Sidewinder and Revolution King Pin

[bsmith0404]

One thing I have noticed on this forum quite a bit is the debate of what type of 5th wheel hitch to get. Curt, B&W, and Reese are the most common. Before I upgraded to my current Reese Select Plus 20K I looked a the Curt Q20 and B&W Companion. Both said they are not compatible with the Sidewinder and Revolution King Pins.

I do not have either of these King Pins so that wasn't a concern, but I decided not to buy either. Just never know what a future trailer may have or when the need may arise to hook onto a friends trailer.

My question is, what is it about these hitches and the king pin combination that makes them not compatible? And, is this something that we need to be pointing out to members that ask for advice on a hitch?

[chuckster57]

Some hitches require a "capture" plate installed on the pin box. With the plate installed, it will not engage properly with the standard horseshoe.

[bsmith0404]

Originally Posted by chuckster57

Some hitches require a "capture" plate installed on the pin box. With the plate installed, it will not engage properly with the standard horseshoe.

Okay, I get that, but the only difference I can see on the B&W and Curt vs the Reese is the pivot angles/directions. When I looked at the Sidewinder and Revolution king pins, I see the additional movement they offer, but don't understand why they will not work with those hitches. I'm pretty mechanically inclined, but this has me puzzled. Just trying to understand what the effects are so we can advise others.

[chuckster57]

It's hard to explain in a short reply, and since I'm using my dumb phone, I don't want a callous forming this evening.

What I can say is, it was hard for me to visualize until I started installing them and "playing" with them.

Like I said in another thread, I have always had long beds, so I wasn't that familiar with the ones that rotate and extend pins. Now that I am a tech, I'm learning the ins/outs of them as We install them.

[bsmith0404]

I can patiently wait, wouldn't want you to get a callus.

I'm usually pretty good at visualizing things, but just can't see it on this one. Unless it's just too many pivot points and axis. Looking forward to your explanation.

[chuckster57]

We happen to have 2 fivers in the shop with non traditional hitch set ups. I will try to take some pics and post.

May be a few days, also getting my rig ready for 4 nights on the coast on Sunday.

[Desert185]

Another consideration that should be mentioned are the Andersen hitches. I really like mine.

www.andersenhitches.com

[bsmith0404]

Originally Posted by Desert185

Another consideration that should be mentioned are the Andersen hitches. I really like mine.

www.andersenhitches.com

They are a unique hitch, is there anything about them that people should know i.e. not compatible with certain types of king pins like the Q20 and B&W? My main concern with this thread was not to make recommendations for a particular hitch, but to understand why one hitch may or may not work for some applications so members can be properly advised.

[chuckster57]

As far as I can see, the Anderson is a variant of the goose neck style hitch.

The two we are discussing here are a traditional style hitch with some built in features. I've got the pics, just have to upload to my bucket and then link with explanation.

Started the fridge last night for our trip so it may be Sunday or Monday.

[Cougarfamily]

Originally Posted by bsmith0404

One thing I have noticed on this forum quite a bit is the debate of what type of 5th wheel hitch to get. Curt, B&W, and Reese are the most common. Before I upgraded to my current Reese Select Plus 20K I looked a the Curt Q20 and B&W Companion. Both said they are not compatible with the Sidewinder and Revolution King Pins.

I do not have either of these King Pins so that wasn't a concern, but I decided not to buy either. Just never know what a future trailer may have or when the need may arise to hook onto a friends trailer.

My question is, what is it about these hitches and the king pin combination that makes them not compatible? And, is this something that we need to be pointing out to members that ask for advice on a hitch?

I spoke with a retailer that was advertising the sidewinder, whose ad said they were not compatible with the B&W. I asked why, and he said it was due to the fact that you have to use a wedge, which my hitch has a warning to never use. In turns, it puts a whole lot of torque on the single post that connects the hitch to the bed/frame. With a Reese style hitch, you have four legs attached to the rails, thus distributes the torque/flex more evenly over a wider surface. With the B&W, you would eventually twist and possibly snap the square tube. Hope this explains it well enough.

[chuckster57]

I've got my pics. Updated to iOS 8, now to find them again and upload to my photo bucket. Plan is to be set up in the campground by 2 tomorrow, so I'll be able post with explanations.

[Desert185]

Originally Posted by bsmith0404

They are a unique hitch, is there anything about them that people should know i.e. not compatible with certain types of king pins like the Q20 and B&W? My main concern with this thread was not to make recommendations for a particular hitch, but to understand why one hitch may or may not work for some applications so members can be properly advised.

I'm thinking use an Andersen Ultimate hitch, if you don't already have another hitch, to eliminate any compatibility issues. Down the road when buying another 5er, just move the kingpin adapter to the new trailer. Pretty simple.

[chuckster57]

Bringing this back to the top. Unfortunately I updated to iOS 8 just before our trip and photo bucket app didn't like it.
Just got a new update so I'll be uploading/posting pics with explanations in the next couple of days.

[Jim Dow]

I have the B&W Companion hitch in the truck bed and the Sidewinder on the 5er.

They work perfectly well together.

[RedOne]

We have one (actually 5th airborne sidewinder) in the 16K version and the Reese Revolution hitch. We have over 10K towing miles and have had NO problems with the setup.