arizonakid
Stow Mass. USA
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Joined: 09/04/2004
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Put a plastic lube plate on my 2001 Sierra pin, hooked up fine but made unhooking more difficult (compared to my old fifth wheel).
When unhooking I raise the trailer pin plate off of the truck hitch a bit, pull the arm, and drive out. But with this fifth wheel, the plastic disc takes up all the head space of the pin, so I can't raise the trailer too much, otherwise the bottom of the pin pulls up on the truck hitch jaws making it difficult to pull the arm. Very little space between the trailer resting on the hitch, and the pin plate above the hitch enough to pull the arm.
Anyone have this issue? Not a big problem, but a bit annoying having to adjust the legs "just so" to be able to pull the arm and get out.
Is there a thinner lube plate (I have the Reese 83002) -- or has anyone gone back to grease?
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BB_TX
McKinney, Texas
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Joined: 04/04/2005
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I never raise my pin box plate off the hitch plate. For unhooking, I position it the same level as I do for hooking up, just below the hitch plate level. When I unhook and drive out, the pin box will slide down the hitch plate about an inch or so. Same hooking up, the pin box will ride up the hitch plate about an inch or so.
No problems with the lube plate.
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bpounds
Whittier CA
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The plates do vary in thickness a bit, but I can't tell you which one might be thinner/thicker. Hitch jaw thicknesses vary too. I've noticed that higher rated hitches have thicker jaws than lower rated hitches.
You could go back to grease. But you also should not have to lift the pinbox off the hitch. I know it can make it easier to unlock the jaws, but should not be necessary. Perhaps you should experiment with moving the truck forward a bit to release tension on the jaws. You might even have to get someone else to pull the handle while you pull the truck forward.
Personally I would hate going back to grease.
2006 F250 Diesel
2011 Keystone Cougar 278RKSWE Fiver
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hallock5
Texas
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I extend the legs to where I see 1/4" clearance or so between hitch and pin box, although I guess technically if you can release the bar, you should be good to go. For some reason, it just seems less stressful on the hitching system if I have that clearance.
2008 Jayco Eagle Superlite 28.5RLS
2002 Ford 4x4 SuperCab 7.3 (Jr International) Diesel
Sad to say, time to sell to a good home.
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korbe
Northern California
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BB_TX wrote:I never raise my pin box plate off the hitch plate. For unhooking, I position it the same level as I do for hooking up, just below the hitch plate level. When I unhook and drive out, the pin box will slide down the hitch plate about an inch or so. Same hooking up, the pin box will ride up the hitch plate about an inch or so.
No problems with the lube plate.
So you don't extend the front legs to the ground? Never seen that before.
2004 F250 SD PSD
2004 Crossroads Cruiser CF25RS
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romore
Canada
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Never been an issue for us. I drop the legs until I see some movement in the trailer then pull out. The ramp on the fifth wheel allows me to hook up even if the trailer is a little low and avoids the risk of high hitching.
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bpounds
Whittier CA
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dqdick wrote:
X2. Also it depends on how the truck is sitting. Usually with my truck I have to let it roll back to get the jaws open instead of pulling forward.
Backward, yes. Don't know why I said forward above.
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dqdick
Council Grove, KS
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romore wrote:Never been an issue for us. I drop the legs until I see some movement in the trailer then pull out. The ramp on the fifth wheel allows me to hook up even if the trailer is a little low and avoids the risk of high hitching.
X2. Also it depends on how the truck is sitting. Usually with my truck I have to let it roll back to get the jaws open instead of pulling forward.
Dick and Joyce
2010 Montana 3665RE
Dodge 2500HD Maxi Cab Laramie Edition
Diego, Norm, & Bitsy
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LostinAZ
At Home
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Joined: 07/31/2011
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Have used a lube plate for 6 years and have not noticed that it makes it more difficult to hook up or unhook.
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jalichty
Lander, Wyoming 82520
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I have used a lube plate for about 19 years and have never noticed that the plate makes it difficult to un-hitch. When I get out of my truck, I unlock the hitch, flip up the lock and pull the handle to un-lock the hitch. Then I drop the legs to the ground, or close to it and extend them until there is about a 1/2" space between the plate and the pin box and I drive the truck out and proceed to level the FW. Only time I ever have a problem is when I get a little cock-eyed trailer to hitch and then we proceed to plan two or three or whatever.
John A. Lichty
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