Hi,Hoping someone can help. I have had this trailer a month or so with no prior issues. But went to hook up tonight and I can't get the hitch to latch. It sets down on the ball fine. The latch actually goes down to. But the latch is too far forward to latch into the grooves to lock into place. The pin therefore won't line up either. It looks as if the latch is just too short. But it has worked fine in the past. What am I missing?I will attempt to attach pics.Any help is much appreciated!

BGummer wrote:Hi,Hoping someone can help. I have had this trailer a month or so with no prior issues. But went to hook up tonight and I can't get the hitch to latch. It sets down on the ball fine. The latch actually goes down to. But the latch is too far forward to latch into the grooves to lock into place. The pin therefore won't line up either. It looks as if the latch is just too short. But it has worked fine in the past. What am I missing?I will attempt to attach pics.Any help is much appreciated!Can't figure out how to get pic uploaded from phone.It looks like everything underneath is in place and ball is tight. Must he something stuck......tried soaking in wd40.

I cannot really picture what you are talking about. But try this. When the hitch is sitting on the ball, get in your vehicle and cycle it through drive, reverse and back to park. Maybe it is in a bind.

mich800 wrote:I cannot really picture what you are talking about. But try this. When the hitch is sitting on the ball, get in your vehicle and cycle it through drive, reverse and back to park. Maybe it is in a bind.I can't really picture what the problem is either. I sometimes have to move my truck an inch or so forward or backward to get mine to latch or unlatch. Sometimes just releasing the parking park will allow it to move enough to release/latch.

Is the hitch all the way down on the ball? Meaning, is your tongue jack retracted all the way? When in a rush I've tried to lock the hitch without having the tongue jack all the way up, basically while I'm still retracting the jack. If the jack is touching the ground (or wood spacer under it, however you do it), it may be holding up the tongue more than you think.

If there is an adjuster on underside of coupler, you may need to loosen it a small amount, to better fit the ball.Jerry

Receiver hitch won't latch. Help! | Good Sam Community

14 Replies

Drbolasky
Explorer
Oct 28, 2016
Excellent illustration, Old-Biscuit - thank you!
Old-Biscuit
Explorer III
Oct 28, 2016
Drbolasky
Explorer
Oct 28, 2016
If all of the above fails, inspect the coupler (on the trailer tongue) in to which the ball nests. It is only stamped sheet steel. I had a similar experience a couple of years ago. I discovered that my wife had backed the car in to the trailer tongue a few weeks prior and had put a small dent in the coupler. It was just enough to keep the pin from latching. Had to grind & pound out the dent from the inside. Good luck, and let us know how this turns out.
BenK
Explorer
Oct 27, 2016
Curious...what WD Hitch system are you using?

One places a ton of force on the latch assembly and if you have that
one...could be a worn/busted latch assembly

Here is a link to a thread on another latch issue and pictures of the
most common latches to maybe help you solve your issue

Hitch binding up trouble

BenK wrote:
Maybe a visual of how a coupler and latch works...

Here is an old thread with diagrams showing how a coupler works...

Boiled down...a coupler has a dome with a 'return' on the leading edge's bottom
edge

That leading lower edge 'holds' the ball inside the coupler and the latch holds
the ball forward...in side of the dome with the lower edge (below the
equator of the hemisphere) so the opening at that point is SMALLER
than the diameter of the ball...

To have the ball come out...the latch must be loosened to allow the ball to move
backwards

If it does not come out, it is either still stuck via suction and/or it is still
in the front of the dome...that the latch is not moving backwards far
enough (worn or improperly adjusted latch assembly)

To allow the ball to move back out of that captive dome section, the
ball has a flat spot milled on top. So it will clear the top portion
of the dome that comes 'down' to help capture the ball

Why backing up does the trick on most situations...it moves the ball out from the
front of the coupler dome...

rv.net/forum WDH Hitch Ball Angle Issue

Most common coupler latches

Another type of coupler latch

{edit}...Note that if you have an Anderson WD Hitch system...it wears
out the coupler latch assembly. That Anderson warns a certain type
of latch assembly for use with their WD Hitch system
LIKE2BUILD
Explorer
Oct 27, 2016
Once you set the coupler down on the ball put the tow vehicle in Drive and nudge it slightly forward. That will snug the ball up against the front of the coupler and give the latch freedom to slide forward and contact the ball.

Another thing to consider is an incorrectly machined ball. Several years ago I had a 2" ball that always fit tightly on my boat trailer coupler. I boat a different boat and for the life of me I couldn't get the new trailer coupler to set down on that ball. I tried a different 2" ball and it worked perfectly on the new trailer. That is when I realized the old ball was slightly oversized and had been the problem all along.
schlep1967
Nomad
Oct 27, 2016
Lift it back up off of the ball. There is a piece on the coupler that can get pushed up above the ball. If that is above the ball (usually happens when ball is too far back in the coupler) it will not latch. Basically it is a semi-circle that slides in under the ball when latched to keep the ball locked in the tongue.
Dick_B
Explorer
Oct 27, 2016
When hitching up I always push down and back on the locking mechanism to be sure it is out of the way. I also like to have the ball just slightly forward of the coupling when latching.
BTW I also use wax paper as a lube and have for several years.
nickthehunter
Nomad III
Oct 27, 2016
Make sure the ball is all the way forward in the coupler before you try and latch it. Don't force anything or you will never get it back off the ball.
naturist
Nomad
Oct 27, 2016
It is no doubt an alignment issue. The tow vehicle is either too far forward or backward for it to latch. Make sure the trailer wheels are well chocked and with the hitch as closed as much as possible, put just a little pull then push on the trailer. It'll probably latch on you without further ado.

Do be aware that there is a safety mech built in that will also lock up on you when you try to unhitch if there is any pressure forward or especcially backward. Same deal, chock trailer wheels and put just a little pull on th trailer, and the latch should release with a one finger pull.
MFL
Nomad II
Oct 27, 2016
If there is an adjuster on underside of coupler, you may need to loosen it a small amount, to better fit the ball.

Jerry