A Guide to Choosing to the Best Fifth Wheel Hitch

You know you need to tow something heavy. You know you need the right hitch to do so. If that’s all you know it’s okay. We’re here to help you figure the rest out! That’s why we’ve developed a few simple steps to take in order to choose the best fifth wheel hitch for your unique towing situation. It’s much easier than you may fear!

Steps to Choosing to the Best Fifth Wheel Hitch

#1 Consider towing capacity and weight

How big is the trailer you need to tow? Towing capacity is the maximum weight your truck or SUV is rated to tow. Gross trailer weight is the total weight of your 5th wheel trailer when it is loaded and hitched up to your truck. It is important to remember that your towing capacity is limited by the lowest-rated towing component. This is why we recommend purchasing a 5th wheel hitch that meets or exceeds your truck’s towing capacity. Take into consideration your future 5th Wheel trailer needs and maybe consider a larger GTW hitch and not have to change hitches because you bought a larger trailer.

#2 Measure truck bed length

You’re not done with math quite yet! You’ll need to measure your truck bed, because the length of the truck bed determines how much space or clearance your truck and trailer will have when hitched up. A long-bed pickup truck generally provides more clearance, while a short-bed truck provides less clearance. This determines which type of mounting platform your 5th wheel hitch will require, either standard rails or Underbed adapters for the different trucks.  If you have a new trailer or a used one that was manufactured in the past few years you probably don’t need a slider hitch. The newer trailers are designed for short bed trucks. The trailers have extended kingpins and round front trailer corners.

#3 Determine if the truck bed has pucks

Does your truck have the 4 pucks holes and the center Gooseneck ball hole for connecting to the Underbed system? The problem with the factory towing prep packages is there isn’t one Underbed system that has a standard hole pattern. Ford was the first truck manufacturer to use this system and all Fords use the same pattern. Dodge was next to provide the Underbed System but they use a wider footprint and the T’s (pins) that connect to the underbed system are different in the front and back. GMC/Chevy was the next to provide the Underbed system but they chose a different hole pattern then Ford or Dodge. The 2018-2019 models used a different hole pattern than the 2020-2022 hole pattern. This leaves you with a problem if you have the hitch with the built-in adapter and you change trucks.

#4 Choose permanent 5th wheel rails

If your truck is not equipped with a puck system, you will need to stick to the traditional method for installing a 5th wheel hitch. This means you will use 5th wheel base rails. Don’t be concerned; this is simple to do as well. Most 5th Wheel Hitches mount on standard base rails. There are some that require vendor specific rails.

#5 Select your style of 5th wheel hitch

You are now confident with the type of mounting platform needed for your pickup truck. All that is left to do is browse our selection of 5th wheel hitches based on weight capacity and features. You’re finished!

Order the Best Fifth Wheel Hitch from AirSafe Hitches

Now that you know what to buy, all that is left to do is to order it. Shopping our website makes it incredibly simple and convenient to get the exact hitch you’re looking for. With a few clicks of the mouse, your order will be complete. Soon, it will arrive fully assembled and ready to mount in your . All that is left to do is install it on your truck and you’re ready to tow. It couldn’t be any more convenient!