hitch question

Rich&Mar wrote:
Thinking back, I think I have only had two different hitches, a hi jacker and now a reese 16k. I think I liked the hi jacker better. It seemed better built and simpler. It had the bar that slid across the king pin locking it in place. The reese seems less sturdy and has two jaws that come around the king pin locking it in place. I tried the following. Close the jaws. No matter where the lever is, the lock towing, or the other two positions you can go to the back of the truck and open the jaws with a shovel handle, (I used). This just doesn't seem right. By the way this hitch came with the 5er from a pp sale. I no longer had the hi jacker. So I have no manual or experience with this hitch.
and the "lock positions" does that apply only to the sliding part and has nothing to do with the jaws?? Not to sure about this hitch although there are millions out there I'm sure.

BB_TX wrote:
The sliding bar type hitch is very secure, but old technology. The two jaws that close on the pin is a very common style latch used on many hitches including the much liked B&W. But I have no idea how many of those can be opened with a shovel. Personally I like the wrap around jaw type that wraps fully around the pin and doesn’t have that opening behind the pin. I had a Pullrite Super 5th hitch in my previous truck and now a Reese Elite hitch in my current truck both having the wrap around jaw and geared to the pull handle. Just seems the most secure latch method to me.