Sidewinder and Hitch Recommendation for 2015 Ram 3500 for Best Turning Clearance

Question:

Hello, I am new to 5th wheeling as we have always had a travel trailer. That being said, I have some tight maneuvering to get my 5th wheel into the shop. The sales person recommended the Sidewinder hitch for tight turning radiuss. This is a tight turn and down a short hill where the truck will still be on the hill after the 5th wheel has cleared the hill and is now flat. I have a 2015 Dodge Ram 3500 long bed with factory removable pucks for mounting the hitch in the bed. I noticed that they also make a hitch that slides called the Demco Hijacker. I will be removing the hitch once we get to our job site so easy off and on installation would also be a factor. I would seem that the Hijacker hitches are quite heavy. Please recommend the best solution including part numbers. This is for a 37foot 5th wheel that weighs roughly a little over 10,000. Thanks in advance

asked by: ROYAL S

Expert Reply:

The Demco Hijacker Autoslide is a nice hitch but it does weigh quite a bit so for easy removal it would not be my first choice. Also since you have a long bed truck you really aren't going to gain much with a slider hitch in terms of clearance.

With a Sidewinder pin box the trailer will track better behind the vehicle around tight turns and be easier to back up so this would be the solution I would go with.

You will need to remove the pin box of the trailer and replace it with a Sidewinder pin box. Sidewinders are pin box specific so you will first need to know what pin box you have now in order to pick out the correct one.

There should be a sticker or a stamping on the OEM pin box of the trailer that will list the pin box number that is on the trailer.

Once you figure out which pin box you have you can check the FAQ I attached that has a chart that shows the correct Sidewinder to get based on which pin box you have.

The B and W Companion hitch part # BWRVK3600 would be the best option for a hitch for your Ram hitch prep package. This will fit directly to the pucks of your truck bed and will give you basically the nicest fifth wheel hitch around. For a wedge for the Sidewinder you would want then the part # SWW-06.