Hitch/receiver finicky

rjd1965 · 05-22-2015, 04:25 PM

White Hawk 28DSBH and a 2011 Silverado 2500HD Diesel. I've been out twice now and each time have had issues disconnecting the receiver on the trailer from the ball hitch. Also, not very easy to line up. The new style receiver seems very finicky. I've put grease on both ball and receiver, but still difficult.

Anyone else struggle with the new receiver style? Advice?

Thanks

RSerendipity · 05-23-2015, 07:32 AM

Yes, been there. Advice that I got and use is to place the TT in Park but do not set the Parking Brake. Ball has to be 'dead' center in the Hitch. If not, I lean on the truck to give that 1/2" or Pull on the TV to give that 1/2" the other way. Some place the TV in Neutral and Set Parking Brake, then do as above. Either way the Hitch will release easily.

Greasing helps but this type hitch requires some 'play' to release.

Relax it will get easier with time.

us71na · 05-24-2015, 06:56 PM

I found that spraying the moving parts of the receiver with white lithium grease makes it work better and it will uncouple more easily.

You do need to have the ball pretty much centered or there is too much pressure on the latch to release.

oldmanAZ · 05-24-2015, 07:08 PM

If you haven't tried this already, you can shake the tongue from side-to-side using the top of the tongue jack. Quite often this movement while the jack has pressure raising the tongue off the ball, the ball will wiggle out of the receiver.

jamer · 08-29-2016, 09:41 AM

If you have backed into the parking spot and now are ready to unhitch after leveling, move the TV forward ever so slightly to release the pressure, raise the jack and it should release smoothly. Reverse this procedure if you have pulled into your spot, back up ever so slightly to release the pressure.

ALJO · 08-29-2016, 10:52 AM

Very important! Be sure when you release the hitch receiver release there's pressure on the ball. Have seen people with big sledge hammers while they forgot this simple procedure.

16Eagle314BHDS · 08-29-2016, 12:38 PM

I have the same issue with our '16 Eagle 314BHDS. In one case almost picked up the back wheels of the tow vehicle after struggling with it for almost an hour.

Finally got this down - as others mentioned try to get the "pull pressure" from the TV off of the ball. What works well for me is a very slight pry with one of ends of my Reese Dual Cam weight bars as I'm extending the tongue jack. It almost seems like there is something in the coupler just barely holding it on the ball. I don't crank on it, just simply "help" the ball pop out of the coupler with the pry. Good luck!

milw156 · 08-29-2016, 12:48 PM

I had the same problem with our 28DSBH and 2013 Silverado CC LB.

What we found was that when the trailer was being jacked up, it would move slightly forward, creating pressure on the front of the tongue which prevented the decoupling.

Our solution was to jack the trailer up to within an inch of uncoupling, then go back and snug the chocks to prevent any further movement fore/aft. The trailer then would disconnect without any problems.

Any grade makes the situation worse and snugging the chocks really helps.

kluza2786 · 08-30-2016, 05:47 AM

I've found that it really helps to have the TT wheels chocked before trying to unhitch. That keeps the trailer from moving and trying to "follow" the truck.

Bassdogs · 08-30-2016, 07:50 AM

There are several long threads on this topic over the last couple of years. It has been a cronic problem with Jayco TTs. Had the same issue with our 2014 White Hawk. As I remember there are lots of suggestions, but none that always work. I think having the TT and TV as level to each other as possible is important. If the hitch receiver is at an angle up or down, it will for whatever reason bind on the ball. After getting it level, moving the TV forward or back all so very slightly will help. I use the auto jack to raise the tongue and then drop it to take pressure off the ball and then after readjusting the chocks I jerk the TV forward or backward to center the ball under the receiver.

Jayco won't admit a problem, but it has been reported by many many owners. In my case it was 10 times worse than on my previous Keystone. In my case I found that the above hints help and the process gets easier with practice. Not sure exactly what I do differently but I don't have as much of a problem as when I first got the WH. Everybody is busy, but it will help you get use to the process by practicing in you driveway at home when you are not stressed or under pressure to get set up on your site.

schmittychris · 09-01-2016, 04:46 PM

This frustrates me to no end. I don't have a power jack so putting it up and down, trying to take the pressure off is tiring. That's the longest part of my setup. I can spend 15-20 min just trying to get the hitch to release. I'm going to try some of the suggestions here though and hopefully it will get better.

kluza2786 · 09-01-2016, 05:01 PM

Chris - Those power jacks are well-worth whatever they cost. Our White Hawk came with it and I wouldn't have a trailer without one now. You might want to go ahead and put one on - money well-spent IMHO.

schmittychris · 09-01-2016, 05:10 PM

It's definitely in the plans, unfortunately not this season.

bansai · 09-01-2016, 05:53 PM

I mastered the quirks on mine while dialing in my equalizer hitch since that took about 15 hookups for me to finally get right. The first time I tried to unhook my trailer I thought I was going to break something.

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