The way to Hook Up a Fifth Wheel Hitch

Many RVers improve to a fifth wheel to take pleasure in extra dwelling house and luxurious facilities. Nevertheless, the uncertainty about easy methods to hook up a fifth wheel hitch can maintain some from making the change. 

Fortunately, the method for hitching up a fifth wheel isn’t sophisticated. When you be taught it, you’ll take pleasure in environment friendly towing and simple campground setup wherever your subsequent journey takes you.

Should you’re thinking about fifth wheels, try these small fifth wheel campers we love.

Fifth Wheel Hitch Elements Defined

Let’s start by figuring out the components and parts of a fifth wheel slider hitch. 

Kingpin

The kingpin is positioned on the fifth wheel itself. It’s mounted to your trailer’s body and slides into the hitch head to safe your truck-to-trailer connection.

Physique

The physique is the principle a part of the hitch and gives the construction and assist for the top and kingpin connection. 

Head

The top gives the connection level for the kingpin. As soon as related, it strikes and articulates with the fifth wheel’s motion to offer a clean experience. 

Pivot Mechanism

This mechanism is what permits the hitch head to articulate along with your trailer’s motion.

Jaws

The jaws maintain the kingpin in place within the hitch’s head. Some fashions use a locking bar as an alternative of jaws.

Deal with

The deal with is used to open and shut the jaws for coupling and uncoupling. It additionally locks in place to make sure a safe towing connection. Some fifth wheel hitches use a lever as an alternative of a deal with. 

Security Pin

The pin is a vital security characteristic used to lock the hitch deal with in place to maintain the jaws or locking bar from opening whereas towing. 

Legs

The legs connect the hitch’s physique to the rails to safe it in your truck mattress. Some legs provide a hard and fast mounting place, whereas others provide an adaptable sliding choice designed particularly for short-bed vehicles. 

The way to Hook Up a Fifth Wheel Hitch

Listed below are the fundamental steps for hooking up a fifth wheel hitch: 

Disclaimer: Some fifth wheel hitches have totally different/extra gear. Use this guidelines at the side of your hitch and fifth wheel proprietor’s manuals.

1. Discover a spotter and line up your tow car with the fifth wheel on a stage, regular floor.
2. Examine that wheel chocks are in place and leveling pads are beneath the touchdown legs. 
3. Guarantee all awnings, slideouts, and steps are retracted. Discover ways to manually retract slideouts in the event that they get caught within the prolonged place.
4. Examine the placement and safety of the hitch. The pin must be ~1” ahead of the middle level of your car’s rear axle. Seek the advice of your hitch and fifth wheel manuals for set up directions, or carry your truck to a Tenting World Service Middle for help.
5. LOWER YOUR TRUCK TAILGATE and ensure your touchdown gear is prolonged so the kingpin will clear the peak of your hitch. 
6. Again up your truck to align the kingpin in your trailer barely behind the hitch jaws. Concentrate on your truck’s bumper and tailgate to keep away from bumping and damaging your kingpin or fifth wheel. 
7. Use your fifth wheel’s touchdown gear to regulate the peak of the pin field till the underside plate of the pin field is about 1” decrease than the fifth wheel plate. Security Observe: Sliding the kingpin into place as described is important. Making an attempt to attach the kingpin to the fifth wheel at an precisely stage aircraft may lead to “excessive pinning” – scratching the hitch from the kingpin being too excessive above the jaws. Coming in excessive and making an attempt to decrease the kingpin into the hitch will injury the locking/latching mechanism.
8. Use the deal with to open the jaws of the fifth wheel hitch. 
9. Proceed backing up your truck to permit the kingpin to experience up the fifth wheel hitch and into the jaws.
10. Set your truck’s emergency brake earlier than exiting the car.
11. Some hitches have self-locking jaws, but when yours doesn’t, use the deal with to shut and safe the jaws across the kingpin as soon as it’s in place. Insert the protection pin to maintain the lock in place. 
12. Join the emergency breakaway cable from the pin field to a everlasting anchor level in your truck. You have to have an lively, charged battery in your fifth wheel in your breakaway cable to operate accurately. 
13. Join {the electrical} plug to your truck and CLOSE THE TAILGATE earlier than checking the trailer’s working lights, brake indicators, and switch indicators along with your spotter. 
14. Conduct a pull check by elevating the touchdown gear barely to alleviate the downward strain. Depart the touchdown gear prolonged in order that the fifth wheel received’t fall onto your truck if it had been to return disconnected. This gives a fail-safe if the connection separates, as your fifth wheel ought to slide off the hitch and relaxation on the bottom with out damaging the truck or trailer. Failing to barely elevate your touchdown gear barely can lead to bent jacks.

As soon as the touchdown gear is raised barely, listed below are your steps for a pull check:

1. Manually activate the trailer brakes utilizing the controller inside your truck.
2. Take off the emergency brake.
3. Press the gasoline gently to maneuver the trailer ahead a couple of inches. 
4. Readminister the emergency brake.

After a profitable pull check, elevate your touchdown gear and take away your wheel chocks.

Security Observe: If the connection separates for any cause, STOP IMMEDIATELY and reconnect the hitch to the kingpin. 

Now that you recognize the steps for hooking up a fifth wheel hitch, learn this tutorial to be sure you keep away from the frequent hitch mistake made by new fifth wheel house owners. 

Fifth Wheel Hitch Upkeep Ideas

Now that you know the way to make use of your fifth wheel hitch, listed below are a couple of tricks to maintain it working and maximize its lifespan. 

• Clear the hitch. Take away grease seasonally to examine the hitch visually. Do that as a part of your technique of winterizing your RV. 
• Examine it for injury. Examine all hitch components seasonally. Search for visible injury and check for correct operation in accordance with your proprietor’s guide.
• Examine lube plate thickness. Examine the plate thickness and change it in accordance with the producer’s suggestion.  
• Lubricate the hitch. Recurrently use the producer’s really helpful lube to attenuate resistance when connecting the system. Some producers fluctuate on what must be lubed and the really helpful lube sort.
• Check the latching mechanism. Whether or not you may have jaws or a locking bar in your hitch, check it every time you’re getting ready to tow to make sure the lock securely holds the kingpin.

Hitching your fifth wheel and towing it accurately is only one step within the technique of your RV adventures. With apply, it’ll quickly turn out to be second nature, however listed below are a couple of different articles that is likely to be useful: 

What questions do you may have about hitching up a fifth wheel trailer? Inform us within the feedback under.

Tucker Ballister is our Technical Content material Author. He’s a lover of the open highway and the proud proprietor of a 2021 Sunlite Traditional journey trailer (his third RV thus far). Try extra of his RV adventures, gear opinions, and out of doors recommendation at thebackpackguide.com.