Having a Hard Time Hooking Up to a 16K Reese 5th Wheel Slider Trailer Hitch

Updated 01/17/2012 | Published 01/14/2012

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LubriMatic White Lithium Grease - 14 oz. Cartridge

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Question:

I have a new 16K fifth wheel reese hitch. Im having trouble hooking up and disconnecting. Sometimes it takes four or five hard hits backing into the hitch to get it to complete the encirclement of the pin. The release arm will pop out and back in but not far enough. When the trailer is off the jaws do not line up properly is there an adjustment that can be made to line the jaws and have the connection take place properly. I have read the manual many time.

asked by: Roy P

Expert Reply:

I spoke with my contact at Reese and I have some tips for you. First, he seemed to think that you may possibly not have the lock fully open and/or that the activation handle is getting caught or hung up on the latch or side of the hitch.

You can make sure that the lock is fully open and if you see paint scraped off of the activation handle, latch, or hitch anywhere then you know that is the problem. Besides making sure the lock is open all the way you can take some white lithium grease # L11354 to lubricate the pivot points.

Regarding the jaws not lining up, when the trailer is not connected you might see one jaw pushing against the other and the opening between them will appear more oval than round. This is nothing to be concerned about and again you can make sure that everything is lubricated with the grease.

If the hitch is not properly lubricated then it may also be so tight that it is not allowing you to hook up easily. The way the jaws work is that when pressure is applied on the channel side (where the king pin slides in) the jaws will open up and allow the king pin to come in. But, if you tried to pull back on the jaws they would just get tighter.

expert reply by: Michael H