Sliding Hitch

[Montana_155]

YIKES! I picked up my new 5th wheel a couple of days ago. I took it out to a very quiet area today to practice 45 degree rear parking. After I had done a few of those I thought I'd try using the sliding feature of the hitch. I couldn't get it to slide rearward in the unlocked maneuvering position. I had read on the forums that a couple of people had manually held the brake controller for the 5th wheel to get the hitch to slide rearward. So I tried that. Big trouble! The truck and trailer both lurched in a big way. It was totally out of proportion to me because I hadn't used much accelerator at all. I got out of the truck and my husband said we had big trouble. the LF bolt of the hitch had flown 4' in the air and departed. We discovered the company that had done the hitch work had installed a grade 8, 9/16" bolt and used a 5/8" nylock nut. The only thing holding it on was the nylon. Boy am I feeling lucky that happened when I was in a deserted area at maneuvering speeds. We called the highly reputable hitch company immediately. They were shocked and are bringing us in 1st thing Monday morning. We requested that all the bolts/nuts be replaced. I'm still hyperventilating.

2003 3575RL Big Sky
2002 F-350 CC PSD
Household is owned and operated by Australian Shepherds.