Just not getting it <sigh>

[Arizonacouple]

I recently wrote about leveling my RV while it was hooked up. I wrote it because I'm having a devil of a time hooking up and unhooking my TV. Yesterday I went to get my RV and backed tp smotth as apple pie. Lowered the RV on the plate, took a look at the hook up from the tailgate. Decided life was good and attempted to close the jaws. I always get a 3/4 connection but I'm missing something because 20 minutes later after jiggling the truck, raising and lowering the RV, I only succeeded in closing it a fraction more. I ended up pulling the RV out of its space and after maybe 100 yards the RV settled itself properly on the hitch. Similarly, when I got the RV home, I backed it into a good spot and try as I might after setting the front legs I could not open the jaws. Again, by jiggling the truck, and raising and lowering the RV was I able (with much effort) able to release the hitch jaws. This is not making me happy. I have mor ryde pin box with a 16k reese sliding hitch. Any help would surely be appreciated.

[davidaf]

Maybe we should start from the beginning for clarification and is this close to what you are doing?
This part "Lowered the RV on the plate" and "attempted to close the jaws" may be where the confusion is. The "back" of your hitch plate should look like a ramp. You want the hitch to ride up the ramp and once the pin hits the front of the hitch the jaws should slam shut around the pin. No manual intervention should be required for the actually hitching. Once the jaws slam you can visually inspect and make sure the little metal flag pops up then put the pin through the hold (if your Reese head is the same as mine).

[waynemoore]

Ok here is what I have to do when unhooking. Once the rig is in place I lower the landing gear to the ground and rase the rig till I see the pin box lift off the hitch. This is about a half inch. I then back the TV back towards the rig to remove the tension off of the pin. At this point I can pull the release handle to unhook the hitch. As for hooking up do much the same. Once in place lower the rig till the pin box just touches the plate and you will be able to close the jaws.

If I were you I would see if you can go to a dealer or find a very experienced RV owner and have them work with you. All you need is some positive experiences to gain confidence with this process.

[halfwright]

All I can do is tell you what works for me based on 3 years of fifth wheel RVs and 10 years of tractor-trailers.

When you back under the trailer, leave it a little low, so that some of the weight is picked up by the fifth wheel. This will allow your trailer to be in the same position that it would be in after the legs are raised. Do not raise the legs until you have done a pull test. Check the jaws visually and make sure the release handle is in the locked position.

For unhooking, make sure there is no pressure against the jaws by the pin, either forward or backward. I do this by setting the trailer brakes and putting the pickup in neutral, then setting the emergency brake. Lower the legs and enough to take most of the weight. Pull the release handle. Drive out from under the trailer.

If this does not work, there might be a lack of lubrication in the jaws and release mechanism.

Good luck with the problem and let us know how you fixed it.

[rohrmann]

You should try not lowering the pin onto the hitch, but rather have the pin plate a bit lower than the hitch plate, and when you back into it, the trailer will rise a bit as you back into the hitch. You are risking damage to your hitch and/or possibly dropping the trailer onto your truck as the trailer becomes unhitched because it was not latched properly. You should have the plate greased prior to backing into the hitch, unless it is an auto-slider, such as a Pullrite. You normally must have the hitch unlatched prior to backing, but follow the owner's manual directions. You should also have the trailer chocked too.

[Sierra 117]

Watch a trucker hitch a trailer to his tractor. The pin is slightly lower than the 5th wheel plate so when the truck is backed into the pin, the traler is lifted a bit and the pin slides between the jaws of the hitch and locks with a snap. This is called hitting the pin. In my neck of the woods if you don't do it this way you would fail your Class A test. Make sure the traler is chocked before you hook up and after hook up put the truck in drive hold the trailer brakes and do a pull test to confirm a good connection.

[jcurtis934]

Never have trouble with my reese elite with the head that can tilt in any direction...so unlevel hookup ground doesn't make life rough. On the reese there is a sticker that tells you that you have to have the base of the pin box lower than the head of the hitch AND when you back up to the rv the pin box should push the rear of the truck down as the pinenters the hitch. This insures that the pin is below the open jaws of the hitch and the hitch will slam closed. If you lower the pin down into the opening of the hitch, you aren't allowing the engagement of the pin properly. IF your hitch head doesn't tilt, then it will be much harder to engage the pin. Does this help? John

[Arizonacouple]

Great, I think I have a lot of good advice so I'm going to just recap. When hitching up the trailer, let the trailer slide up the plate so it gently puts weight on the truck until the pin is engaged. I didn't think I had autoclosure on my jaws but I could be mistaken. Currently, I pull the handle out and when the jaws are fully open I can catch the handle on a side plate to keep the jaws open. As I've not been hitching the trailer up correctly, is it possible that I do have autoclosing jaws? I'll know tomorrow for sure.
Unhitching. Set the trailer brakes, put the truck in neutral, set the parking brake. Raise the trailer but how far? Should there still be some weight on the truck (no gap at the plate)? Then slowly and safely pull forward?

[jlb27537]

Peter,

Since you have jaws, leave the handle in, just release the flipper thing. Have the trailer about a inch lower than the truck so the pin weight makes the truck squat a inch. Back into the trailer, the release lever will come out and snap back in.

Latch and do a pull test.

When unhooking, have the truck squated a inch, Trailer wheels chocked, truck backed against the pin, pull release handle. If the truck has rolled forward at all, the release handle will pull hard. I have at times had to put truck in reverse, pull release handle, and then pull forward.

Jim

[Tom S.]

Reese manual specifically states to NEVER hook up by lowering the pin onto the hitch. As others have stated, leave the pin plate an inch or so lower than the hitch plate so the hitch raises the pin plate as it slides underneath and locks into place. If all else fails, read the instructions that came with your hitch!

[sambam]

I didn't think I had autoclosure on my jaws but I could be mistaken. Currently, I pull the handle out and when the jaws are fully open I can catch the handle on a side plate to keep the jaws open. As I've not been hitching the trailer up correctly, is it possible that I do have autoclosing jaws? I'll know tomorrow for sure.


I'm also new to 5th wheels and I have the Reese R20. All the information here is good. What you may be missing, and I discovered over time, is that before you back the truck under the pin, push the handle back in, closing the jaws. They'll be closed, but not locked. So, when you back in, and your height is correct as mentioned above, the jaws will open, accepting the pin and then close around it. Then you lower the handle into the locked position. That's how it works with my hitch and I suspect most operate the same way.

[davidaf]

You'll get there it just takes practice and information. Sounds like your selling dealer didn't over explain things but then again there's a lot of info to take in when you pickup the rig.

Do you have a lube plate (white disk under the pin) or are you using grease on the hitch plate? My dealer failed to mention this when I bought my SOB fifth wheel several years ago.

[mhs4771]

Some of the Techs that do PDIs aren't well versed in hooking up. Our Montana was our first 5th Wheel and the Tech showed me how to hookup with the Jaws open. After getting it home and reading the Reese instructions, it said to leave the jaws closed and have been doing so ever since with no problems with over 55K miles on the hitch between the Montana and SOB.

[Arizonacouple]

Just replying to Tom and clarifying a couple of things. I didn't have a manual but I would agree that that's no excuse. I just went online and read the manual. Probably would have saved me a lot of frustration if I had done that in the first place. Second, I did say I "just lowered my trailer on to the plate", but I was conscious of the consequences and did so slowly and carefully by increments. Won't be doing that any more, thanks to all of your good advice. The manual also said keep the jaws closed as per Sambam so I will also be trying that. And yes, I do have lube plate installed. (Smiling), I got something right.

[bethandkevin]

As others have said, when backing into the pintle, your truck should "squat" slightly when engaging. You are risking a "high hitch" event if you are lowering the pintle into the plate. My hitch does not have jaws, but a sliding bar behind the pintle when locked. I like the simplicity of it.

[tweber502]

Below is a video of how to hitch and unhitch your 5th wheel. The only thing that I do differently is I DON'T pull the locking latch before backing into the king pin. I leave in and the jaws will automatically close around the king pin. I then visually check to see if the jaws are closed correctly and do a 'Pull Test' to ensure they won't release. Hope the video helps. Tim

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLxkhV03iCo

If you have the Reece Pro style hitch with the locking bar that closes in front of the King Pin then Below is another video for that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOe53rHsO0s

[Irlpguy]

Well isn't that interesting, the first video does not even mention doing a pull test after hooking up and before pulling away..

The second video while it does mention the pull test as kind of an afterthought, imagine what happens when you do the pull test and your landing gear is well off the ground, where do you think the trailer is going to land if the pull test fails.

In neither video did the instructor inspect the hitch pin to be sure it was engaged, he relied on the fact the handle had retracted.

Having some downward pressure on the hitch when hooking up ensures the pin will be at it's proper depth and won't be sitting on the locking devise, 1/2" to 1" range works great.

There is more about what not to do in both of those video's than how it should be done properly.

Always:
Inspect the hitch locking devise from the rear to be sure it is in proper place and that the pin is indeed sitting down where it should be in the hitch.
Lift the landing gear so that it clears the ground only, not fully retracted, then with chokes in place do the pull test.

You "NEVER" lower the pin into any 5th wheel hitch, unless you are using a Goose Neck style of course. That is an invite for improper seating and if you are unlucky you will have the pin slide out of the hitch and onto your truck rails.

Take your time and do not get distracted and forget a crucial step, crap happens when you do, as some have posted on this and many other forums.

[Simpson9508]

A tip that I got by following the MOC is that I painted the back side of the hitch jaws with white paint. After I back into the hitch and before I do the pull test I look at the back of the hitch from the dropped tailgate checking that the jaw has indeed closed. It's easy to see with the white paint.

[JandC]

Okay Peter, it sounds like you have watched the video for the Reese 16k slider, which is the same configuration as mine. It only took me a year to figure mine out. It is a "auto closing" jaw system.

Some of this is a repeat, but here goes. My trailer is slightly lower than hitch so that the hitch slightly rides up onto it. Your handle should be in the raised position, but not raised and pulled out. For months I raised my handle plus pulled it out, which is not correct. Simply raise the handle which unlocks the jaws so they will take the king pin and then lock around it, all automatically when you back into it.

I always make sure the green tab is out, and the handle seats all the way back down, then I get in between the trailer and truck and visibly check the jaws.

Without going into pull test and all that, or securing the wheels......reference using the hitch handle when unhooking. On your hitch this is the only time your will raise your handle up plus pull it out. This is what will unlock and release the jaws.

That was the mistake I was making for the first year, when hooking up I was putting the handle in the up position plus pulling it out. It will work that way but many times it makes it hard to completely lock down the jaws and takes some jinking back and forth.

[Krease]

Leave jaws closed to hookup x10

When unhooking, after you have raised pin box slightly off hitch, jump in truck, put truck in neutral. This will help to release tension, if backing a little doesn't help. Don't forget to put vehicle in park BEFORE exciting vehicle again. I don't want to get blamed for your truck rolling away...