CrossWing 20K 5th Wheel Hitch for Industry-Standard Rails #16600

Lippert CrossWing Initial Review

I was provided this Curt CrossWing hitch direct from Curt for review and feedback. Thank you

Tow Vehicle: 2011 Dodge RAM 3500 Dually
Tow: 2013 Cedar Creek 38FL – GVW: 16,500 lbs Pin: 2850 lbs – Trailair Pinbox

Shipping: Box arrived with a few minor puncture holes, but otherwise it was well packaged and no contact with the hitch assembly inside the box.

First Thoughts: Product looks well made, good weld quality, and sturdy assembly. Powder coat is even and no scratches. How does this thing get installed? (Then sat down to read the instructions.

Installation: We installed into ISR – which were already installed in the truck bed – We are swapping out a Curt 24Q for this test and review. (Post first pull test – this hitch will stay in the truck unless I find a problem).
King ping swivel mount was easy to complete the install on and requires torque to 85 ft/lbs. If the install took more than 15 minutes, it was mostly just finding the right size sockets.

Hitch install in the bed was easy – one hand carry and drop into the ISR with the spacers/silencers between the hitch and ISR. Setting the hitch height I took a shot and went with the center mounting hole – perfect height for our setup. Setting the hitch bolt took a bit of work as it is a very large bolt/nut and must be torqued to 300 ft/lbs.

Hitch/UnHitch: No major change to the way I backed onto the camper to connect up – centered the king pin swivel mount and backed into the camper leaving about 1” or so – lowered the landing gear and the swivel moved into the lower centering pin and aligned with the locking handle.
NOTE: I did have to air up the pin box a bit – I can’t tell yet if this was due to a change in the way the camper downforce was sitting on the pinbox/hitch or it was just naturally down on air a bit (although we did a 200 mile pull the week before and had set the air)

Unhitch was a slightly more eventful, as I forgot to set the parking brake and so the truck did a bit of a drop and roll, but otherwise no problems sliding out the locking handle and raising the camper of the hitch.

Towing: We have only towed with it one time so far – about 10 miles on city streets, some highway, and dirt road. Turns both left and right with significant potholes. Accelerated and decelerated at someone higher rates than I would normally, and no adverse effects to the setup. No significant change in tow characteristics, although it seems like there was less chucking. Time will tell as we leave for Goshen, Indiana (800 mile tow) in a couple of weeks.

Crosswing Review
As part of an early adopter program through the Lippert Scouts, I installed the Crosswing hitch in my Ford short bed to replace an automatic slider that was big and heavy. The Crosswing has been everything I need in a 5th wheel hitch for pulling my Grand Design Reflection trailer. Given that I was leaving an automatic slider, I was concerned about turning radius. I can achieve a nearly 90 degree alignment between the truck and trailer which is well beyond any turn I’ve ever made. Curt designed it so that the kingpin is about 5” behind the center of the axle, giving a bit more clearance with the cab. Note that the weight is centered over the axle as is should be. Hitching is easy as the permanently-installed head piece on the kingpin self-aligns with the receiving piece on the hitch. Sliding the locking arm in place is easy and gives you complete confidence that the trailer is securely attached to the truck. No wondering if the jaws closed around the kingpin. My hitch is combined with a Curt RotaFlex pinbox and chucking is virtually eliminated. The main hitch body only weighs about 60 pounds so I can easily remove it to use my truck bed with only the rails left behind. All-in-all I’m very happy with the Crosswing and recommend it highly; just make sure it meets your turn rig’s turn radius needs.