Curt vs B&W hitch for 5.0

[TheWanderers]

Does anyone have a preference between these two leaders in the industry? We're planning on installing a gooseneck ball in our truck and using the Anderson Ultimate hitch for towing and I've been checking prices as well as installation.

The Curt hitch seems 25% cheaper but I had B&W on both of my trucks prior, only because I didn't know that any competition existed. (Learn something new everyday.)

Wonder if I could install this myself and save another few hundred dollars from the price of the package by providing my own labor?

[Brian B-P]

Which Curt? B&W has only one design of fifth-wheel hitch head, but Curt has several - including the E16, A16, and Q20 - which are quite different from each other.

[D&R_SC]

We installed the B&W Turnover ball hitch in our 2017 F150 6-1/2' bed and use the Andersen Ultimate. We like it very much. E-trailer offers the B&W specifically for make and model truck and it would seem if your are mechanically inclined, you could install it yourself. The included instructions seem pretty clear. The only drilling required is for the ball and the safety-chain attaching rings.
I don't don't know anything about the Curt. We liked the turnover ball/smooth bed concept.

[TheWanderers]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Which Curt? B&W has only one design of fifth-wheel hitch head, but Curt has several - including the E16, A16, and Q20 - which are quite different from each other.

I was looking at the Curt "above the bed" gooseneck folding ball #61052 mated to the bed rail mount kit for a Toyota Tundra model #61225.

This Curt setup would afford me the flatbed for hauling other stuff when not towing. However, I'm caught in that sense that the B&W is what I know so that's the way I think from habit, even though it seems a little more expensive.

I think the Anderson Ultimate hitch would be the choice for connecting the gooseneck ball the the 5.0.

[Brian B-P]

Sorry! I looked at Curt and B&W hitches for the 5.0(TA) and entirely missed that you are looking at Curt and B&W in-bed ball hitches! I was referring to fifth-wheel hitches, which of course are not relevant in this case.

Still, there are multiple Curt "gooseneck" hitches, too... and you're provided the specific one now, so it still worked out.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by D&R_MA

We installed the B&W Turnover ball hitch ...
...
I don't don't know anything about the Curt. We liked the turnover ball/smooth bed concept.

Curt has that, too: the Double Lock and Double Lock EZr are of the flip-ball type, and mount like the Turnoverball. They also have the Quick Goose II retractable ball (which doesn't flip the ball over, so it comes with a rubber dust cap). Those are all in addition to the folding-ball type that Bill&Laura are considering.

[TheWanderers]

I was furthering my research and went over to etrailer.com where I found both the Curt as well as the B&W, but, there was the Draw-Tite that I'd completely forgotten about and while reading I noticed that the price point was indirect correlation to the number of customer reviews: B&W (over 440 reviews), Draw-Tite (over 200 reviews) and the Curt (just over 70 reviews). I don't know if this is indicative of quality or simply lack of marketing.

However, etrailer has posted a YouTube video of how to install the Draw-Tite, on my truck, step by step. THAT'S ME! That's the kind of help that leads me to decide on the Draw-Tite. Well, that and it's over $100 cheaper than the B&W.

So, my decisions made: it's Draw-Tite. I'll be ordering next week. The video is editing to about a half hour and one of the review said the customer took five hours to install so that's my plan. Save over $100 off the purchase price of the hitch and over $250 in labor. That'll pay for the aluminum wheels if/when we order the 5.0TA. Awesome!

[labearit]

As an early adopter of the Nissan Titan XD, my preference was to find a hitch that used the OEM puck system. Not an easy task. At the time, B&W didn't have that set-up although they told me they were working on a design to fit my truck. Curt had one in production so I waited for it to become available. Both B&W and Curt manufacturer reps were very nice and helpful when I called. I acquired the entire hitch set-up (legs & A16 head) from eTrailer. eTrailer had the head in stock and went the extra mile to contact Curt to have them ship the legs directly to me in order to meet my timeline to have it before I left to pick up our 2017 5.0 TA. I got it at ~50% of MSRP from eTrailer which was about 15% less expensive than a local dealer was charging. I installed the hitch myself along with the wiring harness extension. Very happy with the hitch.

[Jim Bennett]

I did watch the video for the B&W hitch specific to my truck before installing 1 1/2 years ago. Not really necessary, but still helpful a bit.