Dropped 5ers - Montana Owners Club

BB_TX · 08-27-2008, 04:22 AM

Recent posts made me wonder of those who have dropped their 5er, what hitch did they have.
I have a Pull Rite Super 5th 16K hitch. And with the rotating collar that wraps around the king pin and the fact that the handle is attached to that collar with a rack and pinion type gear, it seems all but impossible for it to come loose once the handle snaps in. The handle has a boss on the bottom of it so that the handle must be lifted and pulled before the hitch releases. Even so, I still do a pull test before I lift the legs all the way.
Any one dropped one with this type hitch?

hazmic · 08-27-2008, 04:35 AM

I don't think the problem is the hitch or type as more the operator. Human error. If the hitch is working and hooked up right then it should stay hooked.

mtheo · 08-27-2008, 04:44 AM

I have know two differnet people that were in a hurry and just forgot to close the lock/jaws.

Delaine and Lindy · 08-27-2008, 04:51 AM

The B&W Companion 5th wheel hitch that I'm now using is the safest hitch out of the 4 I have owned. It wraps around the King pin like the Class 8 Trucks. If you have the safety pin installed its impossible to drop the 5er. Very few if any dropped 5th wheels are caused by the hitch, its human error. Good Luck. GBY....

bsmeaton · 08-27-2008, 05:28 AM

I keep trying to tell myself the wrapping collar is better and I should spend the extra money to upgrade my Reese to the Signature type head, yet I heve never heard of the standard jaws ever letting go.

Unfortunately for those that "dropped", it was error in sequence by the operator as I understand those reported. The collar won't help you there.

HughM · 08-27-2008, 05:32 AM

I've never heard of a hitch failure. It's always human failure. I would guess that not one response comes back with dropped due to hitch failure. Not I heard from the guy I was camping next to that he heard 2 yrs ago from a brother in law. But a direct connection due to the hitch failing.
Any other guesses???

richfaa · 08-27-2008, 05:55 AM

I trust the hitch way more than I trust myself. I know that I can make a mistake. I have made them before and will make them again... hence the bed saver. I have never seen with my own eyes a hitch failure.

stiles watson · 08-27-2008, 06:30 AM

Yep, dropped rigs are like ivory soap, 99.44% pilot error, not hitch failure. Having said that, I think some hitches are less prone to pilot error than others. I had a near drop on my old standard Husky hitch, thinking all the time I had hooked properly. When I got to my destination and saw the connection, I turned white, gulped hard, and thanked God for protecting me in my ignorance.

I had somehow managed to close the hitch jaws around the back half of the king pin lip without securing the entire pin. It held for 200 miles. The jaws were bent and I had to do repairs on it. With the B&W Companion I have now, it would be impossible to close the lever without fully wrapping the jaws around the pin.

When I finish hooking up, Dianna, gives a visual check to the hitch to see if I have overlooked anything. Her check list includes: checking the jaws and king pin, verifying the lock pin is in, verifying the brake safety line is hooked, making sure the power plug is in, and making sure the tailgate is up.

Mrs. CountryGuy · 08-27-2008, 08:24 AM

As you can see from sig line, we have:

PullRite 15.5K Super 5th

It is a pretty fail proof hitch, BUT, let it be known that it can be high hitched, and therefore, not totally fail proof.

We were in Ft Wayne a few years ago, hitching up, ready to head home, and when I backed in Big Butt, something just did not sound right. I said to Al, it is not right, something is wrong, it did not sound right. Did not take long to realize it was high hitched, so, we undid the procedure, tried again, more careful this time, and got er done right.

And, even tho lots say they don't do pull tests with the Pull Right, Al and I are just not comfy with that, SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, we do a pull test every time.

We hope to never join the "we dropped the 5er" club, but, never say never. We are ALL human and at some time we all mess up.

Bill-N-Donna · 08-27-2008, 09:40 AM

In my case, plain and simple it was human error.

Here's a thread that tells my confession about it! It had nothing to do with the type of hitch I have.

I finally did it and I'm not very proud of it!

Glenn and Lorraine · 08-27-2008, 11:41 AM

With the Pullrite, Super 5th or Superglide, If you slide the pin box up and into the hitch it is impossible to get a high hitch. I always back into the pin box that is just a bit lower than the hitch. This causes the pin box to slide up and into the hitch creating a positive locking of the latch.
Hitching up in the above method with any Pullrite is fool proof AND NO I never do a pull test and after 5 years and hundreds of hook ups I have yet to drop the trailer on the truck.

jjackflash · 08-27-2008, 12:53 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Glenn and Lorraine

With the Pullrite, Super 5th or Superglide, If you slide the pin box up and into the hitch it is impossible to get a high hitch. I always back into the pin box that is just a bit lower than the hitch. This causes the pin box to slide up and into the hitch creating a positive locking of the latch.
Hitching up in the above method with any Pullrite is fool proof AND NO I never do a pull test and after 5 years and hundreds of hook ups I have yet to drop the trailer on the truck.

This is a good way to hook up with any brand of hitch.
I always pickup the trailer when hooking. I learned the hard way,commercially. One 28ft and one 53ft.
Also,once I am hooked up I do the pull test and than drop a pad lock into the release arm.
Jack

tcorbitt · 08-27-2008, 01:13 PM

I have not experienced the problem and hope I never do. Always do the pull test, just in case... The only personal experience I have had was watching my father-in-law drop his two years ago. He was backed up to the hitch, got out to make sure the trailer was at the correct height. Adjusted it up a bit and noticed he was off center a bit. Went to pull ahead and re-center the pin. Rather than pull forward, he backed into the pin by mistake just enough to push the 5er back a few inches. The landing gear was up on a set of 6X6 blocks and when he pushed the pin back, the landing gear slipped off the blocks. As it was early spring, the ground around the block was wet and the landing gear sank about 4 inches. Just enough to land the 5er on the bed rails...

I never liked those 6X6 blocks and since, he has never used them again... I too have never heard of anything but human error drops... I have always been concerned with the latch not being closed and after seeing this mistake, have an equal concern for this type of drop as well.

Irony: he has a bed saver and I do not. In this case, the pin was not in position to be caught by the bed saver...

Chip · 08-27-2008, 02:33 PM

I have a superglide hitch. On a recent hook up I backed in at a slight angle. The superglide has a distinct sound when it locks up. I heard the sound but seemed different. I got out and looked at the jaws and they were not completely around the pin. Not Good. So I pulled the release handle and pulled truck forward and backed in with less of an angle. Heard the normal latching sound and had a good hookup.

So if I had not been aware it could have been a problem. Of course if I use the check list, one item is to visually look at the jaws around the pin.

Drew

Glenn and Lorraine · 08-27-2008, 10:40 PM

Drew, It sounds like you were around the lip of the pin and therefore the latch didn't fully close. At that point you could have just lowered the trailer a bit more and the latch would have fully closed around the pin.
A High hitch is just a tad higher where the lip trips the latch and the latch slips under the pin. As soon as you pull forward the pin slips over the latch and the rig drops. If you slide the pin box up and into the hitch neither of the above can happen.

BTW--I'm not saying you lift the trailer more than a 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch. Just enough so there is no space between the hitch and pin box plate to make the pin slides into place.

And YES Jack this is the way we did it with the big rigs.

BB_TX · 08-28-2008, 06:37 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Glenn and Lorraine

........ I always back into the pin box that is just a bit lower than the hitch. This causes the pin box to slide up and into the hitch creating a positive locking of the latch.

That is exactly as I do. And with the pin box sitting flat on the hitch plate and the handle snapped all the way in, the collar has to be completely wrapped around the king pin since it is actually geared to the handle. It does make a distinct "clank" when it snaps in. No high hitching possible with that method. The automatic latching of the handle takes away some of the possiblity of human error.

But I still do a quick pull test for my own peace of mind.

Waynem · 08-28-2008, 07:16 AM

I would not set a 5th wheel RV at the height recommended in the below article, but I do set it 2-3 inches. I back in until the hitch is real close to the king pin and adjust the height so I can slide in under the king pin. Works every time.

How to hook a 5th wheel

Edited: Actually, if you are on level ground, if you back in until the slide plat is touching the king pin about half way up, you will be at the right height to slide under. The slide plat is typically at a downward angle so that give you about 1-2 inches of slide.

muddflapp · 08-28-2008, 08:36 AM

I drove for UPS for 25 years and hooked up to more than a dozen trailers ever night 5 days a week. The recommended procedure form UPS is to back up slowly until you hear the "distincitve click" then give it a slight tug by pulling forward on the pin...Then get out of the truck and give it a visual inspection to make sure you have the jaws locked completely around the pin...Visual inspections are always the best prevention of dropping a trailer...Lazyness will always get you introuble and shortcuts are asking for a disaster....

tbhd2 · 08-30-2008, 05:51 PM

When I dropped our first fifth wheel it was my fault and I feel partly the hitches fault. The pin was in the jaws and I had moved the trailer around in our yard and wanted to move it over a little bit more. Our hitch was the Reese double jaw type and if you don't lock the safety tab over the handle it will come open even though you thought it was hitched. If you have one of those hitches, always lock your tab over even if you're just moving it in the driveway.

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