Hard to pull release handle

luggage wrote:
I just purchased my first fifth wheel (Mountaineer) and dealer installed a Husky 16K slider hitch (short bed F250 diesel)in TV. I am embarrassed to admit what I am about to say but I am having a heck of a time pulling the handle to open the hitch for the hook-up. Either because I had back surgery last year and am still having some issues. Even though I'm 70 I considered myself fairly fit with exception of the back. I think I will try to stand on a stool to give me more leverage because standing on the ground it's all I can do to pull the lever. Do all fifth wheel hitches require the same amount of pull as the one I have. Can the hitch be safely modified to make it easier to pull without compromising the effectiveness of the hitch? If not I am going to have to figure what muscles are key to the pulling (i.e. shoulder, arms and wrist) because I really can't put any stress on my back and pulling from the ground reaching over the side of the bed maybe part of the problem. May be I am just doing it wrong. Definitely need to talk to my RV dealer. Thanks for listening and any advice will be appreciated.

I have the non-slider version of the same hitch. I know what you are talking about. The return spring is quite heavy and takes a good pull to open and lock. I just muscle it, but I think a call to Husky (877-544-4449) might yield a solution. Their customer service was very good when I contacted them with another issue.