How to Lock Out a Sidewinder, And is A Sidewinder Needed on a 6 ft Bed Ford F350

Question:

I purchased a 2006 Arctic Fox 29.5R. The dealer installed a sidewinder on the 5th wheel, and installed a Valley Pull Maxx in my truck. At the time I had a Ford F150 ecoboost. No problems with power, but mileage was only 4pmg. Nobody explained what the levers did on the Valley Pull Maxx, took it to another dealer and the levers for hookup/unhook, and driving mode kept the hitch from moving from side to side, only went front to back. On the way home from dealer I got into a whip, and I felt it was due to the action of pivoting at the 5th wheel instead of the truck bed. Anyway, I got rid of the 150, now have an F350 diesel with the special mounted Reese/Ford 18K hitch. I tried to get the original kingpin for the 5th wheel back, but all they sent me were 2 bolts that are suppose to mount to the sidewinder to keep it from pivoting there. My truck has the shorter box, not 8 ft, but certainly longer than the 5 1/2 box I had on the F150. Do I need the sidewinder still? Ive been told by many RVers that I do not, not real fond of the sidewinder after the swaying problem. Do you have any idea where these bolts go on the sidewinder to convert it to a regular kingpin hitch? Thank you, going on a 2000+ mile trip soon and want all to be safe. Thanks,

asked by: Kim S

Helpful Expert Reply:

The first step is to remove the wedge that keeps the hitch from rotating at the fifth-wheel hitch in the bed of the truck.

You will then need to install two 3/4 inch X 5-1/2 inch grade 5 bolts washers lock washers and nuts in the location at the rear of the turret, see photo. Once these bolts are installed the king pin will rotate in the normal position in the fifth-wheel hitch.

Since you have a truck bed shorter than 8 feet I would not recommend you lock out the Sidewinder. I suspect the sway you experienced was from a trailer not sitting level, worn out suspension components, or improperly inflated trailer tires as typically the ride quality is improved when using a Sidewinder.

If you do lock out the Sidewinder you will need to use a slider fifth wheel hitch that will require you to get out of your truck and operate the slider every time you need to make a sharp turn, whereas the Sidewinder would not require this and would allow the trailer to track better behind your truck.

I attached an FAQ article on Sidewinders for you to check out as well.

expert reply by: Jameson C