The Frequent Fifth Wheel Hitch Mistake New House owners Make I Tenting World Weblog

The boards at RV.web reveal a typical fifth wheel hitch mistake that usually occurs to new (and even skilled) fifth wheel house owners. This error entails improper use of a fifth wheel hitch, however the excellent news is that it may be prevented pretty simply.

The All-Too-Frequent Fifth Wheel Hitch Mistake

Think about you’ve pushed a number of hundred miles to your vacation spot. You’ve been in your truck for hours and eventually arrive at your campground. After a number of makes an attempt and a few slight changes, you’ve positioned your fifth wheel on the campsite. The whole lot is ideal.

You add wheel chocks to carry your fifth wheel in place, decrease your touchdown legs, disconnect out of your fifth wheel trailer hitch, and lengthen your slides. You arrange your tenting chairs across the firepit and begin prepping dinner. That’s once you notice you’re out of cooking oil and must make a retailer run. Or perhaps you simply want drinks or sides to go together with dinner. 

You double-check that the cables are disconnected between your truck and fifth wheel…all good there. So that you hop in your truck, shift into drive, begin to draw back, after which CRACK! What mistake did you make?

The reply: you forgot to decrease the tailgate! Because of this, your fifth wheel pin field dented your tailgate.

Take a second to compose your self—this isn’t the primary time this has occurred to a fifth wheel proprietor, however our mission is to make sure we’re nearer to it being the final. That’s why we’re elevating tailgate consciousness for the sake of fifth wheel hitches and house owners in every single place. 

A Easy Fifth Wheel Hitch Resolution

To start with, you must set your wheel chocks, disconnect out of your pin field, and pull your truck safely away BEFORE leveling and stabilizing your coach. So that you shouldn’t begin with dinner or different camp chores earlier than finishing the disconnection course of. 

All new fifth wheel house owners can profit from following a written, laminated guidelines when hooking up and detaching their rig. As a substitute of simply making an attempt to recollect all of the little steps that go into this course of, maintain your record useful and test as you go. 

A easy resolution is eradicating your common tailgate in the course of the tenting season. However there are professionals and cons to this strategy. When you’ll keep away from this hitch mistake, the draw back of this strategy is the shortcoming to retailer any further tenting gear in your truck mattress between locations. 

You possibly can exchange your tailgate with a fifth wheel vent tailgate as a fair higher resolution. This tailgate fashion features a V-shaped cutout on the middle, offering further clearance in your pin field.

Your Fifth Wheel Hitch Setup Guidelines

Earlier than you are taking your new fifth wheel on its maiden voyage, obtain or print and laminate this hitch guidelines for reference: 

• Verify the campsite for obstructions.
• Use a spotter when backing in.
• Place the fifth wheel on the campsite so it’s as stage as attainable. 
• Put the tow car in park and set the emergency brake. 
• Place wheel chocks in back and front of tires. 
• Set leveling pads below touchdown legs. 
• LOWER TRUCK TAILGATE.
• Lengthen the touchdown legs till you’ll be able to see a crack of daylight between the hitch and pin field.
• Disconnect and retailer the trailer electrical cable. 
• Double-check that wheel chocks are firmly in place.
• Take away the lock or pin from the hitch. 
• Open the safety latch. 
• Pull the hitch latch bar to disengage the kingpin from the pin field. 
• Disconnect the breakaway cable. 
• Elevate touchdown legs to take away tongue weight from the hitch.
• Drive the truck slowly ahead till the rear bumper is obvious of the pin field. 
• Elevate truck tailgate. 
• Push the hitch latch bar into the closed place. 
• Go away the safety latch within the unlocked place. 
• Proceed to stage and stabilize.
• Set up a kingpin stabilizing jack below the entrance.
• Securely stow all jack crank handles and different fifth wheel hitch attachments. 
• Take away prolonged tow mirrors from the tow car (if relevant).

Watch the video under for a extra in-depth walkthrough on the way to hook up and disconnect your fifth wheel.

How To Alter Fifth Wheel Hitch Peak

It’s essential that your trailer is stage whereas in tow. If not, you’re vulnerable to points like elevated trailer sway, extreme chucking/jarring, poor gasoline financial system, and rather more.

To start out, stage the trailer utilizing the touchdown gear and measure the gap from the bottom to the underside of the skid plate on the pin field. Subsequent, measure the gap from the bottom to the highest of the hitch head on the fifth wheel hitch in your truck mattress. If these two measurements don’t match, you’ll must make some changes.

To stage the trailer, you’ve gotten just a few choices. The primary possibility can be to regulate the hitch head peak of your fifth wheel hitch. Almost each fifth wheel hitch has an adjustable hitch head so you’ll be able to stage your trailer. 

To vary the hitch head peak, you’ll must seek the advice of the proprietor’s guide of your hitch. That mentioned, most require eradicating and reinstalling bolts in a special set of holes on the bottom.

If the trailer continues to be not stage even after adjusting the hitch head peak, you could possibly modify the peak of the pin field. That is performed by eradicating the bolts that safe the pin field to the body and reinstalling these bolts in one other set of holes (up or down), if relevant.

In the event you require additional changes, you could elevate or decrease the trailer accordingly. This may be achieved utilizing carry blocks, axle flip kits, or new leaf spring hangers. Typically, you must have a minimal of six inches of clearance between your truck mattress rails and the underside of your fifth wheel hangover.

In the event you need assistance leveling your trailer, you’ll be able to all the time cease by your native Tenting World Service Heart for assist.

The place Can I Get a Fifth Wheel Hitch Put in?

Putting in a fifth wheel hitch shouldn’t be one thing you must take frivolously. There is a gigantic security concern if not performed accurately, however you can too trigger harm to your car. Generally, you’ll drill into the mattress and/or body to put in a hitch. If not performed correctly, you threat pointless holes that may compromise the body’s integrity.

In the event you don’t really feel up for the duty of putting in a fifth wheel hitch in your truck, attain out to a neighborhood Tenting World Service Heart for help. 

The massive takeaway for eliminating complications when hitching up a fifth wheel is to take your time. Know the appropriate weight capability in your particular hitch and observe your guidelines to keep away from skipping steps. In the event you do, you’ll keep away from this hitch and towing mistake and luxuriate in your tenting expertise with out complications! 

In the event you really feel a smaller RV can be higher suited in your life-style as a substitute, try the brand new Happier Camper.

Do you’ve gotten any harrowing tales about early trials and tribulations together with your fifth wheel? Share them together with your fellow readers within the feedback under!