Newby to towing 5th Wheel

[cojoe]

Hello everyone,

I am a newby to towing 5th wheels and have a question. I picked up a 1990 28ft Kit Road ranger and noticed that on the king pin there is a plastic ring on it. So when I hook up to it instead of my hitch making metal to metal contact with the king pin the plastic is between the two. Is this normal or should I remove the plastic to ensure good contact with the king pin. I should say that I did notice that on occasion the trailer lights sometimes flicker on and off. They act like it is not getting a good ground. Any help you can give would be appreciated.

[kzspree320]

newcomers wrote:
Ok, another question I hope is OK here. I just took my 5th wheel on it's first maiden trip. I noted a lot of creaking and such while towing. Is this normal? Besides the fifth wheel itself is there anything that needs greasing and lubing besides axles and wheel bearings and that? Also I'm towing with a Chevy 2500 4WD and its a lot of weight on the truck. Should we look at beefing up the rear springs or putting air shocks on the back? I have seen a lot of aftermarket parts for this in the catalogs and it seems like a good idea.

You probably want to start a new thread and ask this. When you ask questions, please give us enough information to help you. We have no idea what year your truck is, the GVWR, the FAWR or the RAWR (front and rear axle weight ratings). Give us the ratings from the label located in the drivers door jamb. If in doubt, more info is always better.

You ask about suspension upgrades. Tell us about the trailer you are towing, the dry weight, pin weight, and GVWR. Better yet would be to take it to CAT scales and tell us the steer axle weight, drive axle weight, trailer axle weight and the gross weight. Remember, we don't know what kind of triler you are towing or the weights. We will try to help but the more info we get the better suggestions we can make. Welcome and good luck.

[cojoe]

Thanks for all the input. I will check the grounds on both the truck and 5er. And I will most certainly keep the lube plate on, sure beats messing with grease!!

[newcomers]

Ok, another question I hope is OK here. I just took my 5th wheel on it's first maiden trip. I noted a lot of creaking and such while towing. Is this normal? Besides the fifth wheel itself is there anything that needs greasing and lubing besides axles and wheel bearings and that? Also I'm towing with a Chevy 2500 4WD and its a lot of weight on the truck. Should we look at beefing up the rear springs or putting air shocks on the back? I have seen a lot of aftermarket parts for this in the catalogs and it seems like a good idea.

[newcomers]

Hey thanks for that tip! I had the same question

[Allworth]

Intermittent ground is almost always a bad plug on the trailer or bad receptacle on the truck. Any RV service place can provide cheap replacements (with wiring diagrams).

[BlindGuynAR]

The ground should come from the plug connecting your 5er to you Truck not the metal to metal contact of the king pin connection to the hitch.

Check up in the pin box to ensure it has a good ground then check the plug on your truck for same.

Leave the lube plate on there unless you like grease:)

[kzspree320]

tvman44 wrote:
It is called a lube plate, used instead of putting grease there. I love them. 🙂

Yep. You should use it. Should have nothing to do with the blinking lights. Good luck.

[brirene]

Leave the ring on there. It serves as "lubrication" of sorts, and more importantly keeps you from needing to put grease between the 2 surfaces; much cleaner. This isn't affecting your ground. And welcome to the forum!

[tvman44]

It is called a lube plate, used instead of putting grease there. I love them. 🙂