Troubleshooting Fifth Wheel Trailer that Does Not Like to Disconnect at an Angle

Question:

We have a 2015 Forest River fifth wheel towed by a Ford F250. When the hitch in the truck bed and the Revolution tongue are both perfectly straight in line, hitching up and unhitching is no problem. But when the truck and RV are not perfectly straight, I cannot un-hitch. Is the large knob with the cotter pin through it designed for me to manually swing the tongue into position where I can unhitch? I have a shorted and cannot even lower the tailgate if I am not perfectly aligned.

asked by: Carl

Expert Reply:

It sounds like you are on pretty uneven terrain if your tailgate doesn't even want to lower when you are trying to unhitch the truck and trailer. That would indicate that there is a great deal of flex in the setup that is binding up the tailgate which would also prevent the fifth wheel hitch from disconnecting. Forcing the setup to disconnect might cause a violent release of the pin box so I would recommend getting into a better position that allows for an easy release of the fifth wheel trailer.

expert reply by: Jameson C