Is a Slider 5th Wheel Trailer Hitch Required for a 2013 Chevy Silverado 2500HD Short Bed

Question:

I have a 2013 Silverado 2500 HD Crew Cab w/ 6.5foot box. I am looking at installing a BandW Gooseneck and the 5th wheel Companion hitch. The recommended companion hitch for my truck is the slider hitch. Seeing that the box lenght on my truck is over 6foot do I truely need the slider hitch. I know of many other other silverado short bed trucks 6.5foot box that have a 5th wheel hitch not BandW in them do not have a slider hitch. I only occasionally pull the 5th wheel so not sure if I truely need to spend the extra money on the slider hitch. The trailer I pull has the long neck king pin on the 5th wheel trailer if that makes a difference.

asked by: Ben

Expert Reply:

You will likely need a slider hitch unless you have a very narrow 5th wheel trailer. To determine if you need the clearance offered by a slider you can do a little measuring and some math.

When installed, the center of the gooseneck ball hole for installation kit # BWGNRK1012-5W will be approximately 44-3/4 inches forward of the rear edge of the truck bed (not tailgate). Measure from that point to the back of the truck cab.

Then measure the width of the 5th wheel overhang and divide by 2 to get half. The truck bed cab measurement you took needs to be at least 4 inches greater than half the width of the 5th wheel overhang to safely make 90 degree turns without hitting the truck cab and trailer together.

That is without the travel of the slider. The slider will move the pivot point back 12 inches. So in the first measurement you took, you would then add 12 inches. That 12 inches could make all the difference.

It sounds like your trailer has what is called an extended pin box. This would mean the king pin at the bottom of the box extends out further in front of the trailer overhang. If it does then you measure from the front of the trailer overhang forward to the center of the king pin and also add that to the ball hole to truck cab measurement.

Some 5th wheel trailers have rounded off corners or they are not very wide and it is entirely possible that those could be towed without issue on a short bed truck. Before making a purchase though I urge you to take the measurements and do the math. That will tell you for sure whether or not you will need a slider.

expert reply by: Michael H