Reese Hitch

[mbinohio]

I have a reese 16k hitch, never really had any problems with it until this las trip, went to unhook, I always put the truck in reverse for a second to relieve the pressure on the hitch, landing gears went down, took some pressure off the hitch and the slide arm opened with no problem, the jaws were also open, but when I went to raise the camper out of the hitch it didn't want to seperate from the hitch, I let it back down and tried again with the same results, I finall took some pressure off and moved the truck forward and it seperated with no problem, I think that I may have high hiched it when I left, do you think that could have caused the problem ?, if anyone has any ides I will be happy to listen, while I was towing home I had no problems, I use a teflon disc, thanks for the help

[mwebber78]

Hi!



When I pull into a site I set the parking brake on the truck once the camper is in it's correct place. After chocking the tires I raise the pin only high enough so that I just start to see light under the pin lube plate. Once I see that little bit of light I pull the release on the jaws and 90% of the time I have a clean release. If not, I let the parking brake off and in most cases this little movement is enough to release the jaws.



If you are still having issues after these steps there may be a bent/worn jaw component so try giving Reese CS a call.

[Hamops]

Originally Posted by mwebber78

Hi!



When I pull into a site I set the parking brake on the truck once the camper is in it's correct place. After chocking the tires I raise the pin only high enough so that I just start to see light under the pin lube plate. Once I see that little bit of light I pull the release on the jaws and 90% of the time I have a clean release. If not, I let the parking brake off and in most cases this little movement is enough to release the jaws.

I do the same thing if I'm on level ground, but if there is an angle difference between the TV and our 5vr, I'll just raise the 5vr enough so that the plate on the hitch starts to tilt down. This indicates to me that the weight is off the hitch and I can move the TV.

[Stan]

I do the same procedure as Mike and normally have no issues. As George stated however, if there is a angle issue, ie, the truck OR 5er is on an angle (noes high, tilted left or right) then sometimes it is a bit harder to release the jaws. A small pull forward or back of the truck has always been the fix in these situations. You may have been on a slight tilt. The Reese is a great hitch and I have had no issues with it.

[FB1965]

If I under the term correct,high hitch is where you have the king pin on top of the hitch jaws instead of locked in the jaws and if you had done that your camper would have been on the rails of your truck when you pulled out.

[Stan]

FB1965...What I meant was if the truck is angled down (or up) from the 5er's relative position. I have sometimes parked the rig when the RV has been on a different angle than the truck. In this situation, I have had some issues disconnecting the 5er. Hope this clears up what I was saying.



What you described in your post is a scary situation and hopefully will never happen!

[Chuck N. Wined]

I have a Reese 16K slider and had the same type of "problem" with my old 5er and our Cruiser. As long as I take the pressure off the hitch by putting the truck in neutral then putting on the parking brake, then it is fine. Otherwise it can be difficult to get the jaws to release.

Lonnie