5th Wheel Hitch Install
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Senior User
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 283
Likes: 0
From: South Jersey
5th Wheel Hitch Install
Ok, I am looking into buying a 5th wheel camper and the dealer wants $1,000 to install the Hitch. Which they'll probally give me a crappy, cheap hitch.
The trailer is 35' and shy of 10,000 pounds dry. I am mechanically inclined and do all of my own work on the rest of my toys.
My Questions are:
How hard is it to install and setup the hitch? They all seem pretty universal in design and installiation.
What is the best hitch for the $?
What sites are good to buy from?
Thanks,
Jim
The trailer is 35' and shy of 10,000 pounds dry. I am mechanically inclined and do all of my own work on the rest of my toys.
My Questions are:
How hard is it to install and setup the hitch? They all seem pretty universal in design and installiation.
What is the best hitch for the $?
What sites are good to buy from?
Thanks,
Jim
Mountain Pass
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 133
Likes: 14
From: Massachusetts
I purchased a Signature Series 16K Fifth Wheel Trailer Hitch by Draw-Tite, from e-trailer.com. They are about $100 less now than when I bought it. I paid about $640 (less shipping). I see on e-trailer.com that its now selling for about $550. I found it realtivley easy to install, but was time consuming (about 6 hrs by myself) because I had never isntalled a 5Th wheel hitch before, however I am mechanically inclined and work well with tools. I am extremly happy with this hitch because it is very easy and quick to remove. It requires NO rails inside the bed. I own a long bed, so when the hitch is removed there are no obstructions left in the bed floor. However a short bed would require the slide rails. I always remove the hitch when I do not need it, and I can lift and carry ot myself which makes it convinient.
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 268
Likes: 0
From: Garden Grove, Ca
5th wheel hitches are not that difficult to install, provided you're handy with tools and have patience. The real trick is getting the right hitch. Stay away from the 'economy' models. All they offer for a king pin locking mechanism is a steel bar with a piece of flat iron welded to it. Talk about shacke,rattle, and roll when towing. Look at hitches where the locking mechanism sort of wraps around the king pin and holds it in place.Also make sure that you get one rated for the amount of weight you'll pulling. My current hitch is a 16k Husky/Valley, slider. Nice, solid, no nonsense hitch.
