First of all, I want to thank Lippert Scouts and Curt for giving me the chance to try out and review the new Curt Crosswing 5th Wheel Hitch. When it arrived, it was packed very well and there was absolutely no damage the box or the contents. Opening the box, I verified that all parts were accounted for. This was an old habit from my military days of assembling and installing new equipment. You always make sure that you have everything you need before you get into the install and find out that you don't have all the tools or parts you need. The instructions, while well written and easy to follow, didn't tell you all the tool sizes that you needed for the install. You need a couple of large adjustable wrenches to tighten the large bolts and nuts for the main attachment point. Once I had everything I needed, I began by removing my current traditional 5th wheel Hitch (Reese 20K) and I don't mind telling you it was extremely heavy and made the new hitch even more attractive with it's lower weight. I then installed the base to my ISR rails with no issues at all. It fit perfectly into the slots and the small rubber pads went right in place. Providing new attachment pins for the hitch was a nice touch as well. The ones from my old hitch would have worked but the new ones just added confidence in the strength of the new parts. When I installed the attachment section to the base, I did make a really bad judgement call and set it to the same height as my old hitch. I didn't find my error until I went to connect the camper a few days later that it set the front of the camper several inches too high, and it made the rear leveling jacks too close to the ground for my taste. Even when I lowered the center point to it's lowest possible setting, it still looks like it is a couple of inches too high and it allows my rear leveling jack to rub my concrete driveway when I pull out from the house and back it back into spot when I get home. When I left this weekend for my first camping trip with this new hitch, I could not believe again how easy it is to connect to the camper and lock in place. It locks in really tightly and one thing I didn't notice until I tried to disconnect the base of the attachment device that I mounted on my hitch pin is that it locks into the base of the hitch, so you have to raise it up high enough to clear the hitch or it won't release. I find that to be another safety feature to keep it connected to the tow vehicle without fear of coming off. It pulls great no matter the terrain you are on. I was a little concerned about what I thought was a lack of ability to handle lateral movement from the camper, but I had no issues with it for my entire trip. I really like the quietness of the hitch going down the road. I especially liked the fact that I heard absolutely no chucking sounds from the hitch when starting and stopping the camper. Overall, I have to give this hitch an outstanding rating. It is easy to install, easy to connect and pulls like a dream. Only time will tell if the lighter hitch handles the weight of my 42 ft fifth wheel with a loaded weight of about 15500 lbs. For now, I am seriously considering just selling my old hitch and use this one from now on. Again, thanks for letting me test and review this new hitch design and allowing me to see this new product in action.

Posted by Steven Morgan at 2022-07-15 23:45:53 UTC