Plastic disc on fifth wheel hitch

I've sold a lot of them and never heard any thing back on this problem

I have a B&W companion hitch and only thing we could see was that the jaws are thicker than on most other hitches. I hated to take it off because it really worked great when towing.

Yes, a secure hitch was a challenge at first. After moving to a long-bed truck and pinning/removing wedge from my Sidewinder pinbox, I was able to use a disc for the first time. Reese R16 hitch and the 16k Sidewinder, the jaws of the hitch wrapped very low on the "neck" of the king pin. Adding the thickness of the plastic disk caused the jaws ride a bit lower and would catch the lower "flange" of the king pin.

Uncomfortable with this, I went back to grease for a few trips. Tired of the grease, I tried the disk again. Took two tries, but got jaws to settle in around neck. Don't know if disk has compressed or worn slightly, but since then, jaws are now grabbing okay. I still watch it really close though.

Hope this helps.

I have a B&W and use a disk with no issues. I do believe there are thinner ones, however. Not sure but my feeble brain tells me I read that somewhere. Have used my plastic lube plate with two different pin boxes without problems (OEM Lippert and Mor Ryde).

maxmorrow wrote:
I have a B&W companion hitch and only thing we could see was that the jaws are thicker than on most other hitches. I hated to take it off because it really worked great when towing.

You don't have as much room to hitch to 5er's pin...I use a disc also with the hitch in my sig., B&W 3600 RVK Companion, and if you hitch too high or too low, you may have an issue....Wife watches as I back truck under 5er and she raises or lowers 5er as needed and I'm able to use my disc...no issues.


There use to be two thickness disc sold, a thinner one may be an option for you.

You can order the thinner disc from Hensley. They are around $20.

Jerry

Yes there are different thicknesses of the disc.

Been reported here before. And the solution as a thinner disc.

I've had this same issue with my B&W while unhitching. I could not get the jaws to release. Once released, I noticed the plate had been pinched and slightly buckled in the center. I purchased a new one that is thinner and haven't had any issues.

Get a Hensly or make one out of the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket. My home made one just split after 5+ years and two trailers. But, I probably don't tow as much as some do here.