Finally got around to winterizing the 5er before our first hard freeze last weekend. I sure hope I did it right. I followed the "blowout" method provided on the heartland forum stickies, then put antifreeze in all the P traps, and poured some down each drain.
What I dreaded most was removing the B&W Companion hitch from the bed since it was installed and lived there all summer. I was concerned things would be stiff, sticky and generally grumpy to remove.
Boy was I wrong! It was a snap: remove the head, release the pressure on the retention bolt, pull the latch pin handle in the wheel well, and the hitch slid right out of the gooseneck ball opening. slick as can be! I put the gooseneck ball upside down in the hitch carrier and closed the latch pin handle.
Now the hitch is sitting on it's own platform in the garage, covered and out of the harsh winter elements, the bed of my truck is 100% usable for hunting seasons, picking up firewood, or whatever else I want to do with it!
Cool design and well worth the money. I find it interesting that B&W says to NOT lubricate anything that goes into the receiver hole, or the receiver hole itself. I assume it's because they don't want anything in there that can attract gunk that can seize things up.
