Best hitch for a 2021 Ram 2500 short bed

[sq320ret@yahoo.com]

Thinking out of the box I purchased the Anderson and found it to be the best of any before in my 20 years of pulling my previous trailers. Currently a 2014 Montana 293 33'. Much smother ride with no bucking. With my 2019 Chevy Silverado short bed. You do not need a slider and constant adjusting in and outs of the cab. Completely removeable in less than 20 minutes. Installs in the same 20 minutes. Only 35 pounds. Good rear cab clearance.

[KJT]

I would look into the Reese goosebox.

[RamMike]

Originally Posted by Montana Man

My Ram 3500 is a short bed with pucks. I've got the B&W. It is heavy but does come apart in two pieces. This hitch is sturdy and has a very good latching mechanism. It also adjusts up or down, forward or rearward. It will provide for plenty of cab clearance if the trailer cap is of the newer design.

I wound up buying the B&W Companion slider 20K with the Ram OEM Puck system. Its a tad heavy, but not anything that can't be dealt with. Seems like a really nice hitch, made very well!

[jwengermt]

We bought a used 5th and it had a goose-neck extension on it. After reviewing everything i decided to stay with the goose-neck and bought a B&W hitch with the roll over ball. I really like it because when I'm not towing i have full use of the bed by simply rolling over the ball. Because i have a short bed truck i had to purchase a 4" extension ball, but it works just fine. If there is a negative issue, it is a little bit more difficult in the hookup stage as it has to be a little more exact than a 5th wheel, but after hooking up a few times, its no problem.

[Domby]

Originally Posted by StageCoachDriver

By "short bed" do you mean 5 ft or 6.5 ft? There are 3 standard pickup beds - long bed - 8ft, standard bed - 6.5 ft and short bed - 5 ft.

My bed is 6.5, But I have the adapter mounted in the rear position and can still do a 90° turn. I think if I had a 5.5 bed and turn the adapter in the forward position I’d still have plenty of clearance.

[Montana Man]

Originally Posted by RamMike

I wound up buying the B&W Companion slider 20K with the Ram OEM Puck system. Its a tad heavy, but not anything that can't be dealt with. Seems like a really nice hitch, made very well!

Thx for the feedback on your decision. I'm sure it will be fine. Let us know how it works for you.

[432bartman]

Originally Posted by gillus

Look into a Reese Goosebox either a 16K or 20K depending on your trlr.
No need to in and out or deal with a hitch in the truck bed, just install the ball and chain hooks in your puck system, drop the trailer on and go. They have an air bladder and shocks for a smooth ride. You tube vids to see it in action.
I have one on my 2955RL and love it. Just ordered 22 F350 with the puck system.

Now that I just read Keystone will not cover any damage to their trailers if using an Anderson or other same type product (Pullrite 2600), I am going to probably get the Reese Goosebox, which is now the ONLY other pin box Keystone will accept for use on their trailers.

[hemiallen]

Poor timing, for me!
Anyone with the reese know how much it invades the space behind the hitch toward the tailgate? I usually place my generator there, and this will remove storage space as the rig turns, from what I see in the Etrailer video, compared to the rasied ball frame of my Anderson I used in my old trailer.
https://videos.etrailer.com/static/i...r-rp94720.webm

Allen

[jwengermt]

I have the Chev 2500 HD extended cab. The bed is 6.5 which now i guess is the standard bed.

[RamMike]

Now that I've bought the B&W Companion slider 20K with the Ram OEM Puck system. The next question I have for those that have installed this hitch is how to determine the height of the hitch? Do I start in the middle of the 3 mounting heights they have on the hitch? Any guidance on this would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[JoeUSNRET]

I have the same 20K B&W Slider. In my previous 2019 RAM 3500 short bed I set the hitch as high as it would go and as far toward the tailgate as it would go. This gave me a little over 7 inches of clearance between the truck bed and the Cab of the trailer. I had a 2011 3150RL at the time. it was just a little nose high but pulled fine with no issues. So far I've never had to use the slider.

[RamMike]

Thanks JoeUSNRET, thank you for your service! I thought I read for the RAM 2500 to center the weight over the rear axle? I'll do some more research. Also, I thought 6"s of clearance was fine for the bed rails? I'm towing a Montana HC 295RL.

[JoeUSNRET]

Thank you. for the hitch adjustments it is just about choices. I tried it both ways and I felt more comfortable with the additional bed rail clearance as i was just under 6 inches on the middle setting and just a little over 7 inches by moving it up to the highest setting. you can only adjust the hitch about 2-3 inches back and I did not notice or see any difference in the bed height or towing performance when I moved it back. I Just felt I gained a little extra clearance and peace of mind when turning. You are correct most folks say 6 inches clearance is OK. Good luck hope to see you out there someday. Joe.

[Salineriverman]

Originally Posted by Montana Man

My Ram 3500 is a short bed with pucks. I've got the B&W. It is heavy but does come apart in two pieces. This hitch is sturdy and has a very good latching mechanism. It also adjusts up or down, forward or rearward. It will provide for plenty of cab clearance if the trailer cap is of the newer design.

Just now reading your post. I too have a 2020 ram 3500 cc 6.4" bed and am looking at different hitches. I have a factory puck system and a 2020 Montana HC 305 RL.
Which B&W hitch are you using?
Thanks
Salineriverman

[81SHOVELHEAD]

Originally Posted by RamMike

Hi everyone, I've been looking at the different hitches and wondering which is the best for my truck to tow my new 5'er. I have a 2021 MHC 295RL, I was told Pullrite is the best hitch, but was curious to hear others thoughts with the same truck and what you suggest?
Thanks,
Mike

We have the Pullrite 2600 single point mount turnover ball hitch on our 2015 6.4 Hemi Ram with 6.5 bed. Works great haven't had any cab clearance issues. We're towing a 2021 Montana High Country 295RL.

[AZMont]

Originally Posted by RamMike

Thanks for the reply Rames14, I included it was a shortbed in the title. The RV weigh's 11,025. I have the puck system installed; so I was told if I went with the Pullrite I'd need the 2315 superglide. But was told it was quite heavy, so not sure if I want something like that since I use my truck for a lot of other things. Thats why I specifically wanted to know what Dodge or Ram users use in their short beds?
Thanks again for the info!

I have a 2020 Ram 3500 Mega Cab short bed SRW with a back flip tonneau cover and use the Pullrite 2315. I like the hitch, but it is pretty heavy. It weighs ~280#. I use an engine hoist with a demco adapter to connect the hitch to the engine hoist. I've attached a picture of my old Pullrite 3300 with the red demco adapter hanging from the engine hoist. The hitch comes in and out of the truck bed easily with the engine hoist.

[Montana Man]

Originally Posted by Salineriverman

Just now reading your post. I too have a 2020 ram 3500 cc 6.4" bed and am looking at different hitches. I have a factory puck system and a 2020 Montana HC 305 RL.
Which B&W hitch are you using?
Thanks
Salineriverman

It is the b&w companion with the ram puck system. B&Ws website is poorly constructed but you will find it if you look hard enough. Make double sure it is for your year of truck. I heard the puck mounting dimensions have changed around over the years.

[dfb]

People can and will do what they want.. However, there is only ONE hitch for a Ram shortbed.. The Superglide or the new competitor.. Anderson hit my truck and the others that are manuel slide you must remeber to get out and pull the lever.. NOT good.. ask me how I know?...BTW , Anderson offered to help with the deductible since they advertised short bed use... They offered to pay my 500.00 deductible.. They DID not...

[sq320ret@yahoo.com]

For our 2014 Montana 293 High Country; we went out of the box and chose the Anderson Hitch, puck type / gooseneck, best hitch we ever had. Weighs 35 pounds and installs or uninstalls in 30 minutes giving you full use of the bed when you want it. Very quiet, with no bucking, better turning without having to get out and change any adjustments. We have a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado High Country short bed.

[kowbra]

Originally Posted by dfb

Attachment 9763People can and will do what they want.. However, there is only ONE hitch for a Ram shortbed.. The Superglide or the new competitor.. Anderson hit my truck and the others that are manuel slide you must remeber to get out and pull the lever.. NOT good.. ask me how I know?...BTW , Anderson offered to help with the deductible since they advertised short bed use... They offered to pay my 500.00 deductible.. They DID not...

I'm sorry for your incident.

But I also don't get it... maybe because I started driving commercial when I was 18, but there is never a situation that you should get yourself into that would require the rig to be so twisted that this happens.

People go on about turning 90 degrees - you should never need 90 degrees.

There are times I have walked my route even if that took a few extra minutes. I try never to get myself in a situation where I can't get out of safely and without need to twist things up.

Now, that doesn't mean accidents don't happen, but let's face it, there are a lot of ways to damage things if you get yourself in a bad spot that have nothing to do with a slider hitch. Here are some others...

-swinging the back end into another vehicle. Last year a guy put the back end of his 5th wheel into the back end of the guy across from him. They had to bring in a heavy hauler tow truck to unlock everything.

-dropping your axles into a ditch because of having to turn too sharp.

-hitting major tree limbs because you ended up having to make a corner in the end of that old campground which was never designed for the size of newer rigs.

I could go on, but the point is this... an auto slider may help when one gets into situations they shouldn't be in... so don't get in them. With some additional planning you don't need an auto slider hitch. So, no, there is not ONE hitch that everyone needs.

IMHO, the best thing is for everyone to continually work on improving their skills, including better planning and practising manoeuvring skills like turns and backing.

At least, that's my experience, YMMV.


Brad