Reese R20 - struggling to unhitch
I went from a sliding Reese 16k to the R20 this year. I like the R20, but on my old 16k, when I lowered the front landing gear on the trailer, I could see when the pin box raised off the hitch head, ...
Forum Discussion
Cummins12V98 wrote:
From all this talk about trouble unhitching I understand why most damaged truck beds have Reese hitches in them!
allimax wrote:
I have the R20, new last year. It took awhile to get used to it, but I'm new to fivers so figured it was me, not the hitch. I raise the pin and watch the truck rise as the weight comes off. Once the weight is off the truck, I watch the hitch until I see a little movement, indicating the pin is off. Then I reverse the truck to take the pressure off the jaws, pull the handle out and drive out from underneath, after unplugging the cord of course. That's my system and it works for me.
Cummins12v98, I don't think it is so much about the hitch as the method used to disconnect. Sounds like the OP is trying to lift the 5er clear of the hitch plate before releasing the jaws. He is likely binding the pin to the jaws, both the B&W and Reese R20 have the thicker jaws, so not much room to get daylight. I think that before he sees daylight he has started to lift the TV with the 5er's pin.
I never release all the weight off the hitch before I release the jaws and pull away, my rig usually rises about 1/2" to 1" when I pull out.
WHY, WHY, do people think you need to raise the 5er until ALL the weight is off the truck????? Not necessary, creates problems, way too much work for me! The only time I have an issues with my Reese 16K, is when the truck is applying pressure on the backside of the pin. This is due the the design of the R20 and 16K Twin Jaw, the more the pin tugs on the jaws the harder they are forced closed.
