Imagine you’ve driven several hundred miles to your destination. You’ve been in your truck for hours and finally arrive at your campground. After several attempts and some slight adjustments, you’ve positioned your fifth wheel on the campsite. Everything is perfect.

You add wheel chocks to hold your fifth wheel in place, lower your landing legs, disconnect from your fifth wheel trailer hitch, and extend your slides. You set up your camping chairs around the firepit and start prepping dinner. That’s when you realize you’re out of cooking oil and need to make a store run. Or maybe you just need drinks or sides to go with dinner. 

You double-check that the cables are disconnected between your truck and fifth wheel…all good there. So you hop in your truck, shift into drive, start to pull away, and then CRACK! What mistake did you make?

Yankho: waiwala kutsitsa tailgate! As a result, your fifth wheel pin box dented your tailgate.

Mkulu khalidwe JSK akuponya gudumu lachisanu 37C

Take a second to compose yourself—this isn’t the first time this has happened to a gudumu lachisanu owner, but our mission is to ensure we’re closer to it being the last. That’s why we’re raising tailgate awareness for the sake of fifth wheel hitches and owners everywhere. 

Njira Yosavuta ya Fifth Wheel Hitch Solution

Choyamba, muyenera kuyimitsa ma wheel chock, kulumikiza pabokosi lanu la pini, ndikukokera galimoto yanu motetezeka. M'mbuyomu leveling and stabilizing your coach. So you shouldn’t start with dinner or other camp chores before completing the disconnection process. 

Eni ake onse atsopano a magudumu achisanu amatha kupindula potsatira mndandanda wolembedwa, wopangidwa ndi laminated pamene akugwirizanitsa ndi kuchotsa zitsulo zawo. M'malo mongoyesera kukumbukira masitepe ang'onoang'ono omwe amalowa munjira iyi, sungani mndandanda wanu bwino ndikuwunika momwe mukupita. 

A simple solution is removing your regular tailgate during the camping season. But there are pros and cons to this approach. While you’ll avoid this hitch mistake, the downside of this approach is the inability to store any extra camping gear in your truck bed between destinations. 

Mutha sinthani tailgate yanu ndi a tailgate yachisanu ndi gudumu ngati njira yabwinoko. Mtundu wa tailgate uwu umaphatikizapo chodulira chooneka ngati V pakati, kukupatsani chilolezo chowonjezera cha pini yanu.

Mndandanda Wanu wa Fifth Wheel Hitch Setup

Before you take your new 5th wheel on its maiden voyage, download or print and laminate this hitch checklist for reference: 

• Yang'anani pamsasa kuti muwone zopinga.
• Gwiritsani ntchito spotter pamene mukubwerera.
• Position the fifth wheel on the campsite so it’s as level as possible. 
• Ikani galimoto yokokera pamalopo ndikukhazikitsa mabuleki adzidzidzi. 
• Malo magudumu akugwedeza kutsogolo ndi kumbuyo kwa matayala. 
• Khalani zolimbitsa thupi pansi pa miyendo yotsika. 
• Malingaliro a kampani LOWER TRUCK TAILGATE.
• Wonjezerani miyendo yotsetsereka mpaka mutha kuwona kuwala kwa masana pakati pa hitch ndi pin box.
• Chotsani ndikusunga chingwe chamagetsi cha ngolo. 
• Yang'ananinso kuti chochoko cha magudumu chili molimba.
• Chotsani loko kapena pini kuchokera pachimake. 
• Tsegulani latch yachitetezo. 
• Kokani chotchinga chotchinga kuti muchotse kingpin pabokosi la pini. 
• Chotsani chingwe choduka. 
• Kwezani miyendo yotsika kuti muchotse kulemera kwa lilime pakugunda.
• Yendetsani galimotoyo patsogolo pang'onopang'ono mpaka bampu yakumbuyo ichotse bokosi la pini. 
• Kwezani tailgate yagalimoto. 
• Kanikizani chotchinga latch bar pamalo otsekedwa. 
• Siyani latch yachitetezo pamalo osatsegulidwa. 
• Pitirizani ku mlingo ndi kukhazikika.
• Ikani kingpin stabilizing jack pansi kutsogolo.
• Sungani mosamala zogwirira zonse za jack crank ndi zina zowonjezera gudumu lachisanu. 
• Chotsani chowonjezera kukoka magalasi kuchokera pagalimoto yokokera (ngati ikuyenera).

Onerani kanema pansipa kuti mudziwe mozama momwe mungagwirizanitse ndikudula gudumu lanu lachisanu.

Momwe Mungasinthire Fifth Wheel Hitch Height

It’s important that your trailer is level while in tow. If not, you are susceptible to issues like increased trailer sway, excessive chucking/jarring, poor fuel economy, and much more.

To start, level the trailer using the landing gear and measure the distance from the ground to the bottom of the skid plate on the pin box. Next, measure the distance from the ground to the top of the hitch head on the fifth wheel hitch in your truck bed. If these two measurements don’t match, you’ll need to make some adjustments.

Kuti musinthe kalavaniyoni, muli ndi zosankha zingapo. Njira yoyamba ingakhale kusintha kutalika kwa hitch mutu wa hitch yanu yachisanu. Pafupifupi kugunda kwa magudumu asanu aliwonse kumakhala ndi mutu wosinthika kuti muthe kuwongolera ngolo yanu. 

To change the hitch head height, you’ll need to consult the owner’s manual of your hitch. Izi zati, ambiri amafunikira kuchotsa ndi kuyikanso ma bolt mu mabowo osiyanasiyana pamunsi.

Ngati ngoloyo ikadalibe mulingo ngakhale mutasintha kutalika kwa mutu wa hitch, mutha kusintha kutalika kwa bokosi la pini. Izi zimachitika pochotsa mabawuti omwe amatchinjiriza bokosi la pini pa chimango ndikuyikanso mabawutiwa pamabowo ena (mmwamba kapena pansi), ngati kuli kotheka.

Ngati mukufuna kusintha zina, muyenera kukweza kapena kutsitsa kalavani moyenerera. Izi zitha kuchitika pogwiritsa ntchito ma lift block, ma axle flip kits, kapena zopachika masamba atsopano. Nthawi zambiri, muyenera kukhala ndi chilolezo chosachepera mainchesi sikisi pakati pa njanji za bedi lanu ndi pansi pa gudumu lanu lachisanu.

Kodi Ndingapeze Kuti Hitch Fifth Wheel Hitch?

Kuyika a gudumu lachisanu kugunda is not something you should take lightly. There is an enormous safety concern if not done correctly, but you can also cause damage to your vehicle. In most cases, you’ll drill into the bed and/or frame to install a hitch. If not done properly, you risk unnecessary holes that can compromise the frame’s integrity.