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Chippendale's avatar
Chippendale
Explorer
Feb 19, 2015

Service manual for 5th wheel hitch

I have a Reese 16K slider 5th wheel hitch. It looks like it could use some lubrication, but I have not been able to find a service manual or lube manual for it online. Does any one have any suggestions for lubricating a hitch? I guess you would want to use something like the spray used on room slide rails.

It also has some rust on it so I purchased some Ready Strip Rust Remover to spray on it, and then some Flat Black Rust-oleum enamel to spot paint it with. Am I getting ready to screw it up, or am I on the right track?

Thanks
  • I seldom use the slider of my slider but I keep a can of WD-40 in the truck and will spray it on the rails and rollers when I do use them. I keep a light coat of grease on the head pivots, lock bar, and retaining bolts, Generally, I try to keep it dry and clean without being a fanatic about it. I do also wash the whole thing with a power washer in the spring before I put it back into the truck.
  • My story.
    Bought my 16K Reese square tube manual slider new in '97. After arriving home I tried the slide. Had to dump the clutch in the Cummins to get the hitch to slide.
    Well this ain't gonna' do it so I took the hitch head pins springs when needed and slider pins and rollers apart as far as it would go without cutting anything loose.

    I lubed the jaw pins and slider rollers and their pins with a dab of red grease.
    Sprayed the slides with white lithium grease.
    Man was that a mistake as I hauled wood/hay/dirt/gravel in the bed on occasion. The white grease turned to a caked up mess.
    Cleaned it up and sprayed the tubes and rollers with a heavy greaseless spray
    on lube. That was in '97 and all I've done since is car wash the slider portion once a year and spray it down several times a summer.

    Slides like a hot knife through butter at any angle including 90 degrees.

    I found the gloss black shows less smudges and seems to stay on longer.