Do I need to do a test pull when hitching?

[RedHorse1]

Well, the short answer is, "YES!".
Hitching this last Saturday didn't go as planned. Looking back (with 20/20 hindsight) I can say the hitch didn't sound like it should have. Looked OK tho, so I locked the release handle, raised the landing gear an inch or so and did my standard test pull. Truck drove right out from under the 5er and the rig dropped onto the LG. A little movement forward and the pin box dug into the tailgate cap. The damage seems confined to the plastic cap and will be abt about $300 to replace.
I made a few choice comments, extended the gear and hitched again. The next pull was good.
I'm not sure where I went wrong, everything looked good on a brief glance but wrong I went.
The future will endure a more thorough visual check.

[SouthCo]

Glad for you that more damage wasn't done to the truck or the camper. That can't be for the landing gear or pin box.

[3'senough]

Lucky you. regardless of how rushed I might be I do this. It takes an additional 30 seconds to jump in and do it.

I have seen it go the wrong way 2x's and those bed rails were not happy.

Once when a noob I put the tailgate up and pulled out. King pin was 1/4 inch too low and ripped the tailgate cover off and dented my tailgate.

[BigJohnD]

We always pull tested our fifth wheels, and I pull test the bumper pulls just to stay in the habit, although on the bumper pull it does no more than check the brakes. One thing you can do, is paint the locking jaw on the hitch white or some bright color, and paint the bottom portion of the king pin another color. Makes it easy to check to see if the jaw is indeed locked, or if you high hitched it. I always checked mine, even when leaving a restaurant or somewhere I had been parked for a bit as you have some sorry individuals in this world that like to pull the release as a joke. I had a lock on my hitch, but still checked it.

[Palle-man]

Originally Posted by BigJohnD

We always pull tested our fifth wheels, and I pull test the bumper pulls just to stay in the habit, although on the bumper pull it does no more than check the brakes. One thing you can do, is paint the locking jaw on the hitch white or some bright color, and paint the bottom portion of the king pin another color. Makes it easy to check to see if the jaw is indeed locked, or if you high hitched it. I always checked mine, even when leaving a restaurant or somewhere I had been parked for a bit as you have some sorry individuals in this world that like to pull the release as a joke. I had a lock on my hitch, but still checked it.

That is a great idea! It's really difficult to see the jaws on a really sunny day. I will definitely be doing this.

[edatlanta]

Part of my hitch procedure is to always check the pin in the jaws to (1) make sure the jaws are closed around the pin and (2) make sure the pin is in the correct position vertically and is indeed inside the jaws and not on top. I make sure the teflon ring is tight against the hitch and then I'm good to go. I have a flashlight under my driver's seat just for this purpose and I never ever miss doing this.

I also check my hitch safety cable after returning from a rest stop or restaurant. I had a cap from a surge brake fluid reservoir stolen one time when at a rest stop. All the brake fluid was still there and why I saw it I have no clue. I looked around an found it half way across the parking lot. Some tur* was trying to be cute I guess.

[Bill&Lizanne]

I will always perform a pull test, it's part of my routine, I set the pin , check to make sure that the jaws are around my pin, lower the weight of the trailer on my truck, raise the landing gear about 1" off the ground, connect the wiring harness, manually set the brake and then do a slight bump against the hitch, it's the way I was taught and as I said its my routine.

[TWP723]

Originally Posted by RedHorse1

Well, the short answer is, "YES!".
Hitching this last Saturday didn't go as planned. Looking back (with 20/20 hindsight) I can say the hitch didn't sound like it should have. Looked OK tho, so I locked the release handle, raised the landing gear an inch or so and did my standard test pull. Truck drove right out from under the 5er and the rig dropped onto the LG. A little movement forward and the pin box dug into the tailgate cap. The damage seems confined to the plastic cap and will be abt about $300 to replace.
I made a few choice comments, extended the gear and hitched again. The next pull was good.
I'm not sure where I went wrong, everything looked good on a brief glance but wrong I went.
The future will endure a more thorough visual check.
Attachment 24836

$300 seems a little steep. Do you have a integrated step tailgate? Looks like a King Ranch maybe?

[Wrascal]

This is how NOT to do it?
I performed this stunt 2-3 years ago.

[Rustysocket]

So I am getting ready to take delivery of my first fifth wheel. I have decades of experience towing and am not worried about pulling the rig, but I am concerned about proper hook up procedures and how to verify everything is ready to go.


I follow a procedure when I hook up to leave now. I don't like to talk to anybody or have any interruptions during that fifteen minutes. I do everything the same way every time and it has worked well that way.


I'm sure that it wont take me long to get a new procedure in place, but I'd like to hear from others how they hook up their fifth wheels and what steps they go through to make sure it is safe to tow.


I purchased the B&W Patriot 18K hitch. It looks like the release can be locked into place with either a pin or a padlock. Given how easy it would be for a vandal to pull that lever I will likely use a lock on it if we were to leave the rig unattended for any period of time. I just want to be safe and continue to be accident free.

[RedHorse1]

Originally Posted by TWP723

$300 seems a little steep. Do you have a integrated step tailgate? Looks like a King Ranch maybe?

Yes, it's a King Ranch and has the "fat old man step" in the tailgate.

[TWP723]

Originally Posted by RedHorse1

Yes, it's a King Ranch and has the "fat old man step" in the tailgate.

Egads! Yeah, that's a $257 moulding on top.

[MzLiz]

"One thing you can do, is paint the locking jaw on the hitch white or some bright color, and paint the bottom portion of the king pin another color."

Great idea! Sometimes if the light isn't right it's hard to see that the bar has slid across - fluorescent sounds good.

[jackofall]

My BW turnover companion slider makes it very easy to see if it is correctly hitched, but I still do a quick pull test just to double check.

[Jagiven]

Och, it could have been much worse.

Last year I was hooking up our HTT in the driveway (we park on a compound angle), something just did not look/feel right, when I was all done. The ball appeared to be in the socket, and the locking lever was in place, but I was not convinced it was locked down properly. Disconnected and re-hooked up. The ball then was seated down deeper into the socket. Not sure what was happening as I had the Equalizer bars hooked up (I do not have to lift much to connect in the driveway). All I know is I might have avoided a disaster on the highway.

[Edd505]

Habit after 750,000 miles commercial driving in 6 years, always. My Reese has a lock lever for the pull handle so it's a second check, no lock, not hitched.

[Livinglife2]

Originally Posted by Rustysocket

So I am getting ready to take delivery of my first fifth wheel. I have decades of experience towing and am not worried about pulling the rig, but I am concerned about proper hook up procedures and how to verify everything is ready to go.


I follow a procedure when I hook up to leave now. I don't like to talk to anybody or have any interruptions during that fifteen minutes. I do everything the same way every time and it has worked well that way.


I'm sure that it wont take me long to get a new procedure in place, but I'd like to hear from others how they hook up their fifth wheels and what steps they go through to make sure it is safe to tow.


I purchased the B&W Patriot 18K hitch. It looks like the release can be locked into place with either a pin or a padlock. Given how easy it would be for a vandal to pull that lever I will likely use a lock on it if we were to leave the rig unattended for any period of time. I just want to be safe and continue to be accident free.

congrats on the new rig, You will love the B&W hitch it is so easy to hook up and unhook the 5er. I have the B&W companion hitch and there is no way to not have it correctly done, if you see the huge jaws around the pin it's correct and the release lever won't lock if it's not right, also add a plastic lube plate to the pin to keep the hitch nice and clean

[cariboocreek]

Originally Posted by Rustysocket

So I am getting ready to take delivery of my first fifth wheel. I have decades of experience towing and am not worried about pulling the rig, but I am concerned about proper hook up procedures and how to verify everything is ready to go.


I follow a procedure when I hook up to leave now. I don't like to talk to anybody or have any interruptions during that fifteen minutes. I do everything the same way every time and it has worked well that way.


I'm sure that it wont take me long to get a new procedure in place, but I'd like to hear from others how they hook up their fifth wheels and what steps they go through to make sure it is safe to tow.


I purchased the B&W Patriot 18K hitch. It looks like the release can be locked into place with either a pin or a padlock. Given how easy it would be for a vandal to pull that lever I will likely use a lock on it if we were to leave the rig unattended for any period of time. I just want to be safe and continue to be accident free.

Slides retracted.
Water and sewer lines stored.
Rear manual stabilizers retracted. Remove/store levelling blocks.
Rear auto levellers retracted. Remove/store levelling blocks.
Front auto levers raised to correct hitching height.
Confirm tailgate lowered.
Back truck into king pin.
Confirm jaws locked.
Retract front auto levellers.
Remove/store levelling blocks.
Drop front levelling legs manually to 1" above ground.
Disconnect 30/50 amp electrical cable and store.
Remove/store front wheel chocks.
Plug in trailer/truck connection and connect emergency brake cable.
Truck integral brake manually to max braking.
Pull slightly ahead and confirm good hitch up.
Visually confirm proper hitch up and jaws locked.
Retract front leveller legs to transport position.
Remove/store rear wheel chocks.
Confirm trailer lights functional.
Close tail gate.
Lock all trailer external doors.
Drive safe.

[Camping Grandpa]

Sorry to hear of your mishap.....I've had friends drop their 5ers on the bed rails and it ain't pretty.
My routine has always been the same over the last 11 years.
Back the truck under the pin box and make the truck squat just a bit. Keeps from closing the jaws too low on the pin. Lock the jaws, padlock the hitch, hook up the trailer wiring and brake cable. Lower the 5er just so the weight is off the jacks and jump back in the truck, pop into drive and inch fwd..about two inches ...just at idle...
Back outside I raise the jacks, remove chocks, check lights, double check all cargo doors, once around the camp site to see that I have everything and then off we go. I don't like to be distracted during my routine either.
I had a blue ox on my old hitch that would catch the pin if it got loose of the jaws. Never needed it but was glad I had it.
My Reese Titan has a green indicator to let me see that the pin is secure and the locking handle will not drop into position if the jaws aren't closed.
Always lock your hitch to keep idiots from messing with it while you're out if sight and then give it a quick check before getting back in the truck.
Long winded but a routine is really important...without it you end up second guessing yourself while you're driving and that ain't fun or safe.
Happy Camping!

[norty1]

Most crunches are caused by operators getting out of sequence, forgetting to do something or getting distracted.

This is one of the most important and dangerous things you do when pulling a fifth wheel.

Make it the most important thing you are doing.