WELCOME TO RIVER DAVES PLACE

update: went with demco, PARKER CAMPING

Riverryder

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i recently purchased a trailer. the rdp starter pack is almost complete besides the 80k golf cart.

2022 grand design 303 rls

truck is a 2012 gmc sierra ccrb(6.5ft bed) srw duramax. yes i know f150 could doit better.

its time to decide on the hitch, its between the Demco Autoslide or Anderson gooseneck.

the place i purchased the trailer from is really pushing me to get the Anderson. this is my first 5th wheel have had a tongue pull before this trailer. so no experience in 5th wheel hitches.

the short amount of research i have done. everything i have found is people that were given each product to try and do a review and help with sales not real honest opinions.

demco autoslide

pros
nothing added to trailer
looks stronger
looks more newbie friendly
might be able to first foot of the bed for things
easy of hauling other 5th wheels if ever needed

cons
weight

anderson

pros
weight
cost

cons
have to add attachment to trailer
looks like the weight might fold it( i know its not likely but still)
restrict trailer movement side to side, damage trailer frame?
less forgiving while towing?
loss of bed space?
less turning radius
wouldnt be able to attach other trailers without attachment



what do you guys and why?
have experience with either?
 

timstoy

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BW Hitch. Had them in two trucks pulling a 50’ enclosed trailer with a GN boat on a dolly trailer. You can do gooseneck or fifth wheel with the BW hitch and remove for full bed access with no brackets bolted to the bed. Have seen Anderson aluminum hitches bend and break.
 

Riverryder

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@timstoy first off thanks for your response.

i wanted the bw hitch. they are on back order and have no idea when they will be caught up with orders. trailer comes home in 2 weeks. so my options are anderson and demco. i like the ease of not having to worry about the trailer hitting the cab while making turns on the street. jus not sure about the add weight.

anderson im worried about the strength. it kind of seems like a ford vs gm vs ram topic when it comes to hitches. some people stand behind a brand just because.
 

X Hoser

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I have a 2015 GMC CC std bed, 6.5’, and went with the Reese slider hitch for all of the “Pro’s” listed in your comments. Gives me much more flexibility. Only con I have is the weight when removing from the bed. What I have seen is people leave the hitch attached to the 5th wheel and disconnect from the truck bed, freeing up the bed space. I have not done that yet but interesting concept. I also like the ability to slide the hitch back to get into tight spots, even though I have never had to.

With all of that said, 3 friends have the Anderson hitch and all three swear by them.
 

Riverryder

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@timstoy the dealer is purchasing the hitch and installing part of the piping i gave them haha

@X Hoser what do they say about them? seem like the big 3 discussion right? some people just pick a brand and stick with it.

i don't need really need the hitch to come out. i have another truck so if a truck is need i can use that.
 

X Hoser

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@timstoy the dealer is purchasing the hitch and installing part of the piping i gave them haha

@X Hoser what do they say about them? seem like the big 3 discussion right? some people just pick a brand and stick with it.

i don't need really need the hitch to come out. i have another truck so if a truck is need i can use that.
No experience or exposure to the BW hitch. I’ve always had Reese and you are correct, probably just stick with the brand as it has performed well for me. I leave mine in the truck 90% of the time so the weight is no big deal to me either.
 

Icky

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I have the pullrite superglide, it's heavy and takes up a lot of room in the bed. But it slide out further than the demco and I found a brand new looking used one for a fraction of the cost of new.
20210109_152321.jpg
20210109_160638.jpg
 

25Elmn8r

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I went with the Reese Goosebox. Completely replaces the pinbox on the trailer. (Not my image)
20140417_125922.jpeg


I did this for two reasons, I already have a gooseneck hitch in all 3 of the trucks, and the Reese Goosebox is the only gooseneck hitch that doesn't void the warranty on the Lippert frame.

2 of the 3 trucks are longbeds, I doubt we'll ever use the shortbed, but in the event we had to thats when I'll need to be concerned with cab clearance in tight turns.

I'll never use the Anderson adapter, I've seen too many of these failures...
qW5MCdq.jpeg
 
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Your ad here

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If you don't mind low tech but a strong setup look into the manual reese 5th wheel slider setup. It's a manual slider that you have to get out and well, manually pull the lever. There is a pin that secures the 5th wheel plate to it which is nice... you can break the unit down into 2 pieces and load and unload it into your truck by yourself. I have little floss arms and I was able to handle it. The drawback is you'll probably need 5th wheel rails in the bed. I still have mine long after the trailer has been gone and actually get use out of them as tie down points and bed reinforcement.
Another advantage is it doesn't take up much room compared to the auto sliders. If you dont have a toolbox in the front of the bed you can take the 5th wheel and move it forward when you're not using it and gain some bed space. Just lift the whole thing forward and place the rear pin mounts in the front rail and the front pin mounts should be by the bulkhead of the bed.
 

Flying_Lavey

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I went with the Reese Goosebox. Completely replaces the pinbox on the trailer. (Not my image) View attachment 1024900

I did this for two reasons, I already have a gooseneck hitch in all 3 of the trucks, and the Reese Goosebox is the only gooseneck hitch that doesn't void the warranty on the Lippert frame.

2 of the 3 trucks are longbeds, I doubt we'll ever use the shortbed, but in the event we had to thats when I'll need to be concerned with cab clearance in tight turns.

I'll never use the Anderson adapter, I've seen too many of these failures... View attachment 1024898
My dad went this way with his new truck and loves it! Says there is almost NO chucking, unlike the manual Reese slider he had for years. He said its a little more time consuming to connect (have to get the hitch over the top of the ball) but the towing comfort and bed space more than makes up for it.

Most of the new 5th wheel trailers are designed for better cab clearance in tight turns since short bed trucks are BY FAR the most popular tow vehicle by volume so I wouldnt really worry about needing a slider. I know my dad only used his maybe a half dozen times in the 15 years he had it.

Actually, I just looked up the OP's model and one of its features is a "Aerodynamic front cap with max turn radius".
 

DILLIGAF

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I have the Anderson as it was already configured. I have had two instances where it dropped and hit the bed while making some tight maneuvers. Its done its job and not collapsed and I hate seeing those pics where they have....YIKES!

It works fine for me as long as it holds up. I would prefer more stout (if that is the right terminology) if I bought a new setup though. Cost would not be my consideration....stoutness would be
 

25Elmn8r

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My dad went this way with his new truck and loves it! Says there is almost NO chucking, unlike the manual Reese slider he had for years. He said its a little more time consuming to connect (have to get the hitch over the top of the ball) but the towing comfort and bed space more than makes up for it.

This! So much smoother than the standard 5th hitch. The airbag takes a lot of the jarring bumps out of it. Getting lined up is a bit more time consuming, cant bump this trailer like we can our horse trailers, but having full use of the bed when not towing by just flipping the ball over is priceless. The only complaint I have is the airbag doesn't hold the pressure beyond +/-48 hours. So each time I hookup I have to air it up. Seems to be the only complaint I read about on other forums.
 

Dalton

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I went with the Reese Goosebox. Completely replaces the pinbox on the trailer. (Not my image) View attachment 1024900

I did this for two reasons, I already have a gooseneck hitch in all 3 of the trucks, and the Reese Goosebox is the only gooseneck hitch that doesn't void the warranty on the Lippert frame.

2 of the 3 trucks are longbeds, I doubt we'll ever use the shortbed, but in the event we had to thats when I'll need to be concerned with cab clearance in tight turns.

I'll never use the Anderson adapter, I've seen too many of these failures... View attachment 1024898

If they cut the tubes straight at a angle on the bottom and notched the top ones instead of pinching it on both ends it would be so much stronger


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

WYRD

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@timstoy first off thanks for your response.

i wanted the bw hitch. they are on back order and have no idea when they will be caught up with orders. trailer comes home in 2 weeks. so my options are anderson and demco. i like the ease of not having to worry about the trailer hitting the cab while making turns on the street. jus not sure about the add weight.

anderson im worried about the strength. it kind of seems like a ford vs gm vs ram topic when it comes to hitches. some people stand behind a brand just because.
I have a b&w slider hitch and it feels very sturdy when connected the only major complaint I have though is loading and unloading this thing is a pain in the ass. I use a forklift even then it's a pain because the receiver hitch tends to bind up even when lifting straight up and the weight of this thing would bring shame to even the most offensive yo mama jokes.

My trailer has the Reese sidewinder pin that will allow you to utilize a short bed without a slider hitch. Only it states right on there you cannot use it with a single point connection hitch( IE B&W.) My last truck had the rails installed and while it's nice not to have rails in the bed they did get a lot of use for strapping stuff down. If your truck has the factory Puck system definitely would utilize that over the b&w hitch.

I also researched the Andersen hitch before I bought mine and there are several videos of breakage on YouTube. I ultimately decided against that because if your vehicle is involved in a front-end Collision that seems to be the weak point where it will bend.
 

Riverryder

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so where's the best place to stay in parker. we aren't taking the boat and want somewhere to stay with a beach for the kids to play. found foxs doesnt look to have much beach area, pirates looks to only rent the second row in.
 

boatnam2

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so where's the best place to stay in parker. we aren't taking the boat and want somewhere to stay with a beach for the kids to play. found foxs doesnt look to have much beach area, pirates looks to only rent the second row in.
If you don't have to be on the AZ side, echo has a nice beach, if you get down far enough the hill blocks the afternoon sun so that is a added bonus. Arcade, bar and wading pool for kids while dad has a drink.
 

yz450mm

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so where's the best place to stay in parker. we aren't taking the boat and want somewhere to stay with a beach for the kids to play. found foxs doesnt look to have much beach area, pirates looks to only rent the second row in.
Pirates is super nice with the white sand beaches and beachfront Cabanas, but good luck getting a first row spot in the next 6 months. If you're on the second or third row there, you're kind of s*** out of luck unless somebody is cool enough to share their beach with you.

La Paz County Park next door has a lot of beaches to play on, and Pirates and Roadrunner are within walking distance.

Emerald Cove is huge, I always see lots of people on the beach but I've never stayed there myself. Haven't heard too many positive reviews from anybody on here.

We had a lot of fun at Riverland, very good Community feel and lots of kids to interact with our daughter.

Echo would be a great option for you, as said above there are lots of amenities on site for everybody. Very nice Beach, and super close to Big Bend for pizza and the arcade.

Big bend is another place with lots of nice amenities, and although I haven't actually used it, the beach there looks pretty nice. Talk to @rivermobster for info on that park.

There's a few more that are up River on either side, but I don't have any experience with those.

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Riverryder

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ill message @rivermobster. i look forward to seeing that part of the river and relax with the new trailer. i wanted to bring the boat but the lady says i cant trailer
only this trip... we have the damn dam run to attend the weekend after .
 

rivermobster

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ill message @rivermobster. i look forward to seeing that part of the river and relax with the new trailer. i wanted to bring the boat but the lady says i cant trailer
only this trip... we have the damn dam run to attend the weekend after .

Where do you live? I think Parker would be the last place I would want to go camping, without the boat, this time of year!
 

rivermobster

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@rivermobster yeah I hear you. But it just works out for a short trip. I live in Vegas.

How about heading north?

Zion, Brice, maybe shore camping on Lake Mead? If you have more than a weekend, I'd be checking out Duck Creek. 😉

Basically Parker sucks in the summer. There are a lot of peeps you wouldn't normally see out there now due to covid funds and people working remotely.

Camping at Big Bend kinna sucks. Super crowded beach aera. I'd pass on BB for sure. If you insist on camping at Parker...

Sunshine Resort looks pretty cool from the water. You might wanna check that place out. Beaches look really nice.

I love Parker. But I'm not going near it until October at least.
 

Icky

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I have my trailer at the Bluewater resort Rv park as everywhere else was full. The beach kinda sucks right there, but if they open the hotel beach back up next door its nice. There's nothing too spectacular about the park and you need to drive or taxi to go anywhere.

Whatever park you pick, make sure you have a generator that will run your AC incase they lose power.
 
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Riverryder

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This trip Parker works for us. As I get the trailer in Laughlin and it being a short trip rather get to the spot set it up and relax. Have trips planned to the mountains coming up. I want to see how the trailer does in the heat.
 
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