Companion hitch hard to latch

[jmorton]

I have an older B&W companion hitch and it is really difficult to latch the last inch or so. Up to that point everything feels normal but that last inch to get the handle where I can drop the pin through I have to put my back against the bed and push with my feet to get it there while my wife drops the pin through. I've been searching the internet for disassembly instructions, exploded diagrams, etc and can't find anything. Only lube point is in the bottom and it doesn't lube the jaws. B&W told me to just slather the jaws with grease but I don't find that an acceptable way to lube them.
Anyone else ever have this issue and if so, what was the fix?

[ependydad]

fj12ryder wrote:
If you're familiar with the B&W hitch the post was perfectly clear, if you're not familiar with the B&W hitch you probably won't really understand the problem. It just has to do with the way the hitch/handle works.

And I, for one, would really like to know the solution to the problem. Have you contacted B&W yet, and if so, what did they say? I think you and they may have had a miscommunication if you described your problem and they told you to simply "slather the jaws with grease".

Agreed.

fj12ryder wrote:
Did the disassembly and thorough cleaning resolve the problem?

And I'm curious, too.

[fj12ryder]

Did the disassembly and thorough cleaning resolve the problem?

[laknox]

jmorton wrote:
And thus the reason I haven't posted here in years, should have known better

Jake, the problem is that people just don't read =carefully=, and I'm guilty of that, too. As I said, after I re-read your original post, it =was= clear to me, but I did say to myself the first time, "WTF is he talking about?" You =did= write clearly, =we= (or a number of us) did not =read= clearly. Personally, I just ignore the b.s. and snarky comments and try to help when I can. Same as I do with email lists I'm on, even with guys I've been emailing since the BBS days. 🙂

Lyle

[Cummins12V98]

jmorton wrote:
And thus the reason I haven't posted here in years, should have known better

My "older Companion had 1 1/8" thick jaws and with a 1/4" slip disk there was not much room at all for slop vertically. Is your slip disk damaged at all to cause the tolerances to be a little tighter?

BTW the new Companion jaws are 1" thick now. I use a Hensley 1/8" slip disk it makes it easier to see when you have removed the load from the hitch to open the hitch handle.

[jmorton]

And thus the reason I haven't posted here in years, should have known better

[fj12ryder]

If you're familiar with the B&W hitch the post was perfectly clear, if you're not familiar with the B&W hitch you probably won't really understand the problem. It just has to do with the way the hitch/handle works.

And I, for one, would really like to know the solution to the problem. Have you contacted B&W yet, and if so, what did they say? I think you and they may have had a miscommunication if you described your problem and they told you to simply "slather the jaws with grease".

[laknox]

Miles Away wrote:
I'm more than a little confused about your post. You said you or your your wife "drop the pin through." What does this mean? The pin should NOT be above the latch, it should be pushed through from the rear, allowing the latch to close around the pin as it seats against the forward end of the latch. It sounds like you are "high pinning". Lower the trailer enough so that the pin sits just below the hitch allowing the pin box to ramp up onto the hitch plate as you back your truck under the trailer. If this doesn't work, then call B & W.

I had to re-read it a couple times, too, before I realized he was talking about the locking pin, not the king pin. Not everyone can be a Hemingway... 🙂

Lyle

[Miles_Away]

jmorton wrote:
I was referring to the pin that keeps the handle in the closed position, not the pin on the pin box.

Sorry. I lost my crystal ball last week.

[SkipStock]

same thing happened to me the first time I used mine.
Lower the FW a tad more so it's lower than the hitch.
worked like a charm. and I use the teflon plate.

[Cummins12V98]

If they were high pinning their trailer would be sitting on their truck.

I agree the post was a bit confusing.

[jmorton]

I was referring to the pin that keeps the handle in the closed position, not the pin on the pin box.

[Miles_Away]

I'm more than a little confused about your post. You said you or your your wife "drop the pin through." What does this mean? The pin should NOT be above the latch, it should be pushed through from the rear, allowing the latch to close around the pin as it seats against the forward end of the latch. It sounds like you are "high pinning". Lower the trailer enough so that the pin sits just below the hitch allowing the pin box to ramp up onto the hitch plate as you back your truck under the trailer. If this doesn't work, then call B & W.

[C7XR7]

laknox wrote:
I'm with the others; call B&W ASAP! They're great to deal with.

Ditto that - this is the best reason to own a B&W. They'll take care of you. Mine is very, very easy to latch, one hand from the bed side and it is locked.

[fpresto]

Shadow has it correct. Make sure the trailer pin box is a little lower than the plate on the Companion. If the pin box is higher it tries to lift the truck and makes it much harder to latch.