Hitch won't release from ball

[SmokerBill]

Originally Posted by Fairenatic

You may have to back up further with the TV then you think. The hitch has quite a hook on the front of it on my TT. Once I figured that out, it was smooth sailing.

Yep. If mine sticks when I'm raising the tongue jack, I'll just raise it until I see the hitch start rising a little, look at the ball to see if it's too far forward or too far back in the coupler, then get in the truck and tweak it's position to free up the ball.

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by SmokerBill

Yep. If mine sticks when I'm raising the tongue jack, I'll just raise it until I see the hitch start rising a little, look at the ball to see if it's too far forward or too far back in the coupler, then get in the truck and tweak it's position to free up the ball.

X2

I make sure the trailer tires are chocked (so the trailer won't roll), the safety chains are still attached, and then GENTLY move the tow vehicle a bit forward/backward. Sometimes a slight incline will put pressure on the ball and coupler.

[North of 49°]

Until I learned the quirks of the hitch on the Jayco's, DW was getting rather concerned watching me jump up and down on the truck bumper, cursing until the air was blue, trying to get the coupler to let go.

I think part of it was the new paint on the inside of the coupler. Once that wore off, it was much easier.

[robert9999]

Did you or anyone tighten up the ball receiver lately? I did this once on my boat trailer & couldn't get the damn thing to budge. I loosened the 2 bolts a little & bingo!

[Ronroamer]

Same problem with our new 23RBM. Found that the locking part of the hitch was not pushing back all the way. I use a screwdriver to push it from the top and then it releases. Hoping it will loosen up with use.

[gburger]

I just found this thread. I got my 26BH a couple of months ago and have the exact same issue. I ended up using a rubber mallet to help open up the latch so I can disconnect. I also used a large screwdriver. I have not cleaned out any paint that others have mentioned, I'll do that this week-end. I'm tired of cussing trying to get the hitch off the ball.
Thanks

[RAurand]

It amazes me how many people never grease the coupler ball. I throughly grease my ball and spring bars where they slide thru the slots. Makes for better unhooking and a lot quiter pull since you don't have metal scraping against metal.
I have NEVER had uncoupling or coupling issues. Of course my ball don't wear down either.

I used to drive trucks and you wouldn't catch me without grease on the 5th wheel plate and king pin slot.

[SouthCo]

I'm only on my second camper now and have had two utility trailers in the past also. I've never put grease on the ball. Not saying it's a bad thing but I've never done it and I've never had an ongoing issue with the coupler not releasing from the ball. I've never had it make noise due to a lack of grease either... Like others, I believe the trouble is when there is forward or rearward pressure of the ball on the coupler.

[Road Dawg]

A review of the thread comments, indicating there is a common widespread problem, suggests that there is a product design flaw that requires special measures to execute what should be a routine procedure. Those special measures appear to have the potential for bodily injury to those involved. If enough injuries occur, at some point Jayco will be nudged to take an engineering look at their product, which should eliminate the need for Jayco owners to find innovative ways to work around the difficulty. Until then, everyone be safe.

[leoslaton]

Originally Posted by BCguy

I thought there was another post on this so I did search but couldn't find it so here is the problem:

The hitch on my 2015 26RKS is an absolute bear to uncouple. It just will NOT release without a great deal of effort to get it perfectly aligned and even then it does not want to let go. I've tried all the tips about backing into the chocks to loosen etc. but it is always a nightmare to release. I've had many trailers hooked up and this is the first one that gives me so much trouble.

Anything particular to the type of coupler that Jayco uses that might help me understand why this is happening? Any suggestions appreciated.

Put your pickup in neutral and give the wheel chocks an inch of slack. Works for me. I have threatened to hack saw the hitch till I decided the ball was pressing against the front or back of the coupling.

[JFlightRisk]

Although we've never had a real problem, it seems some styles of coupler are more stubborn. We're in the "we use grease" category. Can't tell you how many times over the years we've seen four guys jumping up and down on the rear bumper of some poor souls truck, trying to get it to drop!

[tshirtman]

Grease the ball??

[rkresge]

OK, after like 10 pages of responses, here comes my suggestion. First time I went to unhitch my new 23RLSW at a campground I spent over an hour fooling with it, getting nowhere. It's a different coupler than I had on my previous 165RB, and it just seemed like there had to be something I was missing. Finally in desperation I called my dealer's service department, and they set me straight.

1. White lithium grease on the ball will help - the next time.
2. Keep the coupler latch assembly lubricated, too. I use WD40 for that.
3. You'll want to remove the weight distribution bars before doing this.
4. Start by LOWERING the trailer so that the tongue's weight is mostly resting on your hitch.
5. Press DOWN on the flip lever to release the coupler.
6. Now make sure the rear of the lever is clear of the coupler, and push it BACK as far as it will go. It probably won't release unless you do that.
7. Now raise the trailer tongue until the hitch releases.

I have had zero problems since I started using this procedure.


BTW, it also helps to reverse this procedure when hitching up.


Good luck!


Roger


P.S. My signature picture was taken during that frustrating hour of trying to unhitch.

[beechjetpilot1]

That is good advice, and I do all of those things as well. The biggest help to our trailer was getting the Dremel tool out with the wire brush attachment, and cleaning out the receiver. There was some paint/powder-coating that had dripped inside from the factory and caused be very difficult to uncouple. With the the smoothing out of the inside with the Dremel, lots of grease, and about 4,000 miles of towing, it works like a charm now. I also upgraded tongue jack to the strongest Husky model. It was a fantastic upgrade to make. The rear end of my Ram is so heavy, the new jack makes the uncoupling process seem to work better/smoother.

[Golf_5]

Nice Truck. I drive a Tacoma 2016 limited v6. Glad to see I'm not the only person in Pennsylvania.


Thanks

[RAurand]

Originally Posted by Golf_5

Nice Truck. I drive a Tacoma 2016 limited v6. Glad to see I'm not the only person in Pennsylvania.


Thanks

It is amazing the number of folks that do not grease their hitch ball. I keep mine well greased and have never had any issues. I also grease the torsion bars where they attach to the hitch as well.


Golf5,
I am in Harrisburg also. Near Linglestown.

[rkresge]

Originally Posted by RAurand

I am in Harrisburg also. Near Linglestown.

Both of you guys - right down the road in Lancaster.

Roger

[farnik78]

I jack the tongue up until it's almost picking up the back end of the pickup and then I jump on the bumper until it pops loose.


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[bansai]

Originally Posted by farnik78

I jack the tongue up until it's almost picking up the back end of the pickup and then I jump on the bumper until it pops loose.


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That was my approach too for a while. It gets a little sketchy when the camper finally frees itself and *pops off* the hitch with a massive amount of stored energy. I'm usually ready for my 3rd beer and a trip to the outhouse in about 1 second.

After I pull into our camping spot, now I put the truck in neutral to take tension off of the ball If on a level surface, and take the tension off the ball by reversing the truck about an inch or so otherwise. The ball is binding on the 'whatchamacallit' 'ball holder' on the camper side. No amount of grease has fixed it for us, we just have to make sure nothing on the truck side (the ball) is applying tension on the hitch mechanism when we unhook. Rumor has it these things loosen up with age... don't we all. It also helps to 'practice' messing around with the lever on the trailer side when you are unhooked to see exactly what you need to do to *fully* release the mechanism that is holding that ball in place. It isn't as intuitive as it should be and it gets a little scary when you have your little fingers next to a thousand pounds of steel and camper and you just want to setup camp already.

[Vaneta]

For more reasons than just this one, I switched to a Hensley hitch so no more issues with getting off the ball