Fifth Wheel Hitch for 2019 Ram 3500 6-1/2 FT bed, OEM Prep Package Pulling a 12000 LB Fifth Wheel

Question:

Hello! My wife and I recently decided to trade our travel trailer in and upgrade to a fifth wheel Reflection 31MB GVWR: ~12,000 lbs. I have a diesel 2019 Ram 3500 SRW Megacab 4x4. It also has the factory Ram OEM prep for fifth wheels or gooseneck. I have looked at a variety of hitches from BW to Curt to Andersen to Demco to PullRite. All seem like great quality hitches and each has their own features. Also, the people that use them love them. I think from reading I would like to either have a manual slider or automatic slider hitch and ideally something that is relatively easy for me to handle moving out of the truck when not in use. Andersen, Curt, and BW are probably higher on my list currently but Im open to others as well. Given that Im new to fifth wheels, Im hoping you could provide some recommendations.

asked by: Kevin V

Helpful Expert Reply:

On your 2019 Ram 3500 SRW Mega Cab 6-1/2 ft bed with the OEM prep package pulling a 12000 lb camper I recommend the Curt A16 5th Wheel Trailer Hitch w/ R16 Slider - Dual Jaw - 16,000 lbs and Adapter Rails for Curt 5th Wheel Hitch w/ Slider - Ram Towing Prep Package Item # C16521 and item # C16022. This kit gives you everything you are looking for. It is light enough for one person to install and remove because the head can be separated from the base, the base can be separated from the rails. It is easy to install, has 3 different mounting locations for the head which provide excellent clearance between the trailer and the truck bed rails.

I always recommend at least 6 inches of clearance between the bed rails and the bottom of the trailer. If you have a tonneau cover I recommend setting the head height just below the top edge of the bed rails. This allows the hitch to be covered by the tonneau cover when not pulling the trailer however, it can be adjusted higher if needed.

It also provides 12 inches of total slide travel for easier maneuvering into tight spaces. It is a dual jaw hitch which provides a much tighter fit around the king pin. Once you are ready to hook up to the trailer it has color indicators. When the handle is pulled the colors will indicated if you are coupled and ready to tow, ready to couple and not ready to tow. All can be seen from inside the truck .

I have provided links to videos to help walk you through how to install the adapter rail into the bed the hitch head, and hitch head on to the slider base and a link to a video how the hitch works