Recommended 5th Wheel Hitch to Reduce Chucking and Jarring for a 2005 Ford F-250/F-350 Super Duty

Question:

I have a 2005 f250 with a husky 16k sliding hitch. I have a lot of chucking it gets very violent at time.it feels like the truck is trying to be ripped in half. there seems to be a lot of play it this hitch. when you stop it moves forward and when you accelerate it then slams back. I have a 35ft cyclone toyhauler. weight is 15k . Do you have a recommendation if a reese or curt hitch would fix these problems.

asked by: Brett B

Expert Reply:

We have some excellent 5th wheel hitch options that will help to reduce the chucking and jarring with your 2005 Ford F-250/F-350 Super Duty. I have a Curt, a Reese, and one other option for you to consider from Demco.

The Curt A16 5th Wheel Hitch, part # C16521, is a very good slider option that uses the 2-jaw system which provides a 360-degree jaw-to-king-pin contact. This will help keep the king pin snug and secure to the 5th wheel hitch. It has a 4 inch height adjustment and is rated for 16,000 lbs. This 5th Wheel Hitch will fir on your Husky base rails, but if you do not have any base rails then you will want part # C16448-204.

My next option for you is the Reese 16K 5th Wheel Hitch, part # RP30051. This hitch is similar to the Curt in that it uses a dual-jaw system that also provides a 360-degree 5th-wheel-to-king-pin contact. The Reese 16K works with industry standard rails, but if your Husky rails are not industry standard then you will want to get the base rails part # RP30035.

Those two options are very solid choices, but there is one other option which is my favorite 5th wheel hitch. It isn't a Reese or Curt, but from everything that you mentioned I think you might appreciate this option as well since the 5th wheel hitch itself is still around that same price range as the Reese Titan.

The Demco Hijacker, part # DM8550034, not only uses the wraparound single-piece jaw for that 360-degree contact plus the locking bar, but it also features a double-pivot hitch head that makes hooking your trailer up very easy and helps to prevent chucking. The best part about this 5th wheel hitch is that you do not have to get out of your vehicle to engage/disengage the sliding feature. This is an automatic slider, so when you turn, the head slides towards the tailgate and when you straighten out it automatically moves back towards the cab. This 5th wheel will work with industry standard base rails as well, however, if you do not have industry standard rails you will want to use part # DM8552001-71.

I have included some demonstration videos for you as well.