mellis68

North Carolina

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Joined: 07/06/2007

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Ok, no laughing out there but I bought my first fiver last year so this is my first time "de-winterizing" and hitting the road. Is there anything I need to do to lube the king pin? I see other postings about a "hitch plate" which I don't have....at least I don't think. It would seem that I could lube the pin so it rides smoother in the hitch.
Mike
Lovely wife and 2 beautiful young'uns
2007 Ford F150 Crew Cab 6.5' bed 4x2 5.4 Triton V8
2006 Cherokee Lite 245B 5th Wheel by Forest River
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PeterJ58

Canastota, New York

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Joined: 05/05/2008

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There is a "slip disk" that fits over the king pin on the trailer. Very inexpensive and they work great. Camping World has them for $12 or $14 dollars. Keeps your hitch nice & clean.
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jeeperman

florida

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Joined: 04/24/2008

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Even with the disk its still a good Idea to lube the pin for smooth hook ups & smooth turning not to mention keep the rust away.
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ryoung

Indiana

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Joined: 11/11/2002

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Even though you use the disk between the pin plate and hitch plate, you should still grease the king pin so as to lessen the wear between the pin and hitch jaws that clamp around it. You can use either the white lube or regular chassis grease.
I also remove my hitch head each year, turn it upside down, and spray all the internal parts with 20 wt oil. Let the excess drain off and reinstall it. This is a manufacturers recommendation.
ryoung
2004 Dodge 3500 Dually HO 6 sp 4.10, Jordan Controller
2005 SunnyBrook 31BWKS
2004 Lance Lite 915
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CactusJohn

Scottsdale, AZ

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Joined: 03/23/2008

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Fifth Wheel Lube Plate
2007 Ameri-Camp Summit Ridge SF27RK 5er
2008 F250 Lariat SuperCab, 6.4L PSD
Reese 16K Kwik-Slide with BedSaver
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Paul Clancy

BC Canada

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Joined: 09/16/2005

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Yes , plastic plate and grease the pin and workings inside the hitch itself. Cover the hitch when not in use (cheap bbq cover works). Speaking from knowledge - nothing worse than a jammed hitch. I use white lithium grease in a spray can. Don't use wd40.
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Glen41

North Texas

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Joined: 01/25/2008

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Don't forget to lube the hitch in your truck at the same time. There are mre moving parts in there and like the man said " jammin is bad ".
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JIMNLIN

Big Cabin, OK

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Joined: 09/14/2003

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I use Door-Ease stainless stick lube in a tube on the contact wear point. Just a dap on the pins contact surface or the jaw wear surface is all thats necessary. Its the same lube thats used on the door latch/pins. No mess.
Jim
'03 2500 Dodge/Cummins HO 3.73 6 speed manual Jacobs
'97 Park Avanue 28' with two slides
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Dave H M

IL

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Joined: 08/11/2006

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I am old fashioned I guess.
I believer that all the latching mechanism needs some type of lube on it. I won't get into exactly what, since everyone has an opinion.
Then I put some grease on the fifth wheel plate, not a truckload just some to keep the metal fram galling.
If it comes to hanging my fat belly on the greasy part when I heft the hitch around, I just throw one of my fvorite shop rags over the plate - like a worn out T Shirt.
Just me
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goin2themountains

Aztec, NM

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Joined: 04/04/2007

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I hit that connection of 5er and pickup 3 diff. ways. I use a lube plate, use dry graphite lube for the mechanism of the plate head, and use a touch of white lithium grease on the kingpin. As we bought our Cougar used, I had noticed a little groove worn on the back of the kingpin where evidently the original owner had not lubed the kingpin, so I feel cleaning and relubing it occasionally is worth it.
Puller: '04 HD2500 4x4 SB,EC Duramax/Allison. Airaid intake, 4in. exhaust turbo back, ORU leveler.
Pullee: '02 Keystone Cougar 276EFS Reese 16k w/ slider.
(map is for current 5er only)
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