New Member, First 5th Wheel

[MoparSigFan]

Hello All,

My wife and I have been looking at campers for years and finally made a purchase...2019 Eagle HT 29.5BHDS.
We will be towing with our 2018 Chevy Silverado 2500HD Duramax Crew Cab with the 6'4" bed. The trailer has the MorRyde Orbital pin box upgrade.
Considering the "standard" bed, the cut corners on the HT front cap and the Orbital pin box, is it safe to say we can get away without a sliding hitch?
I'm leaning heavily towards a B&W Companion model that fits the factory puck system in the truck.

We are about 2 weeks from taking delivery so I need to pull the trigger on a hitch real soon!!

Thanks in advance for your feedback
Nick

[Magnolia Tom]

Congrats on your new trailer. I’m sure someone will come along with some opinions soon.

[wiscampsin]

Welcome and enjoy your 1st 5th wheel!

[oldmanAZ]

Hello to you and congratulations on your new Eagle.

[JFlightRisk]

Can't be of help on the hitch, but welcome from Western New York State! Congratulations on the new 5er!

[ETCrockett]

Congrats on your first FW and welcome to the forum. I’m in my third camping season with my first FW. Welcome to the forum. There are a lot of great folks on here and there is not to much they haven’t seen. As to your original question, I have the BW Companion hitch and I am very satisfied. My only complaint is the weight of the thing when you want to remove it. It breaks down into two pieces which helps but it is still a pain in my back!

I can’t comment on other hitches. Good luck. I’m sure you will enjoy your new FW.

[videoguy]

Yes, you can get by w/o a sliding hitch with that setup. We pulled our previous 28.5 HT approx 3000 miles over two summers without issue with our 2016 2500HD. Had a curt e16 hitch then but now have the B&W Companion pulling our 321rsts with a 3500HD standard bed. Great hitch!

With the B&W you also have the option to set it up with an extra two inches behind the rear axle to give even more clearance. This is how I set mine up since I wasn't sure if our new Eagle would have the same clearance as our HT. Seems to have plenty. Just gotta keep an on on things when making tight turns.

[GHen]

I have a 2017 Eagle 291RSTS with the moreride pin-box and a Chevy 2500 Duramax standard bed.

I also have the Companion hitch set 2” back. No problems at all, none. I can only turn 88 degrees, never needed to go beyond about 80 degrees and I have a very tight parking spot at home.

IMHO, The slider is way too heavy to remove by one person, it offers very little benefit for the Chevy truck. I think my sons RAM bed is 2” shorter and there seems be more benefit for him. Listening to him complain regularly about how big of a pain his slider if to remove and put back in does offer some entertainment value, to me, lol.

[Big1]

Congrats and welcome to JOF! I the B&W Companion hitch also with the slider I use it once or twice but that was to see how it work other than that I haven't use it. My bed is the 6.4 bed towing with a 2017 Ram 2500 diesel.

Yes the slider is heavy but I have a hoist to lift it out of the bed with no problem and since we don't go out often I only have it in my bed a few months and then I pick it up and put it away.

If I had to do over again I would get the non-slider or maybe try out the Anderson hitch.

[Rckcrwlr]

I am running a companion hitch w/o slide on my GMC Sierra 6.5 Bed with a 355 MBQS.

Just be conscious of you angles. I have not had an issue. Practice backing into a site at a parking lot with cones to restrict your turning area.

It helps a lot before getting to the campground with all those eyes. LOL

Enjoy!!

[icr21801]

You can get away with it on most of the new 5th wheel designs with the cut caps as long as you’re conscious of your angles.
If you do decide to go with a slider, consider the Demco Hijacker Autoslide. It’s not cheap but it’s fully automatic. As you turn the truck, the slide automatically moves the hitch back up to 14” and the rails are available for most factory puck systems.

[MoparSigFan]

Wow, thanks for all of the welcoming comments and the constructive feedback!

I will be pulling the trigger on a non-sliding Companion hitch tonight!!

[Dargo]

I have a 2019 3500 with a reese revolution. Reese 20k fixed hitch, 4th trip with no problems. Have done close to 90 degree with my 357mdok.

All RVs are different so you may not have exact case as mine but should help.

[Kennessa]

I have 18k Patriot in F250 6.5' bed and still have original rear window in my truck.

[KFM]

I recommend the Pullrite Superglide for your particular situation. When we originally purchased our Jayco Eaglet HT fifth wheel, I had the Anderson hitch which is a great hitch, but I broke out the rear window of my new Ford 350 Lariat SRW diesel short bed 6 3/4 bed on our 3rd trip. There are many different opinions on glide or no-glide hitches and I was going to be the person who would watch my turns. Oh well, I wasn't as careful as I thought I was going to be and made a sharp turn and broke the rear window....broke my heart with it being a new truck and RV. I put the Pullrite Superglide in and never an issue since and we went cross country for three months and never had another problem even with 90 degree turns. I'm from the side of the opinions that with a short bed truck, it is a matter of "when" you will break the rear window with a slide hitch. Hope this is helpful.

[Whammon]

Try the Andersen hitch. I have one for my Eagle HT and almost identical setup like yours. Love it! Never a problem! Nice thing about it, easy to remove when you want your truck bed back..Congrats!

[Tdbrwn]

We have a late 2017 29.5BHDS, and we tow with our 2004 Chevy Silverado diesel, crew cab 4×4 short(standard) bed. We went with the Pullrite hitch and it works great, no issues towing at all, just keep it lubed.
We also had checked out which way to tow as we used to own a Dodge long bed and an older 5th wheel years ago, and had hoped we'd get the Jayco with the built in sidewinder king pin. We didn't though and got a great price for the Pullrite installed so went with that.
The newest issue of "Trailer Life" (and you can see the article online if you don't subscribe) talks about a new Pullrite version made for newer trucks with the 'puck' bed system.
We like not taking any chances of getting into an unknown situation with the trailer getting too close to the cab so like the automatic way of the Pullrite hitch. The Pullrite works at any turn to go back away from the truck cab.
Oh, and the 29.5BHDS? It has been a pretty good RV so far. While Jayco has done a lot, like a brand-new nose cap because of some serious stress cracking, the RV service dealer has not been that great. Like keeping our 5th wheel for 9 months!!!! to get it fixed.

[jamer]

Consider a Demco slider, worth a look. They are light from what I know.

[davolson]

We have the Companion Slider with our F250 crew cab 6.4 bed. I bought the slider to help with clearance to the box rails as we have a pretty good angle from our driveway down to the garage. Also, using the slider gives a lot more room between the tailgate when down, and the front of the trailer when hooking up.. We use it every time.. quick and easy. My wife and I can lift the base out... with some grunting.

[Marine71-76]

Welcome. And like others have said, remember your angles and/or sharp turns. DW's former boss was backing into his driveway and forgot sharp turns. Yes he took out the back window of his Chevy.