Hitch Issues

[engine31]

Hi all, first off let me say this is not my rig I am merely trying to help my friend out. He has a brand new Jayco Hybrid 23' he just picked it up Saturday. The Dealership hitched it to his to vehicle then he made the 120 mile ride home. When he arrived home he attempted to get it off of the ball but it would not release that time his neighbor helped him out. He hooked all up correctly last evening and towed it to the storage facility and again attempted to remove it from the hitch and no go. This time I drove out and looked at it myself and ran through my mind what procedures I do routinely hitching & un-hitching my unit. So after working with the unit there was no way it would come off of the hitch. I ended up using the hooked end of the cheater bar to pop the mechanism that holds the hitch to the ball.

1.) My friend greased the ball & locking mechanism
2.) The mechanism works fine without being locked onto tow vehicle and there did not appear to be any burs, nicks, cuts, or anything unusual
3.) the hitch sway system are all brand new

Sorry for the long post just trying to get the facts out there as best as I know them.
Any ideas or thoughts would be appreciated I will pass them along to my friend.

[jarata1]

Maybe wrong size ball

[BurbMan]

MFL wrote:
It sounds like the coupler is too tight on the ball. Is it not adjustable on the underside?

Jerry

It should be, here is an e-Trailer tutorial on how to adjust the coupler.

[BenK]

Brand new, so not wear n tear, nor gunked up with solidified grease/grim/dirt/etc...

Think, or check out that the latch is adjusted properly and/or that it moves out of the way when un-latched

The coupler dome for the ball has the front (towards the TV) 'capture' the ball below the equator. Meaning that the opening is smaller than the ball

The rear of the coupler dome does NOT and is for the ball to move backwards towards the trailer and drop out of the coupler dome. The latch provides the interference below the equator of the ball

The ball also has a flat spot on the top and is to allow the ball to move backwards, away from the front of the coupler dome. Some coupler & latch setups just barely allow enough room for that flat spot to move backwards

Just some thoughts on what could be happening...first check to see if the latch gets out of the way completely and adjust if needed...but still allow it to capture the ball confidently...

[lbrjet]

After backing the trailer in the storage spot pull forward a foot or so. I always try to make my last move pulling forward so the ball shifts away from the pawl, which is the locking mechanism.

[MFL]

It sounds like the coupler is too tight on the ball. Is it not adjustable on the underside?

Jerry