beerandpeppers
Ottawa
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Dealer closed so no leave on vacation Thursday. We just got our new/used 5th wheel. We have a Pro 16k Hitch with a sidewinder on the trailer. No mater what we try we cannot hook up. Its the Wedges that keep stopping it from going all the way back into the hitch and sits on the edge / top of the plate so the jaws will not grap the pin. 2 hours, every hight & speed backing up etc etc. Do I need to unscrew the wedges and then put them back on when hitched ? Now that would be hell !
Mike
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maniac007
South Carolina
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Sounds like the wedge has moved some how. You may need to readjust the wedge unit. Did you pull the 5er home with the hitch you are trying to hook up to, or did a dealer have it delivered to your house?
There or different wedges for different hitches, you can click here to find out more about the wedge. You can click on this link here to read a little about hard to hook and unhook. Hope ths helps out.
02 F350SD 7.3 CC DRW, 06 Cougar 314EFS
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beerandpeppers
Ottawa
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I brought home the trailer from dealer late last week. I was backing up while they were adjusting the wedges. I did hear some banging by a hammer but then when he said ok back up, I did, he threw the lock arm and said we all all good to go. Towed it home gret
at. If you think the wedges moved is that normal ? Can i just re adjust by....moving them back towards the trailer ?
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maniac007
South Carolina
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Look over the installation instructions and read about the adjustment procedures. Hopefully the dealer gave them to you, if not go here. You can save them to your computer so you have your own.
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beerandpeppers
Ottawa
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my sidewinder is on a 2010 rockwood. Looks a little different than the model in the link but same basic principals I guess. I think the issue is the wedges too far forward to the pin
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maniac007
South Carolina
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It seems with this hitch that it has to be in a straight line, (meaning a straight line through the wedge, kingpin and hitch head) for the lock to work properly. Look inside the "V" in the hitch head and see if there is some marking were the wedge might be binding when you try to hook up.
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beerandpeppers
Ottawa
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metal at edges where wedges should go in are already showiny scatches from resistance / blocking from not going in. althought the dealer said we can hook up on any angle, we were 99.99 % straight trying to hook all 25 attempts
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maniac007
South Carolina
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For some reason it sounds as if the wedge moved when you unhooked. You stated you heard banging like with a hammer, did they torque the two bolts after or did they let you be on your merry way. You need to study the installation instructions very carefully, I think it is on page 8 of the link you got. And go back through the setup of the wedge. You should be able to loosen the wedge up and take a hammer and lightly tap it toward the rear.When you get it hooked up, then tap it back towrd the kingpin and torque the (2) 5/8 bolts down to 150ft-lb.
* This post was
edited 06/27/12 08:54pm by maniac007 *
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maniac007
South Carolina
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beerandpeppers wrote:metal at edges where wedges should go in are already showiny scatches from resistance / blocking from not going in. althought the dealer said we can hook up on any angle, we were 99.99 % straight trying to hook all 25 attempts
As others on this forum have stated, "If a dealer is moving his lips, does not mean he's telling the truth" This is from page 9 of the sidewinder manual--4. Back truck slowly into trailer. Truck and trailer must be straight in-line for the wedge to enter into the fifth wheel funnel.
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beerandpeppers
Ottawa
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I think he used a hammer to puh the wedges in then used a wrench so maybe they did move forward to the pin. I will try in moring to loosen the bolts, slide it back a bit, tightn and re-try hooking up
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