Do Reese Fifth Wheel Hitches Have Reputation as Hard to Uncouple from Trailer
Updated 06/09/2015 | Published 06/08/2015
Question:
I currently have a Reese hitch in our 2011 F250 SD short bed truck. It came with the 19,000# GVW Glacier Bay fifth wheel that we purchased last fall. We have camped about a dozen times since buying this and probably half of the trips we could not pull the handle to release the locking jaw to get the truck off the camper! We have tried every trick in the book and every piece of advice we could get, but nothing seems to work more than once. I think the hitch is too small. I recently talked to a camper who had a Curt Q20, I explained my frustration concerning my inability to release my truck. He said my only mistake was buying a Reese hitch, that they were notorious for that specific problem! Is this true? He showed me how easily his unhitched and I was blown away! Hitches arent cheap, so I dont want to buy a new one on someone elses unprofessional recommendation, but I just cant seem to make my Reese work! Am I doing something wrong, or do I just have the wrong hitch?
asked by: Jo E
Expert Reply:
Without knowing what specific Reese fifth wheel hitch you have it is hard to give specific advice on getting the hitch to release from your fifth wheel. Reese makes several different jaw designs that some might work easier than others. But as far as Reese having a reputation as having difficult release mechanisms I would not say that across the board.
There is only one size king pin so it wouldn't be that your trailer has too large of one. Sometimes fifth wheel trailers will have a hard time unhooking if the trailer isn't sitting level in relation to it's tow vehicle or if you are on unlevel ground. It can sometimes take raising and lowering the landing gear as well. Lubricating the jaw mechanism will help as well.
