afdds
California
Full Member
Joined: 01/10/2003
View Profile
 Offline
|
smkettner- I think DH does, he admitted he made the mistake...something about a pin being still in place. I think he uses an extra pin when going down the road to hold the emer. brake cord. And then when we are parked...he keeps the pin there so he won't lose it.
Road Runner- It's a Curt E5 16115
CHV FRK-manually actuate the trailer brakes with you controller...Not sure how to do this. Dealership set the brake controller for me. I guess I need to get out the instructions and learn to set it myself.
Debra
F350 Lariat,Crew Cab long bed 4x4 Diesel
Heartland Big Country 3500RL
"Our home is where the Air Force sends us!"
|
afdds
California
Full Member
Joined: 01/10/2003
View Profile
Offline
|
Ron DePratt Ford in Dixon,CA gave me quote of $3,400 to fix the BooBoo. They were really concerned that the side panels need to be totally replaced. Several men looked at the damage and they agreed to do the job without replacing. There might always be a little wave in one side, but much cheaper than replacing the whole side. If possible they will use my old rubber top rail. Also by not replacing the 4x4 stickers we saved another $80.00. They are not fixing the tail gate..$1,200, we will just get a fifth wheel gate.
I figured older truck, might trade-in three years. Do the quick fix. I'll take the truck and have some graphic pin stripes added to draw the eye away from the wave. Dealership suggested keeping the old tailgate for when we trade-in.
I took some pics but don't know how to post.
|
RVER
West of Boston, MA
Senior Member
Joined: 10/29/2000
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club
Offline
|
I dropped mine and was heart broken but no real damage done to fiver and the rails to the topper saved the sides of the truck, there is a fold on one side but not big. These things happen and just do what you need to do to get things in order and get out on the road but do always have a test before you pull the legs totally up. Bring them up about an inch and then put the truck in gear and move a foot or so and make sure it is locked in and won't drop, saves you but have never dropped it again.
Chevy Silverado 2500HD with Duramax engine and Allison transmission
2002 Sunnybrook 34BWTS with lots of goodies
Pullrite Superglide Hitch, Prodigy brake controller
S and S Co-Travelers and along for the ride is Ketzel the wonder cat.
|
shadoow
South Texas
Senior Member
Joined: 09/25/2007
View Profile
Offline
|
smkettner wrote:Most important is have you figured out how it happened and how to prevent it from happening again.
Very true. If you haven't figured out what went wrong, it will likely happen again.
Not sure how much you're familiar with 5th wheel hitches, so i apologize if what i've written here is too basic.
On the front of the 5th wheel is the pin-box. On the bottom of the pin-box is the hitch pin & it has a smaller diameter area on it I call a 'collar' area. This portion of the hitch pin is what your truck hitch has to engage and be locked into.
Once you back the truck up & engage the pin with the truck hitch, verify the hitch mechanism is properly engaged on the hitch pin (i.e. in the collar region). Do this by visually checking it. Also ensure the hitch handle or other locking mechanism your truck hitch may have is locked in place.
I've got a B&W hitch which has it's handle mounted on the front of the hitch. It is locked in place when the handle is in a rearward position where a hole in the handle lines up with a hole in the hitch frame so a pin can be inserted to keep it there.
Next, i raise the tailgate and plug the brake/electrical cable on the 5er into the truck connection (mines above the rear bumper of the truck). This will power up my trailer brakes (not cause the brakes to come on, just provide power to them so they will come on when i put my foot on the truck brake pedal).
Now i raise my front jacks on the 5th wheel til they're about 1-2" off the ground.
Then i remove the wheel chocks because when i do a pull-test i want to test the ability of my brakes to keep the trailer from moving as well as ensure the hitch stays engaged. With the wheel chocks on i'm only testing that the hitch stays engaged. Some leave the wheel chocks on, so it's a preference thing.
Next, get in the truck and start it up. Leave it in Park for now. Your trailer brake controller should have a lever or other control to allow you to manually actuate the trailer brakes. Mine has a lever. I move this lever to apply maximum trailer braking then i put the truck into Drive. I now slowly apply gas to get the engine rpm up to about 500-1000 rpm higher than idle. If everything works as it's supposed to, the hitch will stay engaged with the 5er pin and the trailer/truck will not move (may move forward a little, but then stop).
Once this is done, i take my foot off the gas, put it on the truck brake pedal, release the trailer brake control lever, then shift the truck into reverse and let it roll back a few inches to relieve any strain i put on anything by trying to pull the trailer with the brakes engaged.
I then put the truck in Park again, retract the front legs of the 5er fully and continue with my checklist to get ready to tow.
Again, sorry if this is too basic & sorry you had your accident. I've not dropped a 5er, but i've done a couple of other things that caused damage to my truck or 5er so i can feel your pain. Remember to take your time when hitching and unhitching. Don't let yourselves get distracted and maybe think about using a checklist to make sure your doing everything you should in the order you should.
Good luck with your trailer
2009 Cedar Creek 34sats
2007 Chev 3500HD D/A
1952 Wife
|
sirdrakejr
Las Vegas, Nevada
Moderator
Joined: 11/18/2001
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club
 Online
|
I have stated here many times the RULES that I always use. If anytime I am unhooking or hooking up the combo and I am interrupted, I START OVER!! That way I will cover everything again, JUST IN CASE!! Sorry about your mishap.
Frank
RV.net blog
For those of you looking for expert advice, here ya go!
Frank
|
|
|
afdds
California
Full Member
Joined: 01/10/2003
View Profile
Offline
|
|
afdds
California
Full Member
Joined: 01/10/2003
View Profile
Offline
|
shadoow-Thank you so much for taking the time to write everything down for us. I really didn't know that I should be applying the brakes on the trailer with the controller. Makes sence.
START OVER should be the golden rule because you know someone is going to start talking to you.
|
mfoster711
College Station Tx
Senior Member
Joined: 08/12/2006
View Profile
|
I would sue the other couple for distracting you while you hooked up. It's the American way! It is obviously their fault and you should not have to pay for this damage. 
2007 Ford F250 Lariet 4x4 Diesel
2009 Jayco Eagle Super Lite 30.5BHS
|
kakampers
Fulltimer
Senior Member
Joined: 04/02/2004
View Profile
|
I may have missed it, but the one thing I haven't seen anyone mention is the VISUAL check of the pin before doing the pull test. This is something we do ALWAYS!!! If you're driving and DH is hitching, once you both hear the hitch latch, then he should be visually checking to make sure the jaws have completely encircled the pin AND that the pin is properly hitched...meaning the the large round portion of the bottom of the pin is BELOW the jaws...if not, you are what's called "high pinned" and you will drop the 5er...Good Luck!
|
JIMNLIN
Big Cabin, OK
Senior Member
Joined: 09/14/2003
View Profile
|
kakampers wrote:I may have missed it, but the one thing I haven't seen anyone mention is the VISUAL check of the pin before doing the pull test. This is something we do ALWAYS!!! If you're driving and DH is hitching, once you both hear the hitch latch, then he should be visually checking to make sure the jaws have completely encircled the pin AND that the pin is properly hitched...meaning the the large round portion of the bottom of the pin is BELOW the jaws...if not, you are what's called "high pinned" and you will drop the 5er...Good Luck!
good advice as it may pass the pull/tug test especially if the 5er is hooked at a angle or in many older campgrounds that aren't level. Some are as much as 8"-10" off angle from each other.
I've seen a couple of folks over the years rehooking at the dump station. They noticed too much gap between the pin box and hitch while waiting on the tanks to drain.
"good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" Will Rogers
'03 2500 QC Dodge/Cummins HO 3.73 6 speed manual Jacobs Westach Linex
'97 Park Avanue 28' 5er with two slides 16" BFG Commercial LTs
|
|
|
