Hitch movement

[Garypowell]

I moved from Tallahassee to Montgomery today. I-10 to Rt 231 north. Lots of hills and stop lights. I did not ever notice this with our 3055RE but with our new 3010RE I notice a shift forward when I stop and a more pronounced shift (kind of a clunking noise) when leaving a stoplight.

No motion or noise when I am up to speed just stopping and going again.

I have a 20K Curt hitch.....just a basic hitch nothing fancy.

While Linda was checking it I manually set the trailer brakes and tried backing and looking for some shift. Did the same thing pulling forward....but saw nothing move.

After unhooking I inspected the hitch and could find no problems. Maybe as I jerked it to the rear it seemed to pull out of the rail slightly.

Any help from your experience would be appreciated. Maybe the pin on the 3010 is smaller or this is normal hitch wear????

and if it is normal hitch wear what can be done or is it time to buy a new hitch. This one purchased in 2008. But I had a Reese once for over 10 years.

thanks. Gary

 

[cookie]

What pin box do you have on your 3010?

Peace
Dave

 

[Garypowell]

Just the old standard nothing fancy. Ie no shocks or anything. Just a flat piece of iron with the pin sticking out of it. I put a Teflon plate on it and it has that cover over it but that's all.

 

[hoefler]

Two things; Your hitch needs to be adjusted to take up the slack from normal wear. Your brakes on your trailer need to be inspected for proper operation and adjustment.

 

[Garypowell]

I called Curt this morning and they wanted some pictures of the workings under stress both directions .....pulling and backing. Knowing that they might want this I took them at my last stop. They are attached. The most difficult part was getting Linda to run between the truck and RV....she has always been such a trooper!

Sorry I could not resist a little levity....I set the trailer breaks I don't want to get any hate mail.

After he saw them he said he was not 100% sure what was wrong but the hitch head was not "right" and where was I so he could overnight me a new head. It is now on its way. No charge for anything. I had forgotten or maybe never knew we had a 10 year warranty.

Many who read my posts will recall that Linda and I are in sales....but in reality about 95% of the time we simply take care of people's problems....we do very little selling.

It was such a pleasure today to have it returned to us.

Thanks Curt!

 

[Phatkd]

This teflon plate you mentioned,..Is that something that someone should put on? I am new to the 5'er world.

 

[Garypowell]

With my first 5th wheel I was given a Teflon plate. It grabs the pin and does not come off easily. With this you don't have to grease the matting surfaces so everything stays cleaner.

 

[Garypowell]

Returned to RV on Tuesday night to find the hitch box at the office. Once opened I realized Curt had sent not only the top part but the square piece that it attaches to. Only the "legs" where not included. It was a mistake to not get to it until this morning....the day we were scheded to leave Montgomery and head for Birminham. Terrible storm passing through. Got soaked to the bone removing the hitch top from the metal box that surrounds it. I guess being new it was tight.

But once free of its frame (I had called Curt to insure I could do this as I don't have the tools to remove and reinstall the hitch legs) it only took a minute to drop it into my addembly put the pins back in and then wade around in ankle keep water to hook up and leave.

Hooking up was a breeze. The old hitch head was somewhat tempermental both in hooking up and releasing. This new head is just like I remember my first Reese hitch....really slick and easy to use.

Best news....no more clunking!

So that's the end of this saga. I wish there could be a little less drama in our trips....but of course when you get the support we received from Curt.....its just another memory to talk about.

Gary

 

[oscar]

Makes me feel better about having ordered a Curt 20K, although I haven't used it yet. I did install it, and during the installation process I ran into a question and called their number. Within moments I was talking to a real English speaking person that KNEW the stuff. Less than a minute later my question was answered. So far 2 for Curtis.....

The only question I have is whether you lubricated the hitch as indicated and on the suggested time interval?........

 

[Garypowell]

Oscar. No I did not grease it every 1,000 miles. More like once a year....which would probably put me at 1/2 the interval.

 

[Mrsfish]

We just hooked our new truck (f350 cc srw sb). to our new bh3010 with our new hitch (a husky airsafe 18k) and experiencing the same clunking at start and stop. Been towing 5ers for 6 years and never had this problem before. Any ideas?? Thanks in advance

 

[Garypowell]

While I have no specific advice not knowing your brand I can tell you from my exoerience above it could be a dangerous situation. I would get in touch with the supplier ASAP.

If your are still hooked up or rebook up you might inspect ( and photograph) what the jaws on the hitch look like when under load forward and in reverse. The jaws once hooked are supposed to be on the same plane. If you look at my pictures above you can see what I am describing.

Some thing else you can do is have someone observe the hitch body when going from load to reverse. The shift could be in the rails or how your hitch hooks to the rails. If it is new someone might not have installed properly.

Best,

 

[cookie]

Mrsfish, just curious. What pin box do you have?

Peace
Dave

 

[Mrsfish]

Wish I could tell you - where/how do I find out? We did reset the hitch and reflat/reset the bag rate in the hitch and the clunking went away (thank goodness) . We're riding higher then I would like, but are trying to figure out a fix. Just got back from initial tow and it towed great. Again, feel we're high and are rethinking our hitch choice. The one we picked 'air-safe next generation' loaded great and rode smooth, but it requires an adapter to fit the f350 factory 5th wheel system. The adapter adds almost 4 inches to the hight of the hitch and we're already tall since we chose 20s on the new truck. Also considering removing the adapter and going with standard rails. It's that or Craig's list for the new hitch and picking up a new b&w companion Oem.... Any ideas would be greatly appreciated

 

[cookie]

The reason I asked about the pin box, is if you have one that has a sliding mechanism for chucking, that could cause some clunking at stop and start.
Any labels on the pin box?

Peace
Dave

 

[Mrsfish]

Well, I know it has no sliding mechanism on it. The unit is in our storage spot right now, so I won't be able to look at it for 3 weeks. It is the standard equipment on our 2014 Bighorn 3010 - so???? I have the owners books with me, but I find no reference to the pin.