Automatic or manual slider - Montana Owners Club

Wordsmith · 02-21-2005, 11:59 AM

First off, I am new to this board, so hello to everyone!

My wife and I really began to notice the Montana 5ers last fall and have been looking since as we really liked what we saw, inside and out. Turns out, a couple nearby—the wife works at the school where my wife teaches—have a 2003 3295 for sale, and my wife has proceeded to fall in love with it!

Now the question: the owner pulled the 5er with a gooseneck as he has gooseneck trailers on his farm, but everyone tells me this is not a sound option because of the stress it could put on the pin, so I believe I would need to reconvert it from the gooseneck. With my 2005 F-250 Diesel shortbed, I know I will need a slider hitch, but is the automatic worth the money or is the manual good enough? Pricing at several local places puts the automatic slider hitch at at least $800-900 more. Additionally, what brands would you suggest?

Thanks for any inut, and, if the stars align correctly, we will have a Montana in the not too distant future.

Glenn and Lorraine · 02-21-2005, 12:30 PM

First off, Welcome Wordsmith to the MOC Family.

Secondly, If you look at my signature you will see my Montana is hooked to my shortbed Chev using a PullRite 16K SuperGlide automatic hitch.
Thirdly, You asked "is the automatic worth the money" In my opinion you bet it is. The absolute peace of mind of never having to worry about manually pulling the lever is worth every penny of the difference.
Just forget to pull that manual lever one time and take out the rear window and damage both the truck and trailer. I promise you will wish you had that automatic slider.

You can contact Pullrite and request their FREE video showing the hitch in action. In the mean time read this PullRite Article in RV Lifestyle

When you consider the overall price of the Montana and the F250 and a manual slider what is an extra 900 bucks.

Glenn and Lorraine · 02-21-2005, 12:31 PM

OOPS, duplicated the post

vickir · 02-21-2005, 12:35 PM

First of all ... welcome to the MOC! You'll get lots of good information here and meet lots of good people. And there's some fun stuff too!

We have a 2003 3295RK and we pull it with a '05 F250 PSD ... great combination in our opinion. We have a manual slider ... and I'm not even going to pretend to act like I know what I'm talking about. I'll get Steve to delve deeper into the details of the merits of manual vs. automatic sliders (I'm not even sure I said that right!).

I am completely intrigued by your user name ... is there a story behind it?

Emmel · 02-21-2005, 01:43 PM

I have been towing a 5er for almost 4 years and have not used my slide yet. I was impressed by the fact that the Montana had an extended pin, but I got the slider anyhow. I figured if I needed to use it, I could just hop out and flip the handle. I guess I've been lucky so far.

sreigle · 02-21-2005, 01:58 PM

Hi Wordsmith, welcome aboard! As Vicki said, we have the same combination you do, 2003 3295RK and 2005 F250 diesel shortbed, but we don't have the gooseneck. We think you made an excellent choice on both counts.

You asked about slider hitches. I think 95% or more of us with shortbeds would agree you need a slider, whether manual or automatic. After that it comes down to personal preference and finances, in my opinion.

If I were doing it again and the money part didn't matter I'd go with the automatic Pullrite SuperGlide like Glenn has. In my opinion, that's the top of the line. With that one you do not have to worry about whether you need to slide the hitch. But this hitch is going to set you back at least two grand, installed.

That said, we have a Reese Classic with Kwik-Slide manual slider. In almost 9 years of towing fifthwheels with a shortbed truck, including 23 months (as of today!) of fulltiming, we've used the slider a total of four times. But I was sure glad to have the slider those four times. I think you are aware you need a slider if I read your post correctly.

This is just my opinion - if the cost is not an issue, I'd go with the automatic. If it is an issue, I'd go with the manual. Both can do the job. You asked if the manual is 'good enough'. In my opinion, yes it is. But the automatic lets you not have to worry about crashing cab and coach. I've been out of the hitch market for awhile but you should be able to get a good hitch and slider for, what, around $700 or so installed? Maybe $900 nowadays?

One nice thing is the rounded profile of the Montana nose means you can turn quite a bit more sharply without sliding the hitch than can those towing most other brands.

Check the area RV dealers to see if any have any good used hitches and sliders, manual or automatic.

Good luck. Let us know what you decide. And, most of all, enjoy that Montana!

Joyce H · 02-21-2005, 02:15 PM

Wordsmith,
Just wanted to say welcome from another happy 2003 3295RK owner. We do have a different tow vehicle which does not require a slider, but you have received great input from Glenn and Steve. We love our 3295RK and are currently living in it for a solid 4 month stretch here in FL. Keep us posted on your final decision.

Montana_2779 · 02-21-2005, 02:21 PM

We went with a Pullrite, like Glenn and Lorraine (although ours is stationary). Two things struck me about these: 1) It has an auto-locking, fully encircling hitch mechanism. Against the other units we researched, this seemed to be the easietst, most reliable and most foolproof. 2) Their auto-slider units appeared to work very well in the demo video.

Normally I poo-poo demo videos (I used to sell items using demo videos, and I tend to roll my eyes at them-- extremely superficial, rarely including the finer points of the mechanics). However, the video that PullRite will send, upon your request, does a great job of demoing both the auto-slide mechanism AND the hitch mechanism.

Bill Hill · 02-21-2005, 02:30 PM

Welcome to the MOC Wordsmith
We also have the PullRite Superglide like Glenn & Lorraine and I think it's worth every penny of the over $2K price, but then we also had a Hensley Hitch on our TT and it was over $2.5K. We've had our Montana for just over 2 months now and have already been in several situations were having to stop to unlock the slider would have been a problem. With the SuperGlide you never have to worry about forgetting, which my wife says I do with more more regularity these days. As Steve said, if you have the resources get the auto slider, but whatever you get, be sure to get a slider. Then go out an enjoy your Montana!

Montana Sky · 02-21-2005, 08:29 PM

I can only agree with the above postings. I have the PullRite 16K Superglide and would not leave home without it. I would try and work a deal in with your dealership and see if they will either cut you a deal on a new one or make them throw it in as part of your deal. When I ordered my 3400RL back in January of last year the dealership was offering a free hitch including install when you purchased a new coach from them. I was able to get a deal on the Superglide and then had them subtract the $1,100 the were giving on the free hitch. My Superglide ended up costing me right around $1,000 after tax and install of the hitch and wiring for the plug into my bed. Might be worth a shot of looking into anyway...

Wordsmith · 02-22-2005, 09:05 AM

Wow!

First off, thank you to everyone who responded; I am impressed by the friendliness and depth of your responses. I will not say that money is not an object to deciding on the automatic versus manual slider—it is—but so is peace of mind, and I have been known to forget upon occasion to do certain things, especially if I am in a hurry.

To those of you who pull your Montanas with the F-250 PSD; how does it pull your campers, especially in the mountains? One of the reasons for my buying the diesel I now have was I wanted to have some measure of peace of mind pulling in the mountains of north Georgia and North Carolina. I was always reluctant to pull my 28' Prowler TT in the mountains with my 1997 F-150 with a 4.6 liter V8.

Vicki, as to my screen name of Wordsmith…well, I teach Advanced Placement Literature and Composition to seniors at my school, so you might say I hang on the value of words and actually enjoy chaining words together for unique images when I have ample time. When I retire and fulltime camp

I would not be adverse to writing.

Montana_2230 · 02-22-2005, 09:22 AM

If you are prone to forget things, by all means get the slider hitch and I would also add a king pin catcher for the time you might forget to hookup correctly

. I have a Reese 16k manual slider and really like it. I strickly follow check lists for every thing involving RVing, for I too, have a bad case of crs.

I really could not afford another 2000 dollars for an automatic slider when I bought. The Reese was 600 dollars intalled by the dealer as part of my deal with him.

Welcome to the club and good luck on your decision of a hitch.

sreigle · 02-23-2005, 04:46 PM

Wordsmith, the F250 PSD is aweseome, mountains, plains, and everything inbetween. With a 3/4 ton you might or might not need to add airbags if the pinweight causes a droop in the rear end. Some need it, some don't. If you have any doubts, email me (the envelope icon above this post) and I'll send you several urls for tests done by both paper and online magazines with trailers up to 15k pounds. If you have any doubts, that will make you relax. As for towing your Montana with your PSD, just be prepared to do a lot of smiling.

Another thing I wanted to mention that the SuperGlide guys probably wouldn't be aware of since they don't have to worry about it (and they know I covet their hitch). The rounded nose on the Montana allows you a significantly sharper turn radius than would a more "standard" nose. You can make turns without being close to a crash that many other fivers cannot do with their shortbeds, without the slider. There will come a time you'll need the slider and it will be at a time when it is not convenient to back out to avoid using the slider. So it is definitely a good thing to have. I just wanted to say the above so that if spending the money for the Pullrite causes a hardship or damages marital harmony, well, many of us do just fine with the manual slider. Not that I wouldn't jump at the superglide in an instant if the right opportunity arose. I jsut can't justify dumping a perfectly good manual hitch at this point in time. My lust is there, my need isn't, if that makes any sense.

Wordsmith · 02-24-2005, 09:29 AM

Steve, you make perfect sense! I have to confess that I am seriously looking at the SuperGlide as peace of mind is priceless, much like the commercials on tv say. I called a local retailer here in north Georgia today and got a price on it. If I am going to purchase it, now is the time, but, goodness, the money…new F-250, Montana 3295, and a SuperGlide. It boggles the mind!

By the way, my wife and I love your web page, especially the pictures of your camper. A funny story here…she took down your web address when I showed it to her as she wanted to show pictures of your camper so the people with whom she teaches could have a better idea of what the 3295 looks like. She was quite disappointed that her school blocked your website, especially when she discovered my school did not.

sreigle · 02-24-2005, 11:52 AM

Wordsmith, thanks for the nice words. If you want me to email those pictures to you, just email me with the email icon above this post. The pictures are not very large in filesize so are easy to email. Or go back to the web page and rightclick/save picture as on each picture. I don't think they're protected.

Tell you what. You get that superglide and if, by chance, you decide you don't like it, I'll make you an even swap.

Fat chance you'll not like it, though. I agree, now's the time to do it when you don't have to justify to yourself about getting rid of a perfectly good setup.

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