I'm partial to air hitches. They are not cheap. Your camper and your truck will appreciate it. Check TrailerSaver.com.

The Junkman wrote:

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I'm using a curt .. cheap .. and seems to work great.. I'd have a air one if they made one over 20k.. without adapting a huge one in..

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 They do make one for 32k and 75oo pin.

Carol,

To get back on topic for your situation, when you say "It is already set up for a fifth wheel reciever hitch...", do you mean that it already has bed rails mounted in the bed of the truck?  If so, then finding a place to buy a fifth wheel hitch that fits your current bed rails could be done, and installing a hitch to the bed rails is simple enough for almost anyone to do.

On the other hand, is there a "receiver" mounted under the bed that accepts a "hitch" to be fastened to it.  (B&W hitches work on that kind of "receiver.)

The phrases that are linked above will take you to see images of such things as bed rails and their fifth wheels and to the B&W hitch system.

All the above hitches are good hitches, but also don't rule out the Reese brand of hitches.  I've had more than one source tell me that Reese is one of the really good brands, even though one will always find folks that want to trash any brand, including the others mentioned.

If you aren't certain of what you have in the truck, go to a dealer of fifth wheel hitches and ask them of what your truck will accept.

If it comes down to having to install something entirely new, I'd say to go with the professionals.  They are generally more knowledgeable of what is needed to install quality and to install it right.  Even the wrong bolts through the bed rails can lead to disaster.

Terry

The Junkman wrote:

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Seen a crushed bed someone brought in for repair, at RVSFORLESS.. It had the reese in it..It was a older hitch .. maybe the new ones are different.

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 I'll wager, the hitch was either overloaded, installed incorrectly, poorly maintained or there was operator error involved. Reese may have design issues or not, but it's likely the aforementioned options were likely the cause. Curt seems to be highly regarded, but they too, are subject to the same type of failures. Just sayin'

FWIW

An air hitch is the way to go if it's in the budget, but that's not the case for lots of folks and it's not necessary.

Assuming you don't go with an air hitch, all of the top brands will work fine.  However, my suggestion is to go with a hitch that has a double pivoting "head", which means the top of the hitch where the kingpin connects can pivot side to side and front to back.  This makes hitching a little easier, and the movement while traveling takes more pressure off the fifth wheel frame than a purely "static" hitch.  Just my opinion.

Also, as others have alluded to, it's the combination of the hitch and the kingpin/pinbox which makes for smoother towing.  An improper match can make the best hitch perform below expectations.

Chances are your hubby can install the hitch, but there can be unforeseen issues requiring additional work or welding, and you don't want to "make" it fit improperly.  I prefer a professional installation, but there are guys that install their own hitches all the time.

Good luck!

The Junkman wrote:

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Glenn West wrote:

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The Junkman wrote:

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I'm using a curt .. cheap .. and seems to work great.. I'd have a air one if they made one over 20k.. without adapting a huge one in..

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 They do make one for 32k and 75oo pin.

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 Not sure about that.. I don't think they have a adapter for the ram.. Plus my truck can only handle 6500 pin weight.. 

 

Besides.. with the moryd system.. I had no chucking.. bucking.. or any issues. I put the airbags on the truck suspention.. Same deal.. what 3k less ? and way over kill for a 23k trailer to boot.

 

Better suited for... not sure what , actually. New horizons? 

-- Edited by The Junkman on Wednesday 10th of September 2014 09:58:31 PM

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 I understand Dodge has the frame adapter now but if not Reese makes one. It connects to mounts in bed and provides a frame for standard hitch.

Update. We went to the local RV place for more info on a fifth wheel. Turns out there is an industry standard for fifth wheel rails, so most hitches should fit our truck. Maybe $150 to install. RV guy recommends a Reese. We went home, and I perused Craigslist. I found a used Reese, good condition, $200. Cool. It's an hour away, but we needed to take the truck for a test run anyway. We get out there, and the hitch is exactly what RV dude wanted $600 for. Craigslist guy even puts it in our truck for us, and shows us how to attach it. Looks simple enough that even I understand it. Craigslist guy says, "Did you just get that truck?" I confess that was the case, and told him it was pretty much our maiden voyage. He smiled at that and when DH handed him the $200, he gave us back 20, saying he appreciated the fact that we saved him the drive to our house. (He was probably also glad we showed up on time and with cash!) So I feel rather smug that we saved money all around! Thanks for your help.

Yep! God bless Texas! Pat K...in Texas