Hitch Decision

[eharris205]

I have been towing 5th wheels since 2001. As you can see, everyone has a favorite. My opinion is that you cannot beat the Hensley Trailer Saver 5th wheel hitch.
I know it is pricy but what price do you put on the ride quality of your new 5th wheel?
I have always been of the opinion that the better the ride of the trailer, the better it is for the trailer and all of its components.

[ETCrockett]

I have a 2009 F450 that had the under bed goose neck hitch. I also have the long bed and I went with the BW 20K Companion. I’m pulling a 2016 Pinnacle 38FLSA that will max out at 16K lbs. fully loaded. The BW hitch is very stable and easy towing. I’m towing almost level with 6” clearance on the bed rails. The only downside is the BW is heavy and can be bit of a pain in the a$$ to remove. This is the only FW hitch I have owned after researching hitches so I have no experience or opinion on other brands. I also have never regretted going with BW Companion. Good luck and welcome to the forum!

[Cincinnati Kid]

I watched a video on that Hensley 5th wheel hitch in action recently. Nice. You can tell that it's taking a lot of abuse that would have gone either to the truck or the trailer.

[tjwoles]

Originally Posted by Cincinnati Kid

Pullrite does make a Ford puck hitch that you can put right in without an adapter, models 1300 and 1400. We're brand new (I mean really brand new, our first 5th wheel is being built right now.) We went with the B&W Companion hitch, it's sitting in our garage waiting for me to put together. We ordered our 5th wheel with a Morryde sidewinder, so we won't need a sliding hitch. But the deciding factors for us were American made, fits Ford puck, quality and weight.- so- B&W and Pullrite. B&W is 40 pounds lighter, and with an F250, we're saving every pound we can to stay in our payload.

Thanks to everyone for the valuable feedback. There are some great hitches out there. I believe we are going with the B&W. Watching the online video looks like it works pretty slick with the Ford's puck system. The dealer has quoted us the price for the hitch plus 2 hours of labor for assembly and installation. Watching the video it looks like the actual installation will be about 15 minutes. Cincinnati Kid - how much assembly does it look like will be required? I am thinking $500 is a little too much for installation.

[Cincinnati Kid]

The B&W looks like 8 identical bolts to assemble and a bolt or two for the handle.- I haven't done it yet. You'll need a torque wrench that will do 80#, I think. Looks like a piece of cake. You can get a torque wrench for not much money, and you'll need one for your rv anyway.

[AKRUEBBE]

Originally Posted by tjwoles

Thanks to everyone for the valuable feedback. There are some great hitches out there. I believe we are going with the B&W. Watching the online video looks like it works pretty slick with the Ford's puck system. The dealer has quoted us the price for the hitch plus 2 hours of labor for assembly and installation. Watching the video it looks like the actual installation will be about 15 minutes. Cincinnati Kid - how much assembly does it look like will be required? I am thinking $500 is a little too much for installation.

With the puck system the only assembly is the hitch itself, horizontal and vertical adjustments. Even at $125.00 per hour that equates to 4 hours. With a hitch ready truck it shouldn't take no more than an hour or maybe two if they were working in slow motion

[2naEagle]

Originally Posted by tjwoles

I am thinking $500 is a little too much for installation.

I usually don't comment on things like this but you are right that is RIDICULOUS.

[RMartin]

I assembled and installed my bw in less than an hour. Instructions are very good and easy to understand. You might also shop around for the hitch and save money. My local dealer actually came within 50 dollars of online when I went in prepared with pricing. I purchased from him. Enjoy your new fiver.

[gman03842]

Originally Posted by tjwoles

Thanks to everyone for the valuable feedback. There are some great hitches out there. I believe we are going with the B&W. Watching the online video looks like it works pretty slick with the Ford's puck system. The dealer has quoted us the price for the hitch plus 2 hours of labor for assembly and installation. Watching the video it looks like the actual installation will be about 15 minutes. Cincinnati Kid - how much assembly does it look like will be required? I am thinking $500 is a little too much for installation.

Your right $500 to install the Hitch is crazy. I just had the B&W Companion installed in my new 2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax 3500HD with the factory puck system.

A local Truck accessory store installed that and a New Access Lorado tonneau cover in a little over and hour which included the on-boxing Installation to cleanup and gave me a Great price on the 2 items which included the installation.

[Lowmiler]

Let me throw a whole other option into the mix:

Reese Goose Box.

Doesn't get mentioned much around these here parts, but those that use it love it (me included).

Air ride

Clear bed

Less pin weight


A thread I started about it on another forum:

Any last warnings before I buy Reese Goose Box? - iRV2 Forums

[Big1]

I love my B&W hitch.

[AKRUEBBE]

Originally Posted by Big1

I love my B&W hitch.

x2

[Chrisb-24]

You need to utube the two hitches and make your decision from what you see. People will always tell you what they think is best. By watching the utube videos, you'll get a unbiased opinion.
Good luck in your decision.

[grampscamper]

I have a B&W. it’s a great hitch. I put it together myself in less than an hour. Dealer is charging way too much. Shop around and you’ll likely get a better price. If you not comfortable with the assembly get that as part of the deal.
I got three quotes when I purchased mine. I saved a few hundred from the highest quote.

Good luck.

[JaycoJoe66]

I would go with the one that will fit your factory installed equipment. One thing to keep in mind is weight. One has needed adapters.(extra Pieces extra weight). The lighter you can keep it the better. They are both good hitches but fitting the factory equipped truck would be my choice.

[bgelyhome]

Originally Posted by tjwoles

We are new to the 5th wheel and Jayco world having recently made the decision to upgrade our Grand Design Imagine 2800BH travel trailer to a Jayco Pinnacle 37MDQS. I have been stalking this forum and have enjoyed all the opinions and insight. We are scheduled to take delivery of our new trailer in a week or so and need to decide on a hitch. The dealer has a Pullrite ISR rated for 20K lbs which they would install on our Ford F350 long bed with the Husky rail adapters. I am trying to educate myself and have found a B&W Companion Hitch which seems to be able to be mounted without the adapters with the factory-installed 5th -wheel prep package that we have from Ford. Both hitches seem to have excellent reviews. Is there a significant advantage in going with the B&W Companion Hitch without the adapters that would outweigh the convenience of going with the Pullrite in stock at the dealer?

You didn’t say if the Pullrite hitch is an ISR SuperGlide or the ISR Super5. With a long bed, you certainly don’t need the SuperGlide. It requires some maintenance and of no value. I have a short bed GMC 3500HD with the SuperGlide Hitch. I elected to purchase Demco 5th Wheel Rail Adapter Plate in lieu of the Husky rail adapters. The Demco Adapter Plate with drop into the GMC puck system in the bed and the Pullrite ISR hitch mounts on the Adapter Plate. If you are looking at the Pullrite ISR Super 5 you may want to consider using the Demco Adapter Plate for easy removal and installation. You would also be good with the B&W Companion Hitch or the Curt Q24 5th Wheel Hitch with Ford Puck System Legs as they would be a single unit at less cost.

[RVsAndSuch]

Here at our dealership, we love the B&W hitches. They're the easiest hitch to uncouple and they're made extremely well. They've also got great customer service should you ever have any issues or questions. Look at the B&W RVK3300 fixed hitch for your Ford OEM puck system. I doubt you'll ever regret going with that hitch.

[LaserPony]

I have the same Pinnacle you are ordering and use a 2013 F350 SWB. I use the Anderson and love it. No problems with clearance. Love that it is so light and it uses my goose neck ball only so when it is out just remove ball and you have your bed back

[javan]

I have the B&W companion mounted in the bed of my 2013 Ford F350 using the built-in puck system. The big advantage for me is that the B&W can be removed in two pieces (top and bottom), effectively cutting the weight in half. That's important as you get older (I'm 80). and don't have the strength that I had when we first started RVing in 1969. The only disadvantage to the B&W is that you have to have a stool to stand on to reach the locking lever on the hitch, and to insert/remove the locking pin. Otherwise, it is a very well built hitch and we are very happy with it.

[javan]

BTW, I ordered the B&W hitch from Amazon and installed it myself.