Got tired of having 2 people to lift 5th wheel hitch from bed

[chlinthi]

Since my 5th wheel hitch takes up so much of my short bed F250 truck, I find myself needing to remove it between trips some times to get the extra space back. I got tired of asking my next door neighbor to help me lift it out and finally put a manual chain hoist in the garage above my bed, so I can remove and reinstall it myself.

[Racinforthefinish]

Where there is a will, there is a way! Good idea!

[Lifespalette]

Sweeeeet...........

[RoyBraddy]

Why don't you just pull the pins on the floor while the fifth wheel hitch is still connected then you can just drive out from under the whole thing. I have seen this done a few times.

Your first thought is how safe this would be. That is a massive couple hundreds lbs hanging there...

You could always just slide a step ladder under it while parked to make you feel better.

Roy Ken

[Seann45]

What Roy just said...

[clubhouse]

Originally Posted by RoyBraddy

Why don't you just pull the pins on the floor while the fifth wheel hitch is still connected then you can just drive out from under the whole thing. I have seen this done a few times.

Your first thought is how safe this would be. That is a massive couple hundreds lbs hanging there...

You could always just slide a step ladder under it while parked to make you feel better.

Roy Ken

Interesting thought, although the OP doesn't say, I just assumed the hoist was to install and remove, not to store suspended. If that is also the storage solution I agree with Roy and Sean.

If it was me, I would head to harbor freight for a low-boy furniture dolly. After removing the hitch, I woudl lower it to rest on the dolly roll it out of the way.

[Witt74]

Since I use my truck as a daily driver and to haul other stuff as well, I went wit an idea I saw in an old Trailer Life magazine. I built a roll-a-round cart the same height as my truck bed. To install the hitch, I just roll the cart up to the truck, slide the hitch into the bed using a piece of plywood to slide the hitch up to the bed rails. Reverse procedure to unload and store.

[Jmooney]

I do the same. Hoist hanging from steel Cross beam in Garage.


I also installed eye bolts through open holes in the hitch and use chains from the two front eye bolts and another chain from two rear eye bolts.


When its time to hoist, the two chains come together to the hook on the hoist.


Once in the bed on the truck, the two chains just lie on the bed of the truck ready for use.


Once out of the truck, lowered onto a floor dolly and off to the corner off the garage

[tikokoby]

Hello everyone, I had the same issue. I did not want to bother anyone to help me and my wife could not lift it. The other problem is that I have a Ford F250 and it does not fit in my garage so I could not use a hoist that attached to my ceiling.

I ended up buying a engine hoist that is easy wheeled around and folds up when not in use. It works great and I can do everything by myself.

Thanks

[DMRGMC]

I mounted a truck winch inside the garage, above the door opening, spanning the trusses, so that the cable drops down between the inside front wall and the end of the open garage door. I extended the cables down the side so I can hook up the controller and dc power source at floor level. My truck doesn't fit all the way in so I back in, hook up, remove the pins, winch it up a few inches and drive the truck out. Then lower it on to a dolly to move it aside. That way the winch is not visible. I leave a short web strap on the hook of the winch to guide the cable down if needed. Reverse for installation. Works slick!

[Idahoboy]

Spend a little money and buy an Anderson hitch then you can just do it your self. They don't way much

[UPCamper]

Man, Im glad I have a simple manual slider. A few pins and it breaks in two, then I grab it out. Takes less than 5 minutes. My buddy just faced this dilemma of what to do with an autoslider the dealer wanted to sell him at 300 lbs. He ended up with a Reese manual for this very reason.

In any case, be careful!

UPC

[SoCalAngler]

Originally Posted by Idahoboy

Spend a little money and buy an Anderson hitch then you can just do it your self. They don't way much

Yes, they are light (40# for the rail mount model). Just ordered mine today!!

[chlinthi]

Thanks for all the feedback and different ideas.

I do only use the hoist to remove it and reinstall it - it only hangs there for the time it takes me to pull the truck up and away from it and then to lower it down to the ground. I have a simple dolly I rest it on to store it in the garage while its not in the truck.

I have regrets on getting the sliding hitch too - the extra weight is a ton and I don't need the slider hitch at all, but one of those things that the dealer recommended to be safe and I didn't know better at the original purchase time. With my 5th wheel and truck I would not get the slider again.

As for the weight of that hitch and how I have it mounted to the garage trusses, I have no concerns at all as there is a primary support beam going across there which has about 6 2x4's and 2x6's all together supporting the weight of the 2nd floor - so I should be fine.