Is Sidewinder Pin Box Needed When Towing Truck with 5-1/2 ft Bed

Question:

I Just bought an f-150 crew cab short bed 55 and am going to install my 14K Reese Sliding hitch with a custom kit I bought from you. The hitch was previously used on a Tundra with a 6foot bed towing my 1989 ultralight Wilderness Fifth Wheel 4,500 lbs. Since I have a sliding hitch and and never had problems with the 6foot bed is a sidewinder an absolute? Is that 6inch really a problem? I really never even used the slider with the Tundra and just avoided backing into spots that required sharp turns. I never had a problem making turns on streets . I set the old hitch in the new pickup and it looks like I will have 25inch from center of hitch to back of cab. My trailer is only 87inch wide. So the sidewinder calculations would work gives me about 3.5inch clearance without using slider. I have been reading a lot of comments on how hard the sidewinder is to couple so that makes me a little wary of getting one. If I do go that route should I also get the Custom wedge for the RBW pinbox? My pin box is a RBW 7028. I read where this can make hooking up easier.. to replace the universal wedge that comes with the Sidewinder.

asked by: Ron

Expert Reply:

If you knew for sure that you'd never need the ability to make a super tight turn you might be okay with a standard slider and a truck bed that is 5-1/2 feet long. But for most people it's just not possible and a Sidewinder will be the best route. Since your pin box is an RBW 7028 the correct Sidewinder is the part # RP61412.

Using a custom wedge will make using the Sidewinder easier too. The correct one is the part # 30850. This is highly recommended over the universal wedge. In general it's really pretty rare that we hear about difficulty using a Sidewinder. Many report back how nice it makes the entire towing experience.

expert reply by: Jameson C