Quote:
Originally Posted by JCB-1
Quick question...Considering a B & W Companion hitch for a Chevrolet SRW short bed. I understand GM moved their pucks several inches to the rear for 5th wheel issues, and curious if anyone has seen the need for a slider considering this change (or any other issues I should consider before buying). Purchasing a 2020 Montana 3121. Many thanks in advance...Jim
|
You are correct that GM moved the pucks around. That is making the availability of some of the sliders a little bit delayed, like the PullRite.
The question of slider vs. no slider has been battered around quite a bit, and we've all took our turn at justifying one over the other.
This is my opinion, and you're free to do with this what you will:
IF I'm going to invest a slider, I want that slider to be automatic, 100% of the time. To me, the reason for buying a slider is insurance. I want that 100% insurance my 5er is not going to contact my cab.
Picture this: It's Memorial Day weekend at the lake, and you've arrived there on Friday at 6PM, and everyone and there dog is there backing into sites. You get there, and you're not in your "normal" spot, but it doesn't look that much different turning than your normal spot, and you start backing. In all of the panic of trying to do it quickly and get out of the other campers way, you decide that you do not need to spend the time to manually move the slider, since, again, it doesn't look any different than the site 3 down. In the panic of backing, you get off, and don't realize it, and you're over corrected, and your wife is yelling at you that you're about to hit a tree, and you correct the wrong way on the wheel, and BANG, the cab contacts the corner.
For anyone with an auto slider, they don't worry about this situation, because they know that they are not going to hit. I hear a lot of people say that they have a manual slider, and they never slide, and they have never needed it. I'm sure that's true. I don't know that I "need" an auto slider either, but the risk of that "one" time, is just not worth it my opinion.
If you find that you NEED a slider to get into a certain spot, make a turn in your driveway (my situation), then it makes no sense to get a manual slider. Get an auto-slider, and never worry about remembering to do anything but drive and back. With a manual slider, you'll find yourself not using it in situations, that you're fine in, and pretty soon, you become comfortable with it, and then BANG.
If, on the other hand, you know that you can ALWAYS control all of the situations that you'll end up in, and you ALWAYS know that you're going to take your time under ALL circumstances, then go with a non-slider. Forget all of that monkey motion and the mechanics.
If you look around, you'll get as many opinions as you care to get. I personally think that it comes down to your level of comfort in knowing that you can control everything. I personally don't trust myself, or probably better stated, situations that one
might find themselves in, or any of the other unforseen things that happen. I want that 100% insurance, so I opt for an autoslider.
I'm sure others don't agree with this, and again, they are all opinions...