Broke Our SuperGlider

mileshuff wrote:
When hitching I set the kingpin just slightly below the level of the hitch plate and let it ride up. About 1/8" below. When unhitching I raise the trailer until I just barely see a gap, maybe 1/16". Never a problem.

When I first got my hitch and 5'er I raised until I saw the kingpin begin to slide slightly on the hitch as the weight is unloaded. Maybe 1/4" below where I'd see a gap. This always caused me problems with it not releasing easily. With a very small gap it glides out every time.

I have used your procedure stated in Paragraph 1 for 8 years and no problems either.
Don

rhagfo wrote:
X3 TOO HIGH!!!

I stated this in another post!
WHY, WHY, WHY do users think you need to see daylight between the hitch head and the pin plate when Unhitching or hitching! If the hitch was designed to work that way the hitch head would be just a flat plate without the ramps. I usually hit the hitch about 1" low have been as low as 2" still works!
I have read in other threads about hitching issues, "I don't want to stress the hitch or pin box"! Trust me towing down the road puts FAR more stress on the hitch and pin box than hitting it with the pin plate low.

The reason you hit it low is to prevent "High Hitching", this is where the pin ends up on top of the jaws or bar, first big bump and bye, bye 5er. This is the reason I hit low and still do a pull test with the landing gear still down on the ground supporting most of the 5er weight, easier to overcome friction with less weight on the pin. I don't block my landing gear so the slight movement doesn't harm the legs.

mileshuff wrote:
When hitching I set the kingpin just slightly below the level of the hitch plate and let it ride up. About 1/8" below. When unhitching I raise the trailer until I just barely see a gap, maybe 1/16". Never a problem.

When I first got my hitch and 5'er I raised until I saw the kingpin begin to slide slightly on the hitch as the weight is unloaded. Maybe 1/4" below where I'd see a gap. This always caused me problems with it not releasing easily. With a very small gap it glides out every time.

You are still flirting with issues,really 1/8", is that with the back to the hitch head tilted down in the back or level.

well put sir you hit the pin on the head !!!

X3 TOO HIGH!!!

I stated this in another post!
WHY, WHY, WHY do users think you need to see daylight between the hitch head and the pin plate when Unhitching or hitching! If the hitch was designed to work that way the hitch head would be just a flat plate without the ramps. I usually hit the hitch about 1" low have been as low as 2" still works!
I have read in other threads about hitching issues, "I don't want to stress the hitch or pin box"! Trust me towing down the road puts FAR more stress on the hitch and pin box than hitting it with the pin plate low.

The reason you hit it low is to prevent "High Hitching", this is where the pin ends up on top of the jaws or bar, first big bump and bye, bye 5er. This is the reason I hit low and still do a pull test with the landing gear still down on the ground supporting most of the 5er weight, easier to overcome friction with less weight on the pin. I don't block my landing gear so the slight movement doesn't harm the legs.

mileshuff wrote:
When hitching I set the kingpin just slightly below the level of the hitch plate and let it ride up. About 1/8" below. When unhitching I raise the trailer until I just barely see a gap, maybe 1/16". Never a problem.

When I first got my hitch and 5'er I raised until I saw the kingpin begin to slide slightly on the hitch as the weight is unloaded. Maybe 1/4" below where I'd see a gap. This always caused me problems with it not releasing easily. With a very small gap it glides out every time.

You are still flirting with issues,really 1/8", is that with the back to the hitch head tilted down in the back or level.

When hitching I set the kingpin just slightly below the level of the hitch plate and let it ride up. About 1/8" below. When unhitching I raise the trailer until I just barely see a gap, maybe 1/16". Never a problem.

When I first got my hitch and 5'er I raised until I saw the kingpin begin to slide slightly on the hitch as the weight is unloaded. Maybe 1/4" below where I'd see a gap. This always caused me problems with it not releasing easily. With a very small gap it glides out every time.

Ductape wrote:

milo wrote:
raised 5er to just off the hitch and pulled forward

There's your problem. Should always have the truck/hitch higher than the pinbox when hooking and unhooking.

True. That likely is the problem. You should not be lifting the inbox that high. Should only lift high enough to relieve MUCH OF the "squat" from the trucks suspension. Just enough so that when you pull away from the hitch, and the trucks bed rebounds upward, it does not rise to bump into the under side of the trailers overhang.

And you should pull away SLOWLY. And let the inbox slowly and gently slide off the hitch plate ramp.

If you lift your hitch too high, the hub on the bottom of the kingpin can interfere with the bottom of the hitch plate. And it will distort or bend the plate. When that happens, the bottom of the plate will interfere (very close tolerance) with the rotation of the wrap around jaws. The result is the jaw will not wrap completely around the kingpin when hitching.

And to fix that issue, you need to remove the hitch plate and bend the hitch plate back into the correct position. Best done with a press. Because the amount you bend it is very little. And in a very small specific area of the hitch plate.

Unless of course if you find this oddity has happened at 8:30AM on a Sunday morning, when you are due to check out of the campground. Then a pretty big (at least 2 ft long handle) adjustable wrench can do the job. That is...if you can borrow one from the maintenance shack of the campground your are staying in. And then you can hold the hitch plate between a fork in a large tree.

But it is so much better to just not raise the elevators too high when unhitching.

+1 for letting it ride up and ride down. Take some weight off but no gap.

milo wrote:
raised 5er to just off the hitch and pulled forward

There's your problem. Should always have the truck/hitch higher than the pinbox when hooking and unhooking.

Did it two years ago in Amarillo; UPS the parts and installed them myself. RV dealer said Pullrite told him I probably "high hooked" the kingpin when we started. I now have the kingpin a little lower when hitching up than I did previously. No trouble since.