I Know Three Who've Dropped Their 5'er

[wileecoyote985]

Well.... About a week ago, a friend dropped his 5'er on his pickup bed. That makes three individuals I know personally who've done the deed. I've also know of/talked with at least two others who've had it happen.

For any newbies to towing a 5th wheel out there - it appears that the bed saver http://www.blueox.us/Bedsaver/bedsaver.htm can be a very worthwhile investment.

BTW I have no affiliation with Bed Saver or Blue Ox. Just a FWIW.

P.S.
Also saw a guy who was pulling out of a campground this past week who was sporting some bare electrical wires hanging out the back of his rig. Appears that he had forgotten to unplug from shore power prior to pulling away.

Can't tell ya how many times I've found something I'd forgotten on that mandatory walk-around before pulling out. Quite often it's the TV antenna that needs to be cranked down.

Gary

[richfaa]

I have a bedsaver,,I have a V tailgate..I have a checklist..I do a walk around..

[wileecoyote985]

I knew you'd have your bases covered Rich.

[Dave e Victoria]

A few years (maybe months back) we discussed an easily remembered checklist. I have forgotton who came up with the acronym but here it is

J CHEWS ASS

Jacks -- up
Chocks -- out and stowed
Hitch -- connected, locked and secure
Electrical -- unhooked and stowed
Water -- Hose unhooked and stowed
Sewer -- dumped, unhooked and stowed
Antenna(s) -- stowed
Stabilizers -- Up
Steps -- up

These seemed to be the items necessary to prevent immediate or serious damage.
Dave

[5rvers]

I have one.

[dieselguy]

I guess it is dependent on the design of your hitch. My Reese Pro Series although not a high end hitch is pretty much foolproof. You pull the handle out and latch it in the open position ... gently back the truck into the fiver pin until the handle pops in and latches. The locking hole will not line up for the safety lock (which I apply each and every time) unless it's hitched up correctly. Although the newer clamshell hitches are advertised to have a better bite on your fivers pin, I've never had any problems with mine with just the sliding bar that slips behind the fiver pin. The bedsaver provides some with peace of mind, it's just not for me.

[sreigle]

I don't doubt the bedsaver is a good option. But, for those who don't yet have it, I suggest spray painting the jaws or bar on the hitch and the lower flange on the kingpin so you can see at a glance that the hitch is locked around the pin and the flange is below that, not above it (which is a guarantee of a drop onto the bed). I happened to have silver paint on hand and used that.

[Ozz]

There is another danger that one (Me) does not think of, I dropped mine on my first trip out, (Into the loving arms of my bedsaver). I was parked, not too level of a site, had not started using my Roto-Chocks yet; (Shame on me) used my air bag under the two wheels to raise the trailer level, had a large rubber semi truck chock under the rear wheel-I assumed Sue had the other side chocked, she did, wrong side of the wheel...Anyway, when I pulled the pin arm, the Monte rolled back-Over my rubber chock; because of the airbag, right into my bedsaver. Unusual circumstance, maybe, but as much travelling as we all do, we will run into them.
Yea, I know, didn't have the Roto-chocks or enough wheel chocks, you might say, I am a well chocked traveller now...
I'll see if I can dig the pictures up.
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/100_0038.jpg
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/100_0035.jpg
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n...3/100_0036.jpg

[bsmeaton]

I'm so afraid of top-pinning my Reese - It's become a regular habit for me to have the flashlight in hand and check the jaw lock. I feel pretty comfortable with that.

Now if I can just remember to unlock the hitch before trying to pull away instead of dragging the landing gear across the parking lot.

[Delaine and Lindy]

Great post and pictures, excellent promo for the Bed saver. I think everyone towing a 5er should have a Bed Saver. We always use one prior to our Air ride hitch. We have the Trailer Saver, the name says it all. We aren't able to use the Bed Saver with this hitch. But with the head on the T.S. its very safe. With all the commotion going on in camp grounds its very easy to drop your 5er. We have seen a lot of TV's with bed damage. Most people say it want happen, but the fact is it does happen. The Blue OX Bed Saver is a wise investment. $200.00 or less to save $2,000 to $5,000 its a no brainer. Get yourself a Bed Saver. GBY...

[Glenn and Lorraine]

You cannot add a bedsaver to the Pullrite but even if you could it would be a waist of $$$$. The Pullrite latching mechanism is fool proof as it completely latches it self around the pin. There is NO way the pin can slip out.

For those with the standard type hitches the only true answer to avoid dropping the trailer on the bed rails is PAY ATTENTION to what you are doing. DO NOT allow anyone to interrupt you while hooking up. If you do get interupted start all over again. Make it a HABIT to follow your hooking up procedure to the letter and than double and triple check what you have done. Doing this negates the need for the bedsaver and saves you money.
Now I realize there will be a dozen reasons posted for getting the bedsaver but if you follow your hooking up procedure to the letter these reasons become invalid.
Everyone says "You can pay me now or you can pay me later". I say "Why pay at all???"

[Ozz]

I would imagine the reason is that we do not always do what we should, and do get distracted, it is one of the human traits to occasionaly make a mistake.
I would also imagine if you were to poll the many people out there in 5er land that have dropped their trailers on their trucks, you will find many bright, attentive people who have made that mistake.

[happy campers]

quote:Originally posted by Glenn and Lorraine

You cannot add a bedsaver to the Pullrite but even if you could it would be a waist of $$$$. The Pullrite latching mechanism is fool proof as it completely latches it self around the pin. There is NO way the pin can slip out.

For those with the standard type hitches the only true answer to avoid dropping the trailer on the bed rails is PAY ATTENTION to what you are doing. DO NOT allow anyone to interrupt you while hooking up. If you do get interupted start all over again. Make it a HABIT to follow your hooking up procedure to the letter and than double and triple check what you have done. Doing this negates the need for the bedsaver and saves you money.
Now I realize there will be a dozen reasons posted for getting the bedsaver but if you follow your hooking up procedure to the letter these reasons become invalid.
Everyone says "You can pay me now or you can pay me later". I say "Why pay at all???"

I agree 100%; this is some solid advice. I learned this as a truck driver; do your pre-trip inspection in the same order at all times, and start from the beginning if you get distracted. I never cranked the dollies until I was certain the trailer was properly hooked. That included the "tug test" as well as crawling behind the tractor to visibly check the pin. Trailers do become unhooked as a result of some failure in the 5th wheel, but in all my years, in almost 100% of the time, it was human error. Now jumping the pin is a whole 'nother story! Don't rush your pre-trip inspection.

[richfaa]

In addition to having a bedsaver, V tailgate, Checklist, and do a walk around we also , as Steve mentioned, have the jaws painted school bus yellow and the pin painted bright white so yellow around white indicates a hitch. We also never hitch alone..one of us backs and the other observes the hitch.We also both double check to see that the hitch is proper. We are never distracted, we have never made a single mistake in our entire lives..we are, in all ways perfect.We are as Ozz can attest to bright and attentive folks...We still have or do all of the above... I always over do things????

[rvfirefighter]

I too know 4 people personally that have had this happen. One was my brother, he got distracted and failed to back check his steps, one got in a hurry and didn't lock the hitch. One did not chock the wheels or put down the front jacks before unhooking the hitch, the last one to this day does not know what happened, he was moving his unit out of storage to go camping, he moved the unit a couple of hundred feet before it came loose.
I try to be overcareful and I feel the best thing is not get in a hurry.

[ols1932]

For those who say, "it'll never happen to me," I say, "someday you'll be distracted," even though you have a HABIT of doing things a certain way. I don't have a bedsaver because my hitch is positive latching, but don't put down those who do. To each his own.

Orv

[tom41]

Frank , I do as you, I back and hitch, but only lift the front legs about 1/8 of inch or so, then while trailer wheels still chocked, I start the truck put in 1st gear and pull foward , if the trailer is latch like it should be it wont let the truck pull foward, then i stop get out , visually check the pin, then i'm ready to lift the legs do the walk around. I dont have to be in a hurry anymore, so just take time, and even double check every thing and "pray" I havent forgotten anything, of which Nancy checks behind me!

[rrheik]

I bought the bedsaver when I got my first 5er, because the guy in th space next to me, a veteran of 20+ years of longhauling and rving, had just bought a new tv and 5er and had dropped the 5er the next morning while I was parked next to him. Two day old 5er and TV with about $10K damage to 5er and tv. That convinced me that if a guy who has all those years of experience had it happen, a rookie like me could definitely have it happen. I too paint the jaws of my hitch with florescent paint, and the kigpin base with a different florescent color paint, currently yellow for jaws and red for kingpin.

bob

[Connorsmom]

I don't have the Bedsaver, and at this point, have no intention of investing in one. I won't say that it could never happen to me, because I sure never thought I would have the corner of the Monty come through my back window either...LOL However, being a semi driver, one of the most important aspects of the hook up is visually ensuring the jaws are closed, there is no chance of a high hook, and the pull bar has engaged. After ensuring all of the above, I then raise the front legs just enough to clear the ground, and do a pull test by manually engaging the trailer brakes while pulling forward. I've seen too many trailers (of the semi variety) lying on the ground due to human error. Just with many other aspects of trailer pulling, skipping or missing steps can cost lives.

I've seen posts elsewhere of people stating they don't bother with doing a pull test anymore. They have been doing this for many years now, and they just KNOW it's hooked up right. I always think about that when I'm behind a trailer of any kind on the road. Was this person a corner cutter? If spending a few minutes ensuring the equipment is hooked up right is too time consuming, perhaps adding another day to the vacation would help to make up that extra 5 minutes it takes to do it right. Sorry about digressing...this just reminded me about some posts I read somewhere quite some time ago that really bothered and scared me.

Jan

[exav8tr]

Well, being a newbie, and suffering from "Old man syndrome" as my wife calls it, I ordered one today for my truck. Maybe one day I will have the experience to not be concerned about "dropping the trailer", but until then, a little safety won't hurt. JMHO of course.....