Pin box extender

[JJZ 109]

I've had a Class A CDL for over 30 years, but never had occasion to pull anything fifth wheel other than driving tractor trailers. Wife and I found a great deal on a 5th wheel camper and bought it. Now inexperience in researching issues with them is coming back to bite me.
Bought a 1999 Jayco Designer 31' camper from an individual. Very nice shape, great price. Had a local RV place install a Reese 16k hitch in my truck. It's not a slider. 2014 F250/6.5 box. Having read up a little bit ahead of time (but not nearly enough) I made sure to keep an eye out for the trailer nose hitting the back of my cab when bringing the camper home. Good thing or I would have crunched it.
So now the question is what to do for a pin box extender? Of course the current pin box is a Leland AF7900, used only for the 1999 model year apparently. Etrailer has an article stating that a Reese Sidewinder ST400-SW16K will do the trick with the Leland pin box. Another old (2006) article that I turned up stated that Leland (apparently bought out by Dexter in the ensuing years), Jayco and Dexter do not recommend it due to too much flex on the trailer frame.
So now I have no idea what to do. A phone call to the RV dealer that installed the hitch only this morning has not been returned. After spending $1100+ with tax & installation for the 5th wheel hitch, its' looking like almost another $900 with shipping and self install for the Sidewinder.
Has anyone had to deal with this apparently obsolete stuff?

 

[Diamondpilot]

Never delt with that stuff but we have converted many 5th Wheel Campers To GN with a extender.

Your only other real option is a slider hitch.

Chris

 

[Gunny]

Did you have a hitch with above bed rails installed? If so, you can get just the slider portion and bolt your current head onto it.

Like this: Pro Series Fifth Wheel Slider w/ Rollers for 15K, 16K and 2K Head Pro Series Accessories and Parts RP392

I wouldn't recommend converting it to a gooseneck, just a lot more money and the RV forums have all kinds of horror stories about damage to their 5th wheels because of the conversion.

Another option if you have the above bed rails is check out Craigslist, around here they're always posting used slider hitches in the $300 to $450 range

 

[RobS]

I had a fifth wheel camper for years, slider hitch in a short bed truck. Rarely used the slider, just be careful when navigating close areas (mostly just campgrounds).

 

[JJZ 109]

This would definitely present a problem in tight spots. Stopped by local RV dealer today. They're thinking a unit similar to this one: PopUp RV5 5th Wheel Extended King Pin Hitch Trailer RV Camper
They'll be on the road doing some work so they're going to stop by, measure and probably install right here in my driveway. Will be a much lower cost alternative than the Reese Sidewinder I mentioned earlier.
I'm a seamless gutter contractor. People pay me because it's a specialty item that they can't do themselves. So in this case, I think it better to pay someone who does this every day than to muddle through things on my own and possibly spend unnecessary money or try to send back an incorrect item.

 

[JJZ 109]

Did you have a hitch with above bed rails installed? If so, you can get just the slider portion and bolt your current head onto it.

Like this: Pro Series Fifth Wheel Slider w/ Rollers for 15K, 16K and 2K Head Pro Series Accessories and Parts RP392

I wouldn't recommend converting it to a gooseneck, just a lot more money and the RV forums have all kinds of horror stories about damage to their 5th wheels because of the conversion.

Another option if you have the above bed rails is check out Craigslist, around here they're always posting used slider hitches in the $300 to $450 range

The head installer/tech at the local RV dealer said basically the same thing about it not being a great idea to convert to gooseneck. The current brand new hitch does have rails mounted atop the bed floor, but the only movement is side to side, not front to rear. Even if it was, I'd be concerned about the load being shifted further behind the axle and making the rear of the truck sag. As it is now, it's centered over the axle. When the weight of the trailer is lowered onto the truck, it's almost like nothing is there as far as squatting the truck.