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Heavy-duty hitch has 1-piece, wraparound jaw and easy-to-see lock indicator for maximum safety and security. Fully articulating head has large landing area and king pin target for quick hookup. Mounts to Ford OEM underbed pucks or Elite Series rails.
Features:
Specs:
The one-piece jaw on this fifth-wheel hitch provides absolute security with its wraparound design. Increased jaw-to-king-pin contact results in not only a stronger connection, but less noisy rattling and stiff chucking as well.
The jaw is also always ready to receive, so you don't need to use the handle to open it before backing up toward your trailer. As long as the bail pin is removed from the latching handle, the jaw will accept the king pin as it enters the hitch.
Finally, the jaw is self-latching, so it will automatically secure your trailer's king pin when it moves into the jaw.
In addition to the tight jaw tolerance, a close connection between the head and the pivot bushings further reduces rattle and movement. And because the pivot bushings are independent from the head, they can be tightened to ensure a strong connection over time.
This M5 hitch features a built-in king pin indicator to ensure proper hookup. This indicator is located on the back of the head along with a V-shaped notch that are both visible from the cab of your truck. The V-notch is lined up with the jaw at the front of the hitch, and can be used as a guiding point to line the king pin up with the jaw as you back up your truck. The jaw also has an internal plate that keeps the king pin from entering if it is too high to enter safely. As a result, the king pin indicator will only change from red to green if the king pin is fully engaged in the jaw.
This hitch's handle is designed for smooth motion and effortless operation. It requires only 2 fingers to use and won't bind up as you pull. In addition, the handle is long, so it's easy to access from outside of your truck bed. And the ergonomic grip makes it comfortable to hold and pull from different angles.
Alternate Instructions
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Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (428 Customer Reviews)
Heavy-duty hitch has 1-piece, wraparound jaw and easy-to-see lock indicator for maximum safety and security. Fully articulating head has large landing area and king pin target for quick hookup. Mounts to Ford OEM underbed pucks or Elite Series rails.
The Hitch worked properly the first couple of times I hooked up to my fifth wheel but after that it got to where the cheep plastic indicator that goes from red to green when the hitch is properly connected/closed would not go to green. Meaning that the latch was not properly going around the trailer pin all the way. After constantly having issues with the device, I removed the plastic indicator and it worked a lot better for awhile but now it’s back to being a constant problem every time I hook up. Almost every time I try to hook to the camper, the coupler only goes part of the way around the pin. The only way I can get it to connect properly is to get in the back of the truck with a pry bar and steal bar and hit the coupler or pry it to make it go into position. I’ve tried adjusting the position of the wedge several times and nothing seems to help. I gave it 2 stars only because I like the way the hitch pivots at the camper instead of on the fifth wheel because I have a short bed truck. If the hitch would connect properly it would be a great product. The only other issue I’ve had was when I was traveling and came to an intersection where the road I was on was at an angle to the road I was turning right onto. There was a dip/low area where the roads connected. It was a swell that allowed the rain water to flow from one side of the road to the other. When I went through the swell and turned right as the rear tires of the truck went down it caused the front of the camper to tilt down and the front of the truck because it was past the swell went up. Because the truck was in a sharp turn the camper made contact with the cab of the truck causing a small dent in the back of the truck cab near the cargo/brake light and scrubbed the paint off the corner of the camper about the size of a quarter. I would like someone from Reese to assist me with the issue I’m having with there hitch not connecting properly.
Overall, the M5 hitch is solid in build and performance. I like the green indicator window showing positive latching plus unlatching, even under some pressure, is easy. The latch handle is an easy reach but the upward pointing handle with hole in the plastic grip collects water inside. Consequently, the steel tube handle interior rusts which drips rusty water while still and flings the staining water when latching.
I have used your product for many years and have always been very happy. On the installation and assembly I have the following comments. To qualify myself, I spent many years running facilities that builds equipment for distribution all over the world.
Someone needs to have a discussion with your assembly Supervisor and Technicians about installing the cotter pins on the crown nuts. They obviously KNOW they are going to have to be removed to adjust the BY HAND tightness that has to be done during the installation process because they send (4) extra cotter pins for replacement purposes. I would recommend that the assembler or technician bend the pin just enough to keep it in the CROWN NUT DURING SHIPPING with an explicit WARNING that states "FULLY SET COTTER PINS AFTER FINAL HAND TIGHTNING ADJUSTMENT". The way mine came in, It was a pure pain in the ass to get them out.... the technician had hammered them flat to the top of the bolt. If I were your company, I would be concerned about the people that did not adjust the puck clearance because of the pain in the ass it is to get the pins out. (I just happened to have all the tool to do this, I'm sure a lot of people don't). Apparently your QC department only spot checks the pull handles for fitment on the slide plate. I had to open mine up to make it fit. Also, you could use prevailing torque nuts for connecting this arm and do away with the lock washer. I would say the device is very good as it is now. It would be Fantastic with more thought given for the installer concerning the cotter pin issue. I have looked at many of the Ratings and it seems the cotter pin issue is the number 1 issue. The paint on the threads is common on everything that is powder coated. I hope this helps your company. Oh, I changed my rating to a 5 star because I really like the final product
E-TRAILER HAS AMAMZING CUSTOMER SERVICE, THEIR PRICES ARE UNBEATABLE, AND THE FASTEST SHIPPING I HAVE EVER SEEN. i REALLY DON'T KNOW HOW THEY DO IT BUT THEY DO, I RECIEVED MY FIFTH WHEEL HITCH IN 2 DAYS, AND I'M IN FLORIDA. JUST CRAZY FAST . TGHANK YOU E-TRAILER
The installation video was great and assembling the hitch went very well. I have a tonneau cover and it mentioned that you may need to place the handle upside down. I actually attached mine right side up and just tilted the hitch to that side and had plenty of space to close the cover.
During installation, the 4 big mounting bolts (legs to main body) were extremely difficult to screw in. I had to go buy a tap set to fix two of the holes. I believe the holes had too much powder coating on the threads. The space for installing the bolts is very narrow so you only have a few clicks using a ratchet driver. So it takes a long time and even more difficult when torquing to 220 ft. Lbs. Hopefully this product works when I start pulling my 5th wheel.
It's a little heavy but manageable for the average fellers. I pieced it together in the bed of my truck as it will be a permanent fixture and as the installation brochure pointed out. They did paint the threaded holes witch could make installation of bolts a little time consuming but with my 1/2" impact it was a breeze, also was the 220 fps of torque with a 4" extension and a torque wrench rental from auto zone witch is free.The castle nuts with the cutter pins were set right but one, removed the one as they did provide 4 extra. Took me about 45 minutes to assemble. Be sure to grease top plate so that thier is no bind. Very happy as this is my very first 5th wheel hitch install and hooks with ease and the green/red indicator is great,and tows nice.
David
12/27/2022
Perfect fit, easy hook up, one thing though when you have this in a short bed pickup the 5th wheel rubs the corner of the cab a little but no biggie. I would definitely buy again and highly recommend.
The bolts that attach the legs to body require XXX ft-lbs of torque. To assemble this propery requires big tools.
In addition, the handles for the spinning mounts in the bed are so sloppy, they don't spin 90 deg for a solid mount.
This hitch requires modification to improve the design before trusting it with your RV
This is a great hitch. I already had the bed rails installed so bought the hitch to match. The assembly instructions are clear. The legs body and head come separate and have to be put together. I recommend getting someone to assist with the leg to body assembly because the parts are heavy. Torquing the bolts was awkward of the tight space. Overall I am extreme happy with it. Service from Etrailer was very good. Lots of emails about order and delivery schedule.
Very good, solid hitch. Fits very well. Not rattly. Recommend this hitch to anyone that cares about quality.
Great customer service. Fast shipping! Couldn't be happier. Thank you Ed for helping me. etrailer is the only place I'll shop from now on. Thanks again.
Very easy to use. A little heavy to constantly remove, but very secure. I am glad I made the purchase.
Michael
1/16/2024
Works great still
Fast shipping, excellent quality of workmanship. Very slight chucking with our 2019 fifth wheel toy hauler. The green indicator for lockup works flawlessly and will let you know by staying partial red if not fully engaged.
Richard
5/12/2023
It’s working great. Easy install, works flawlessly.
Very disappointed with this unit. Never able to use it because the unit did not line up with the factory puck system in my f350 even though that was the one called for. Wasn’t squared to the truck and there was no way to make it fit. Ended up returning it and bought the B&W from a local shop and love that one.
Easy to install. We still have yet to hook our 5th wheel up to it but it fits well and was pleasantly surprised at hoe easy it was to put together
Overall this hitch is excellent. One very minor thing to complain about, the grip on the Handle tour within a few times of using. Also I noticed rust stains running/dripping down from up inside the head. I will investigate this further to see exactly what is rusting.
Sierra K.
2/2/2021
John, thanks for the review. The manufacturer does offer a limited lifetime warranty for these products as long as you have been maintaining your hitch. You can view the maintenance schedule in the instructions on page 3.
Helpful Links
This will be Part 1 of a 2 part review. Part 1 will cover unboxing, assembly and installation. So the hitch arrived yesterday. 3 undamaged boxes (Good). Unboxing and parts inventory revealed a cracked handle grip on the head. Contacted Etrailer CS... no parts available until 9/21. it must be a common problem with this hitch since the CS rep knew exactly what my problem was. This won't prevent use but it's a unnecessary headache. Now THE REAL FUN begins!
Attempting to thread the 4 bolts that attach the legs to the center section. THREADS WERE POWDER COATED. Spent the rest of the afternoon gradually tightening and untightening the bolts to clear the threads of coating. tedious and unnecessary process tighten the bolt a little... back it out... blow out the debris... drop of oil and repeat. Eventually broke out my pneumatic impact wrench. Finally got the threads cleared.
It weighs quite a bit and I highly recommend you have a friend. I was alone and ended up setting the center section on a pair of jack stands at the approximate desired height (BTW had to call Etrailer tech support to get the height adjusting starting and ending dimensions since the supplied directions only tell you that there is 4 inches of vertical adjustment not what they are and what hole matches what dimension. Etrailer was great throughout this ordeal), just to get the bolts started and snugged (not torqued yet). Speaking of torque... 220 ft/lbs YIKES!!! My wrench only goes up to 150. I took the hitch down to my local garage and a very kind mechanic torqued to the required 220 ft/lbs. Gave him a $20 for his trouble. Now to setting it in the OEM pucks and adjusting the tension on the leg locks. Unit ships with cotter pins installed in the castle nuts. THEY WERE JAMMED IN TIGHT AND ALREADY BENT AND WOULDN'T SIMPLY PULL OUT ONCE STRAIGHTENED. Had to cut them off with a dremel. Fortunately Reese supplies you with 4 new ones. So after 2 days the legs and the center section are assembled and installed according to the specs. Later on day 2... time to install the head. Apparently the hitch had a common problem with the "Ready to Tow" indicator falling off. There was a "field fix" kit included with the head. It consisted of a screw and washer... it was a real pain to install... since you need three hands to stabilize the part and drive the screw... seems they could have just done that in the manufacturing process. another unnecessary headache.
Finally... after 2 full days it's all lubricated, assembled and installed in the truck.
Next step is testing the hitching and unhitching process and its first trip, planning 700 mile trip at the end of August...That will be Part 2.
Wish I could give it a higher rating on assembly, installation but it performs poorly in that aspect. My previous CURT 16k hitch went together in 30 min with no problems whatsoever. I put 3,000 miles on that Curt before I got a bigger and heavier rig, thus the upgrade to 20k. Hoping the hitching, towing and unhitching experience with this Reese allows me to upgrade my overall rating. Stay tuned.
I would have given a 5star rating but I feel the paint on the head is not of high enough quality to protect and keep it looking good. Mine has paint missing were the kingpin seat on it.
The ride is very safe and secure.
I had to order my truck without the factory hitch and puck system because of a shortage at Ford and the factory kit is made by Reese. So I ordered it from etrailer and when the truck arrives I’ll have the dealership install the puck part. Since I have the parts it’s just 4.5 hours labor and done.I can put the hitch itself together and I’ll be ready to go. I used to drive commercial truck and trailer and I like the fact that I don’t have to unlock it to hitch up the fifth wheel. It’s all ways ready to lock in.
Awsome purchase! It was easy enough to put together, hooks up very easily to a 37ft camper & small enough that it can stay in the truck at all times & fits under the bed cover. Would definitely recommend this product. The only issue we had was the blue handle cover was broken when we received but etrailer sent us a new one w/ no problem.
Really good hitch, first one I’ve ever used so was nervous at first. But the safety system on the hitch was easy to understand and felt confident towing with it within a few minutes.
The 5th wheel trailer doesn't easily detach from the hitch. It takes a lot of work to get it to unhook with the lever. Definitely a 2 person job to unhook.
Works great the only problem was 2 pins that hold on the top plate were to short called and got the right ones in 3 days
I like it alot especially when you have a small bed you can slide the hitch back makes it easier to back in spaces
I am very happy with the ordering process- Pam made sure I got what I need.
The only negative thing is the packaging- the two leg parts hit each other inside the box and the paint is gone. That is an issue on Reese not etrailer.
Sierra K.
1/18/2022
Customer Service will reach out to you. It is important to cover any bare metal with anti-corrosive paint to prevent premature rust. Here are more tips in this help article:
Helpful Links
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Jenny N.
5/15/2023
I reached out to Reese about the issues that you are having with the hitch head. They advised to make sure the unit is well lubricated by taking off the head unit and using a lithium grease spray in two locations. One place is to spray in the handle area where the indicator would be and the other place would be on the opposite side of the handle where you can see the edge of a black spring. This will allow everything to move freely. Also, the make sure that the king pin is not coming into the 5th wheel too high. I am sure that yours is fine however it was mentioned to me. If this does not help, please let me know.