SLIDER vsNO SLIDER - Montana Owners Club

Montana_4454 · 05-13-2006, 10:01 AM

I JUST SOLD MY MONTY AND HE HAS A SHORT BED PICKUP VERSUS MY LONG BED AND HIS QUESTION WAS SHOULD HE HAVE A SLIDER HITCH OR WILL A REG DO ALRIGHT. NOT HAVING PULLED A SHORT BED I CAN't ANSWER HIM BUT I TOLD HIM I KNEW WHERE TO FIND OUT. DID I COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE(HECK YES) THANKS IN ADVANCE
HENRY

OntMont · 05-13-2006, 10:23 AM

Many people will say that you need a slider, but I have pulled Montanas with a short box Chev. without a slider with no problem so far (four years). Not all short boxes are the same, so it may depend somewhat on which truck you have. I know that others will say that you need a slider or Pull-rite, and there is no harm in being prepared by having one, but in my opinion it is not absolutely essential, at least not with a Chev/GMC short box.

Montana Sky · 05-13-2006, 12:59 PM

I would recommend a sliding hitch for any shortbed owners. If you are going to spend this kind of money on a coach and truck, why go cheap on the hitch??

Glenn and Lorraine · 05-13-2006, 01:32 PM

Sorry OntMont but I totally disagree. This is my second shortbed, 1st a 2003 Silverado and now a 2005 GMC Sierra and I have found many an instant with both trucks where my Pullrite Superglide earned it's price. AND I have personally seen two different TV's with shortbeds with damage to the back of the cab from the 5er. First one, like you, didn't have a slider as he felt he never needed it and the second one just forgot to pull the slide lever.

Here's pic of the forgetful one...

BTW--That's plastic and duct tape where the window once was.
AND That is a Chevy

Bill Frisbee · 05-13-2006, 02:54 PM

Glenn ...

Thanks for posting the picture. I totally agree with your position on this matter and am delighted to have a picture I can use to emphasize the point to doubters.

Bill

JH Sechelt · 05-13-2006, 09:14 PM

Have towed 5vers for the the last 12 years with 3 different Ford short box trucks. Only had a slider for the last year and a half and never had to use it. But having said that at least If I need it I now have it. If in doubt go with the slider.
J&D

Montana Sky · 05-13-2006, 09:16 PM

A picture is worth a thousand words....

Kathi · 05-14-2006, 02:46 AM

SLIDER unless he has a lot of money to keep replacing his back window!!!

lightningjack11 · 05-14-2006, 04:45 AM

I have to have a slider to park at the house. I back off a narrow road and I have a big dip and hill to get into the drive. I would definately hit my cab if I forgot to engage it.

Tell him to get the slider or a pullrite. My opinion.

D and M On The Road · 05-14-2006, 07:39 AM

We have a 2002 Montana that we bought in summer of 2001. In extreme turns, the Montana and the truck definitely come too close for comfort (at least for me) and I can see having a slider hitch would probably make me more comfortable when in those tight situations. But we are careful and we've never had a problem with our short bed Dodge manuvering the Montana until...

...on one trip I took the Montana to a campground at the coast about 2 hours away from home. I had our teenage daughter and the dog with me. The daughter is totally useless in helping me back up, she just can't seem to learn how to stay visible in the side mirrors and she would probably tell me AFTER I hit something. So I do much better with her just staying in the truck or having her go sit on the picnic table.

We were early and parked in an "overflow" area waiting for the folks in our campsite to vacate it. When I saw the people leave, I had to make an extremely tight turn to the left to exit the overflow and get onto the road. I was okay with that, I've done turns like that before. When I had gone forwards as far as possible in the turn and was now backing up and re-positioning myself I didn't even think about the uneven ground with all the large potholes the truck was on and small sand hills that I had needed to back the Montana over. So the truck and Montana were angled towards each other in a way they wouldn't have been if I was performing the same manuever on level ground.

The Montana hit the back of the truck just above the truck's rear window and it was enough to shatter the window. It scared the you-know-what out of us and the 70 pound Golden Retreiver jumped in my lap and just barely beat my daughter there. It took me about another 10 minutes to get us out of that turn and quit blocking traffic without further damaging the truck or Montana.

We had to have body work done on the truck and the husband got the sliding rear window he always wanted. Damage to the Montana was really nothing.

We still have a short bed Dodge and don't have a slider hitch. But then, when it's my husband and myself traveling together, one of us is always out of the truck "spotting" the other when backing up or turning.

My thoughts are it's just a matter of whether a person is more comfortable in having a slider or not.

Since I've "been there, done that", I would be more comfortable having a slider hitch and it would be so much easier on me than having to put the truck in park and get out and survey as often as I do.

We plan on getting a new truck in the next year or so and the husband is insisting upon another shortbed. I'm going to insist upon a slider hitch.

I'll use it when backing/turning alone, and if it does it's job, I'll never know I needed it. And it has to be cheaper than body work and replacing a rear window plus the cost would outweigh the embarrasement factor alone!

sreigle · 05-21-2006, 02:19 PM

A slider is necessary only when you need it. Sorry, I don't know how to say it better. I've been towing fifthwheels with shortbed trucks for eleven years. I've had to use the slider four times. In my opinion he can probably tow without the slider and may never have a problem. But if he gets himself in a position where a slider is mandantory he will regret not having it. So far I've only been in that position once. Two of the other three times I used the slider were to get into site and I could have chosen a different site instead. The other time I would have had to choose a different RV park.

To add to OntMont's comments, the Ford shortboxes are about the same as his and work just fine as I noted above. The times I had to use the slider required a full 90-degree turn.

Margee says it very well as to what happens if you guess wrong. Like Margee, I don't worry on level ground. I can judge how much I can turn. It's the uneven ground that will bite you (or me).

Wordsmith · 05-26-2006, 03:51 AM

A slider hitch—particularly the SuperGilde—provides “priceless” peace of mind and reduced worries. As I read in another post, there is always the possibility of human error and this minimizes some of it.

tcorbitt · 06-02-2006, 03:44 AM

Having pulled with both long and short beds, I would not pull short w/o a slider. You may only need to slide rearward 10-20% of the time, but when needed, the extra clearance assurance is well worth the added cost. In my curent config (F350 short, 3475 Mont, Husky 16K Slider) I can turn about 70 degrees in forward position, 90 degrees slid rearward. I alway go rear when parking, just in case!!!

One other note, when at 90 degrees to the left, the release handle on the Husky can come in contact with the pin box on the 5th. I reversed the handle so it faces downward and it will not hit the pin-box at 90 degrees. (Met another owner who did not lock his pin handle (always a bad idea) and when returning from a 90 degree turn, the pin box pulled the pin release handle releasing he 5th.) You can guess the rest of the story.... Tim

Montana_1240 · 06-02-2006, 05:56 PM

I’d say that a slider in your SB TV is like having a Bed Saver.

Paraphrasing what Steve Reigle said…You’ll only need it when you need it.

I’m guessing that one “Oops!” while not having one costs a bit more than the added cost of buying one up front.

Steve

P.S.

That said, I don’t even have a Bed Saver! At least I do have a LB TV, though!

sreigle · 06-03-2006, 05:29 PM

Reading back through this thread I wish I had added another comment in my post. The new cap on the new Montanas adds a whole new factor to this discussion. At the rally we had the opportunity to take a good close look at that new cap. If our Montana had that nose I believe we would never need a slider to tow it anywhere with our shortbox that a longbox can go. Just an opinion. I've never towed with the new nose but it sure looks like it eliminates the need for a slider, at least in a shortbed the length of ours. So now when we have this discussion we need to differentiate between the new nosecap and the older one.

richfaa · 06-04-2006, 04:15 AM

Steve makes a good point about the new nose cap /Steve Emmel and I took a real close look at that setup at the Toledo RV show and were a little leery about it..We sort of thought that if the truck /camper are on nice level ground all would be well however if slightly uneven..wellll...don't know about that..need a little more research on that and some short bed trucks are shorter than other short bed trucks which complicates the equation. As for the slider it is sort of like the bedsaver..When you need one..you realllyyy need one.

Montana_1240 · 06-06-2006, 06:15 PM

Would someone explain what the new cap is like, and what it means for the towing? Did the shape of the nose, (where the cap attaches to the sides of the nose,) get pulled back significantly?

I’m wondering how a different shape, (if it’s only the bulging nose,) can make the front sides of the fiver be any further away from the back of the cab of a short bed. Isn’t that what makes a slider so essential in maneuvering a fiver while using a short bed?

I’m thinking that unless they’ve moved the pin box more forward, the sides of the fiver could still strike the rear of the truck’s cab when trying to make tight turns.

I’m confused. Which may be why I’m probably going to stick with LB TVs….

Steve

Montana Sky · 06-06-2006, 09:18 PM

Steve,
Here is a link to a new coach that has a few pictures. These might explain the front end cap better.
http://www.bluecrick.com/content.asp?id=3&iInvID=2246#

Montana_1240 · 06-07-2006, 06:10 AM

Diabolical!

I can see what the difference would be. It does seem to take the present need for a slider into consideration.

Anyone know what that “scoop” looking thing is above the pin box?

Steve

richfaa · 06-07-2006, 08:00 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Gyro

Diabolical!

I can see what the difference would be. It does seem to take the present need for a slider into consideration.

Anyone know what that “scoop” looking thing is above the pin box?

Steve

That is the ram jet intake...No..it is the handy dandy mirror..

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