Sidewinder

In this case, Sidewinder is a premium 5th wheel pin box, rather than a snake, guided missile or old western scoundrel.  It's the device that makes it possible for us to get the Cougar in and out of our yard easily, and to pull it with a 'short bed' pickup.

Note that the pin arm is at a slight angle to the the mounting box and the RV itself.

That angle can be increased, up to 90 degrees if need be.  

It can be turned manually, using a length of 2x4 as a lever.  I didn't have to turn it manually all summer but always have to do so when I move the RV out of our yard.

The pin is the 2" cylindrical piece of steel that protrudes down from the pin box and locks into the 5th wheel hitch mounted in the pickup bed.  In conventional pin boxes, the pin is the swivel point when turning, serving the same function as the bumper-level steel ball used in towing boat trailers and such.  The Sidewinder pin connects to the hitch in the traditional manner but the similarity ends there: the pin is not the swivel point.

This is the conventional 5W hitch that is bolted to the pickup bed.

The pin fits into the round hole at the front of the slot and is held there by the jaws, which are in the closed position in this picture.

Located immediately behind the Sidewinder pin is a steel wedge that fits snugly into the slot on the hitch.  It 'freezes' the pin in place so it can't swivel.  Further back on the pin box, 22" behind the pin itself, is the new swivel point, which is called a turret.  Having the swivel point so far rearward means you can hook/unhook with the pickup up to a 90 degree angle to the RV.  Conventional pin boxes lack that flexibility: the pickup must be directly in line with the trailer; and you can't make 90 degree turns because the front corner of the RV will hit the rear corner of the pickup cab, damaging both.

Close up of the pin box, showing the pin at very front.   

The flat piece of steel right behind the pin is the wedge, which fits snugly into the slot on the 5W hitch, locking the pin in place so it can't swivel.  Several inches behind the wedge, you see the round collar of the turret, which is the new swivel point. 

My explanation may be confusing.  Use this link to see the setup in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I6w04tAnm8

You can fast-forward through the hype at the beginning. 

Those are the pros; here are the cons.  First, cost: about $1400 to purchase and install the Sidewinder, and, although a new conventional pin box costs $500 or more, there was absolutely no market for the nearly new one that was removed from the Cougar.  We ended up tossing it into the dumpster.

The other downside is the pickup-to-pin box alignment.  Since conventional pin boxes don't have Sidewinder wedges, there's a bit of wiggle room: alignment doesn't have to be spot-on perfect when you back the pickup to connect pin to hitch.  Not so with the Sidewinder.  That wedge must fit snugly into its slot on the hitch, no wiggle room allowed.  

The Cougar has a mirror panel above the pin box, which is there so the driver can use the rear view mirror and RV mirror to line up the pin with the hitch as he backs into place.  But guess what: that RV mirror is totally worthless when the Sidewinder pin arm is angled one way or the other - which it virtually always is.  You can't see either the pin or the hitch with only the rear view mirror: they're too low.  So, aligning the pickup with the pin is a matter of dead reckoning, luck, and hopping in and out of the truck several times to check on alignment progress.  I'm getting better at the dead reckoning but it's a challenge.