I bought the plastic disc for my fifth wheel hitch and thought it would help on the mess of grease. It worked fine and when I tried to hookup the other day the jaws would not close completely. I took off the disc and it worked perfect. Just wanted to let anyone that has same problem of what it could be.

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.

Plastic disc on fifth wheel hitch | Good Sam Community

Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Jan 12, 2016
FlatBroke wrote:
I don't see where Hensly or B&W are selling the plates.

Give them a call, I have purchased the 1/8" disks twice from them.
noslofivoh
Explorer
Jan 13, 2016
Reese part# 83004 is also 1/8" thick. You can get those for $20.95 on etrailer.com Possibly cheaper if you have time to shop around.
thirtydaZe
Nomad
Jan 14, 2016
I have a Pro Series 16k hitch. mine specifies lube plate no thicker than 3/16". I had the same problem you describe. I have yet to coem across one that thin.

Mine would
A. Not allow the jaws to lock.
B. Pinch and smash, or completely break the plate.

I'm at using grease now. In the hunt for a thin plate for next this season.
NC_Hauler
Explorer
Jan 14, 2016
You can purchase a 1/8" thick lube plate from several places that have been mentioned in this thread that may work for you.
Durb
Explorer
Jan 17, 2016
For the usual reasons I bought a Hensley TrailerSaver TS3 hitch. Having read other forums I ordered a 1/8" plate at the same time. When I hooked up the upper ridge of the kingpin groove was riding on my hitch jaws rather than distributing the pressure to the plates. I had to stack the 1/8" plate with a 1/4" plate so that my hitch jaws were centered in the kingpin groove. Hook up is now easier with a creamy ride. Been using this combo for 3k miles with no problem.
Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Jan 17, 2016
"creamy ride"

That sounds YUMMY :B
dinwiddi
Explorer
Jan 19, 2016
Thanks fellows for the good info. I purchased a new truck and a B&W hitch this fall. I was really concerned about the thick jaws as I have been known to ruin Teflon plates while hitching. My current plate has been around for some time so I have not had any trouble hitching. It is good to learn that thin ones are available.

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Plastic disc on fifth wheel hitch

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