Troubleshooting Stuck Jaws on Curt Q25 5th Wheel Hitch

Question:

I hauled a fifth wheel trailer and the jaws won’t release. Had to leave the head on the trailer. Just below the jaws there’s a piece of metal with 4 Allen head screws that is broken. No matter how hard I pull the release handle the jaws won’t unlock. Can I disassemble the locking mechanism to get it to release?

asked by: Gregg H

Expert Reply:

Thank you for all of the information regarding your Curt Q25 5th Wheel Trailer Hitch # C16265 being stuck on your 5th wheel trailer.

It sounds like you've got 2 things going on here; the first is that the jaws are binding, and the second is that the orbital pad has been broken.

Binding happens when the truck and trailer are parked on an uneven surface and the king pin sits at a weird angle to the jaws and everything gets stuck. The only way to remedy this is to either hook your truck back up and try to get everything as level as possible before unhitching or to try disassembling the springs and pins that help operate the handle so you can get some slack in the jaws. I recommend hitching up to your truck first so you can avoid taking everything apart.

To remove and replace the orbital pad you'll need to remove those 4 Allen head screws you mentioned and then replace the pad with the Orbital Pad # C65UR which comes with the replacement hardware as well.

Binding is frustrating to deal with but the only 5th wheel hitch I know of that is less susceptible to this than most other hitches is the line of B&W hitches. To replace a standard Q25 you need the Patriot # BWRVK3255 which mounts directly to raised rails but is only rated for 18K so you'll need to make sure your trailer doesn't exceed this.

Attached are some review videos for you to check out.