Another Reese 20K Hitch Failure
This post may comes a little late for one posted last April (see post from davidkelm "Dropped Trailer on Bed Rails Today") http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27647785.cfm but ...
Forum Discussion
AlpenliteForever wrote:
WyoTraveler...Thanks for the reply...Yeah I know about not easy to always get holes aligned, but I won't go anywhere unless the hitchpin is in place!
You have said you have the Pro Series, with the Elite head, which is a single 1" jaw, instead of twin jaw that the pro series have. Two totally different hitch processes with the two.
The Pro series you can back in with the jaws closed, and safety latch open, if the safety latch is closed then of course the jaws won't open. The jaws open from the pressure of the fifth wheel pin, then close when backed into, then you lock the handle with the safety latch, but to unhook you have to pull the handle ,and open the jaws to pull out.
The Elite Series single wrap around jaw has to be open to be backed into, and it closes when backed into .
Its very possible your handle was not in the closed position when you backed in, if that happens then the jaw appears to be closed, and the locking pin will go in thru the hole in the handle, but the handle is not far enough in to align with the locking plate, and there is nothing under the handle for the locking pin to lock to. It takes less then an inch for this to happen . If that happens then its possible with enough twisting or turning it could come out. It would also allow the jaws to go back to closed ,and the locking pin to still be in position
