adding a slider to a hitch

[Bob Vaughn]

Is it possible to install a reese hitch to see if a slider hitch is needed and if needed add the sliders to the hitch??

(Moderator's Note: Moved from Keystone Questions category to Towing & Tow Vehicles)

[Jim W]

I am not sure. I have a slider and the mounting seems a little different for the sliding portion of the hitch.

Why do you ask? A sliding hitch is only required with a short bed pick-up truck bed. If you own a 8 ft box or known as a long bed truck then the slider hitch is not required.
I have had two short bed trucks and my slider hitch has been used in both. The reason for the slider is to prevent the trailer from hitting the rear of the cab and window when making a real tight turn. Such as past 80 Deg, then the slider needs to be extend before the turn is made. The only time I use my slider is to back the trailer up into the drive way or into a camping site.
Jim

[Bob Vaughn]

Originally Posted by Jim W

I am not sure. I have a slider and the mounting seems a little different for the sliding portion of the hitch.

Why do you ask? A sliding hitch is only required with a short bed pick-up truck bed. If you own a 8 ft box or known as a long bed truck then the slider hitch is not required.
I have had two short bed trucks and my slider hitch has been used in both. The reason for the slider is to prevent the trailer from hitting the rear of the cab and window when making a real tight turn. Such as past 80 Deg, then the slider needs to be extend before the turn is made. The only time I use my slider is to back the trailer up into the drive way or into a camping site.
Jim

I am not sure if I need a slider hitch for the Cougar or Copper Canyon we are looking at...My bed is 6'6" and the dealer says I do not...but I was looking at a reese hitch and you can buy the hitch and slider separately .....I wanted to tow the camper then decide for myself if I need the slider.....

[Jim W]

I try not to offer opinions too much as they are mainly your feelings. I tend to try and answer with facts and provide links to data so the individual can make up their own mind.

Now with that being said, in my opinion you do need the slider hitch with a 6'-6" bed. You may not use the slider hitch at all but there will come a time when you will need it at least once and then it is already on the truck.

The new front end of most 5er's have had the cap redesigned to allow more clearance between the cab and trailer when turning. You will never need to extend the hitch when you make a turn when driving with this new front cab design. Where I feel (my opinion again) is when you will need to use the slider hitch is backing up. Either to place it in the the drive way or into a camp site. I have had to turn past 80 deg's some times to get the camper into the camp site and all the time to put into the driveway. With the slider hitch extend I know I have the clearance to do this. Also my DW is watching the truck and trailer clearance to insure I do not hit the cab of the truck.

By the way my box is 6"-5" and I use a 16K Reese Slider hitch.

Jim

[Festus2]

Doesn't matter if you have a Cougar, Copper Canyon or whatever. If you have a short-bed truck, I would recommend a sliding hitch. You may not need it most of the time but you will wish you had it some of the time. Why wait until you knock out your rear window or put a dent in the cab and then decide that you need a sliding hitch? When you make up your mind about the RV and when you make up your mind about the hitch -------spend the extra $$$$ if you can and get a slider (the complete unit).

[hankpage]

I have never owned a short bed truck, but you can see in my sig. how much room the extended pin-box and curved front cap leaves between cab and trailer. This is what your sales-person is trying to tell you. He will change his story if you ask him to personally guarantee the trailer will not hit the cab in a tight turn. As everyone above has said ... some day you will wish you had bought that slider. If what you are asking is will the slider fit on the same mounts (rails or frame mounts from the same manufacturer) ... I think so ... but why buy a hitch that you might have to replace when you can get the proper one to begin with???? JM2¢, Hank

[Outbackmel]

My 2 cents....2011 Outback 36 ft towed with '08 Dodge; 2500; Crew Cab short bed..

Buy the slider and USE IT when needed...and you WILL need it at some point; especially backing in a tight camping spot. PERIOD.

The new caps are GREAT and I NEVER have to slide anything in NORMAL driving; city; for gas; never. BUT, that is why you buy insurance. Some day, sooner than later; you will be in that "bind" and be thankful you spent a few bucks more.

[LarryD]

Yes, you can add the Reese slider legs if you want later. Basically you will keep the cross-bed rails and the hitch head from a non-slider hitch. I did this in '03.

Now, as to needing a slider hitch, it really is your call, but here is my experience. Started using a short bed in '89 when there were no slider hitches, manual or auto, no curved front caps or no Sidewinder pin box (which is another option for you to consider). None of these things had been invented yet. The only thing available was the extended pin box and that provided a max turning angle of around 65 degrees. Never had a problem. New short bed rig in 2000 and stayed with the non-slider and still no problem. Next rig in '03 I added the manual slider thinking some day I might get a fiver that couldn't accept an extended pin box. In 7-1/2 yrs I have used the slider twice, one of those times it didn't help and I ended up moving back to the tow position to finally complete the manuver. I haven't used it since probably 2005 and that is with an old style fiver cap design.

Now, some facts. The tow vehicle front tires can only turn about 37 degrees. You can make a 90 degree turn with the steering wheel at full lock and the max angle between the truck and fiver will be about 45 degrees. Depending on wheelbase and fiver length, a full lock turn in excess of about 120 degrees is required before the fiver will reach 90 degrees to the truck. If you can make a turn w/o needing full lock, then even a 180 degree turn is not a problem. When backing into a tight spot, jockying the rig back and forth a few times will accomplish the same thing that a single sharp manuver can do w/o putting as much stress on the fiver suspension. Fiver owners have a big advantage, they can look in their rear window and see exactly how close that fiver cap is to the glass. TT owners don't have near the same advantages, they can't see if the rear bumper is close to the trailer, they are limited to a max angle of about 65 degrees and there are no fancy hitch options to 'save' them.

If you get a rig with a front cap design that allows 80 or 85 degrees turning angle, you should be in great shape. That is IF you pay attention, which is what you should be doing anyway. And if you aren't careful, then nothing can save you, get careless and jack-knife the rig 90+ degrees and you will still damage the truck and fiver.

[pknoerzer]

The length of the trailer also can make it critical to use a slider. I had a 25' 5th wheel trailer and never needed to use my slider with an extended cab, short bed truck. A longer trailer might make it necessary to use the slider.

You can add on the slider.

[antiqfreq]

I can only render my opinion.......
We do have the slider and glad we have it.
We traveled a year in our fifth wheel and believe me WE needed the slider
quite often.
We had to get in some tight spots sometimes during our travels and it
would have taken a lot longer - if not impossible - to get into some of those spots.
We are happy we spent the extra bucks. Also, never had to get out in the rain or mud or cold to yank out the handle had we not had the 'automatic' slider......which is the one we chose.

Jo
Moderator

[Umpie007]

I have to agree with Larry, I posted something similar to this in the Fifth Wheel section under 6' box. I never used my slider either, even towing with a chevy half ton with a 5'8" box. In most situations you'll never need a slider with some common sense. If the site is really tight then get another one, or start your turn a little earlier to make maneuvering easier. I guess what I don't understand is why people with fifth wheels think they need all these fancy accessories. We have a better advantage than people towing bumper hitches and they don't have "accessories". It's funny that someone with a crewcab fullsize and a 30' bumper hitch rig making their total length over 50' and maneuver just fine, and people with a 30' fifth wheel with an extended pin box and a round nose cone that have a good 4 feet hanging over their box can't seem to get their rig backed in. Just doesn't make much sense to me. I've found starting the camper in the site earlier doesn't put nearly as much angle on the rig and besides why hairpin the rig and put all the stress on your torsions and equalizers. For all you people doing the (90) the next time you do it, stop, get out of your truck and look at your tires and suspension; it'll probably make your jaw hit the ground with all the flex and stress your putting on your rig. I bent my frame at the equalizers doing that. $1300 to get it straightend and fixed. These new ultralight frames to save weight for more cargo and fancy accessories just aren't what they used to be. Just my 2 cents