found what may be the best forum I've ever visited (the MOC, of course!). Oh yeah....ended up paying nearly $15K less for my 297RKS than the Open Road 349RLDS. Not bad for a coach that's only four feet shorter!!

Glenn and Lorraine · 01-19-2005, 11:25 AM

OK, so how difficult would it be to add the second socket inside the bed and still have the one under the bumper?
Has anyone taken this job on themselves rather than paying for such an installation?

Montana_657 · 01-19-2005, 11:30 AM

No.. but I had to re-do the one Truck World did for me. They didn't bother to weather seal the connections. What they did was just parallel the connections behind the bumper and run the new wire up a drain hole into the box. Just a cut...strip..solder and seal for 7 wires.... 4 feet of RV type wire and a new plug.

paulrem · 01-19-2005, 05:52 PM

Just wanted to add my 2 cents. I also have both plugis, bumper and in sidewall of the bed. I prefer the inside of the bed as it did not get tangled up when the tailgate came off and went under the trailer(another story, another time). Will the weather ever get nice again so that I can plug it in?

Flastro · 01-20-2005, 05:04 AM

Like some of the above, the factory one under the bumber, I just spliced into the wiring harness, soldered everything and shrink tubed it back, Put an additional receptical inside the bed in the rear post as Pete did, Clean and out of the way and super easy to get to, especially with the tailgate down.

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