Troubleshooting Reese Sidewinder that Tracks At Angle On Highway

Question

Question:

I have a sidewinder on my fifth wheel and i find that if it is not perfectly straight i can not disconnect. also while pulling the trailer down the road the hitch looks to be offset.

asked by: James.patterson

1

Helpful Expert Reply:

If the arm of your # RP34FR Sidewinder is at an angle relative to the head of your fifth wheel hitch the issue is the wedge of the Sidewinder that is supposed to be locking the arm to the hitch head is not doing it's job. I would not recommend you tow anymore until you address this issue. You could be using the wrong wedge for your hitch or it needs to be orientated properly. In general Sidewinders do like to be very straight before you can unhitch the hitch they are attached to.

Check out the installation instructions I attached, around page 7 there are instructions on wedge activation.

I also attached a link to a page that has all of the wedges we carry. Let me know what hitch and wedge you are currently using as well.

expert reply by: Jameson C

1

Answer 1

There are a few options to help ease your Sidewinder's coupling with your Reese 5th Wheel Trailer Hitch #RP30047: 1. Make sure that your trailer is level. This will ensure that the king pin is going in straight. The jaws of a hitch are usually…

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Answer 2

Yes, you can indeed continue to use your existing manual sliding 5th wheel hitch with a Sidewinder pin box like the part #RP34FR that you were looking at. As you mentioned, once the Sidewinder is on the trailer you won't be able to use slider…

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Answer 3

A Reese Sidewinder Pin Box is a great option for increasing the clearance between your cab and trailer, however it will not allow you to hook up to the trailer at an angle any more than a standard pin box. When connecting to a Sidewinder, you will…

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Answer 4

The 5th Airborne Premium 5th Wheel Air Ride King Pin with Sidewinder #5AS16K has a plate welded on the back the would hold the wear plate in place and prevent any movement. If your wear plate is able to spin then it could be because of the following…

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Answer 5

It sounds like the problem is in the wedge you have installed on your Sidewinder. Since you had an RV dealer install both of these products I would recommend you take it back to the dealer you bought it from and explain to them what it is doing. Most…

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Answer 6

The pivoting turret portion of a Sidewinder pin box like #RP61422 should not be loose enough for you to rotate the pin box by hand. This would actually indicate a problem. If you are having trouble unhitching your Sidewinder from your 5th wheel hitch…

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Answer 7

Hey Keith, The slider base for your Curt A20 5th Wheel Hitch #C16541 is just a couple of rods with two notches cut out of them for the hitch to lock into. If it's getting stuck and wiggling the hitch loosens it then the spring in the release…

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Answer 8

Yes, adjusting the air spring bolts towards the camper will help with heavier loads. You'll also need to loosen the inner bolts we talked about before (pictured below) when adjusting the top ones. The top and lower bolts will need to be torqued…

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Answer 9

Tony, the Reese Sidewinder #RP34FR (Reese part number 69220) is a direct replacement for the 68220, so assuming your trailer has one of the following pin box you can use your brother-in-laws pin box no problem (Free is a pretty sweet price!): Fabex…

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Answer 10

For the swivel arm, the torque should be 150 ft-lbs for the wedge bolts and for the lockout bolts the torque should be 275 ft-lbs (lock out bolts are an optional item). Grade 8 bolts going through outer cap (be sure wear disc is properly lined up)…

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Answer 11

The M5 is not known for chucking but I did speak to my contact at Reese and he had a few things to try/check. His response is below as well as the pages from the manual for the M5 #RP30928 that he attached as well: This hitch is not known for…

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Answer 12

The Reese M5 5th Wheel Trailer Hitch, #RP30922 that you linked to has a fully articulating head so side-to-side movement is expected. However, if you have concerns then you should return to the dealership that installed and request the hitch be…

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Troubleshooting Reese Sidewinder that Tracks At Angle On Highway

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