Maintenance 5th Wheel Hitch

[Bmw22555]

Does anybody have 5th Wheel hitch professionally maintained or is it necessary.

Also does anyone use the lube plates?

[MandK]

I have the B&W Companion hitch and the instructions that came with it mention greasing it and maintaining it. It’s straight forward and easy to do. There are a couple of zerk fittings on it for grease. I use the Red and Tacky bearing grease. I Also grease the jaws. I wipe the old grease off the jaws before regressing because it picks up dirt being in the bed of the truck. A little grease here is all it needs on the surfaces that wrap around the king pin.
I do run a Teflon lube plate so I don’t have to have grease all over the hitch head and the bottom of the pin box.

[BB_TX]

Probably very few that don’t do it themselves. Some have grease fittings. Some don’t. Each manufacturer has their own specifications for greasing and general maintenance. If you don’t have a manual for your hitch, you can pretty easily find it on the web.

I used a lube plate. And a little white lithium grease on the jaws.

[Gubs]

Also have a BW slider hitch and love it. I grease it myself and apply a bit of grease to the jaws after cleaning them. Very nice hitch! Welcome to the forum and hope you enjoy. Be safe out there amongst-em!!!!

[DutchmenSport]

I have a Demco Recon fifth wheel hitch and I've never done anything with it except use it. There's nothing to "lube". I do give the joints a shot of WD-40 every now and then (you know, those pivot points where the pins go through to hold the 3 parts together and the pull handle to release the jaws). Other than that, there's nothing else to do.

Yes, I do use a lube plate. I've had my Montana over 4 years now. I'm on my second one, only because I miss judged the height and when backing into the King Pin, it caught the edge of the plate and chipped it. I do not put grease on the plate, no need to. I do give the King Pin a shot of WD-40 though before hitting the road to help with a little lubrication between the pin and the jaws. But that's all I do.

[Foldbak]

Demco, WD40 and teflon plate.

[LeftOverParts]

Like everyone states, check your manual. I have the Demco Recon and the manual states to lube the locking handle with WD40 (I use silicone spray lube) and a light coat of grease on the jaws.

Lube plates are great. Typically 10 or 12 inches in diameter so you can measure the plate above the pin and go for max coverage. Typical thickness is 3/16 inch. You’ll need to make sure the pin doesn’t ride too high so the jaws engage/close and the lower flange of the pin has some clearance.

[Mikendebbie]

X2 what Dutchmen and Foldback do…it’s a Demco Recon.

[Bmw22555]

T Hank you all for your info

[Camp CA]

Download the hitch manufacturer's maintenance instructions for lubrication and follow those or have your rv mechanic or tow vehicle shop do it.

I always use a lube plate on my hitch to reduce friction on the fifth wheel of your trailer’s hitch plate (prevents metal to metal contact of the king pin on the head unit of the fifth wheel hitch making hitching up easier) and avoids using messy grease.

[Kfinnert]

I have a Demco 5th Wheel auto-slide hitch. I inspect the hitch twice a year and in doing so remove cover plates to look for worn equipment such as the carrier bearing, which failed one time before. In addition, I had it professionally serviced after 5-years of service.

The professional service was well worth the money and time. The hitch is like new and pulls really well.

I do not use a Teflon plate on mine since it is an auto-slide and the entire head of the hitch rotates when I turn.

Cheers

[Bill and Lisa]

Originally Posted by MandK

I have the B&W Companion hitch and the instructions that came with it mention greasing it and maintaining it. It’s straight forward and easy to do. There are a couple of zerk fittings on it for grease. I use the Red and Tacky bearing grease. I Also grease the jaws. I wipe the old grease off the jaws before regressing because it picks up dirt being in the bed of the truck. A little grease here is all it needs on the surfaces that wrap around the king pin.
I do run a Teflon lube plate so I don’t have to have grease all over the hitch head and the bottom of the pin box.

Same as above for me. I have a CURT 20K hitch

[wed]

I use the B&W and I just follow the instructions very easy

[JABURKHOLDER]

I wish they made a 14” lube disk.

[Todd & Mary]

We have a B+W Companion as well, few shots of grease in the zerks every other month or so and Superlube synthetic grease on the urethane pivots and also a teflon plate. 2 years no problems. I think they are all mostly trouble free as long as you give them some TLC once and a while.

[Bmw22555]

Thank you