Hitching up. What am I doing wrong

[Studiovette]

I'm at my storage place and I'm trying to hitch up but having problems with the coupler. It seems to lock into place and I put the pin in. Next I raise the tongue up to get my stabilizer bars on and the ball is not locked in to the coupler. I have tried about 10x!
When I lower onto ball how does the coupler need to be? Up and back or down to lock n engage ? If I keep it up then it won't slide in after and lock so o can put pin in. I know I'm missing something silly and never had issues the few times Ive done this before.

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[Studiovette]

My hitch

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[Studiovette]

Lol I got it. Sometimes you just need to step away for 5 min and come back and BAM.

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[Fire_Instructor]

lift the hitch off the ball. There is a "tongue" up and inside the coupler that needs to be pulled all the way back. Make sure that the tongue is back, the latch is "loose", and lower the hitch onto the ball. It should go all the way on.

Once all the way on, pull slightly forward with your tow vehicle, and the latch should then lock that internal tongue onto the ball.

Good luck!

[Sundancer330]

It looks like the coupler release is in the locked position, you need to slide the lever backward lower the trailer on the ball then back forward to the locked position.

[Greg&Nancy]

Up and back. Make sure you are centered on the hitch "cup" with your ball. Then lower it until it seats and the lock lever should click back down. Being a newbie I had the same problems. I feel your pain and frustration.

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[Studiovette]

Thanks everyone!!! Lol too funny. I got here at 6 30. Haha

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[Greg&Nancy]

This is the fun part. Learning how to do stuff without taking a BFH to it and beating the crap outa it!!

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[Studiovette]

Originally Posted by Fire_Instructor

lift the hitch off the ball. There is a "tongue" up and inside the coupler that needs to be pulled all the way back. Make sure that the tongue is back, the latch is "loose", and lower the hitch onto the ball. It should go all the way on.

Once all the way on, pull slightly forward with your tow vehicle, and the latch should then lock that internal tongue onto the ball.

Good luck!

I will remember that for next time. I did see the tongue inside and wasn't sure I needed to adjust it. Thx !!

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[RAurand]

You might want to put some grease on that ball!

[stateboy]

And, not mentioned here and not meant to insult if you have problems again, make sure the ball is the right size and not too small. There are several sizes out there.

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[Studiovette]

Ooh believe me I confirmed that a couple times. It's like you start second guessing everything you're doing at that point .

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[campingva]

Also I usually wait until the ball is in place and secured before putting on the bars and safety chain. That makes it easier to reposition the TV if I need too. I have the same equalizer as you show in your picture. It should get easier the more you use it.

[Studiovette]

Still having issues with this. If the coupler is up and back it doesn't drop and engage onto the ball so that I can put the coupler latch in.

[Midnightmoon]

Try pulling your tow rig slightly forward against the hitch with the trailer wheels chocked. Sometimes you need to relieve a little pressure on that latch to get it clearance to drop in to place.

[stateboy]

I agree with midnightmoon and the mention of a thin film of grease on the ball and inside of the coupler. Also, oil the latch/coupler mechanism so all is functioning smoothly. Use a white lithium or silicone. Avoid the WD-40 type since that is more to penetrate where moving pieces aren't moving so well. Use it if needed then follow up with the above products or even motor oil or 3-in-1 oil if all else is immediately unavailable.

As you mentioned above, ball size and coupler have been checked by you so cleaning mating surfaces then greasing/lubing/oiling those surfaces should help.

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[scarr44]

I'm new to towing this year, and I've found that every time I hitch up, I have to move the TV about an inch to jostle the hitch into the right place and be able to lock in. Maybe I'll try some grease on the ball as others have suggested.

[Seann45]

It would have helped if you also showed a photo of you hitched up just before you raised it to put on the weight bars

[MikeNChelle]

Originally Posted by Midnightmoon

Try pulling your tow rig slightly forward against the hitch with the trailer wheels chocked. Sometimes you need to relieve a little pressure on that latch to get it clearance to drop in to place.

X2
I've had the same issues on a few occasions. You need the stress off of the hitch in order for it to latch properly.

[Studiovette]

Thanks everyone. It's very frustrating I am new to all this and everything else in the entire process is literally so easy for me now. I have a backup can on my Durango so I am even able to get the TV lined up with 1-2 tries. It took me about 30 min of trying yesterday. I finally got it after having to have one hand on the button to lower the tongue Jack and 1 hand on the coupler so that I can manually push the coupler into place so that it seats properly and latches on. When I unhitch today I will grease the coupler latch and tongue inside and see if this helps.

So that I make sure I am understanding you guys. Do you mean I should lower the hitch onto the ball then get into my TV and just slightly move fwd?

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