Difficulty Getting Jaws to Open on B&W Companion Hitch with Rota-Flex Pin Box on Trailer

Question:

The trailair rota-flex hitch came on my 2016 Columbus Palomino fifth wheel, I had a BandW companion fifth wheel hitch installed in my 2015 Chevy Truck. I am now having trouble unhitching the unit, the jaws of my hitch will not release, unless I take the companion base loose and shake it and pry the jaws open. I took the hitch back and had it inspected and they didnt find anything wrong with it. I was wondering if there is some kind of maintenance or adjustment I can do to the trailair that may help?? I know it is suppose to move some when hooked up but I cannot manually move it all and didnt know if I should be able to or not, so I wasnt sure if there was any kind of adjustment I could make or not?? Any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

asked by: David K

Helpful Expert Reply:

The king pin on the Rota-Flex pin boxes does pivot and if you are parked on uneven ground then it is possible that the hitch jaws are bound up some. Moving the truck and trailer to level ground or even pulling forward or backward a little could be enough to release the tension and make it easier to uncouple the trailer. There isn't any sort of adjustment you can make on the pin box that would help.

You could also try lubricating the moving parts of the hitch to make them easier to operate. The inspection showed nothing mechanically wrong with the hitch but when no weight is on it then it would be hard to determine if lubrication was the issue.

B&W states to grease the jaws with automotive type chassis grease and to grease the saddle through the grease zerk fitting on the hitch approximately every 6 months using a multi-purpose grease.

expert reply by: Michael H