Troubleshooting Sticking Jaws on Curt Q24 5th Wheel Hitch C16245

Question:

I installed the curt Q24 a few months ago it seemed to be working fine at first but has gradually gotten worse and now just yesterday the wife and I went to run our 42 foot Montana to our rented campsite and I spent over 45 minutes trying to unhook I left pressure on it and took it off back up pulled forward and nothing would allow it to unhook. I did use a white lithium spray grease on all the moving parts this time. Hoping it would solve the problem but its still the same. I am so frustrated with this hitch. It seemed to work fine in the driveway before hooking when I was spraying it down. I do use a acrylic plate that came with the hitch. Please help..Before I hurt myself.

asked by: Rick

Expert Reply:

I am sorry to hear about your problem with your Curt Q24 5th wheel hitch # C16245.

With a trailer as large and heavy as a 42-foot Montana it will be critical to have the trailer and truck on level ground and in a straight line with each other for all coupling and uncoupling processes. Any tension between the king pin and the hitch's jaw will make it difficult for the jaw mechanism to open to release the king pin.

The Q24 has a color indicator system that tells you the status of the hitch, locked closed and ready to tow (green), ready for coupling (yellow) and locked open for decoupling (red). Once you make sure the truck/trailer are perfectly straight and level you can see what the indicator shows. You need to see RED on the indicator as shown in the linked photo.

expert reply by: Adam R