Andersen Latch Sticking

[Shiny]

The remote latch pin on the Andersen coupler block got "stuck" on our latest trip and would not release when we had the trailer located. This was a nuisance as we had already leveled side-to-side and chocked the wheels. I had to pull the X-chocks, back off the levelers, back up more until I could release the pin, then pull forward again.

This may have been caused by the trailer being "uphill" of the truck and loading the ball but was unexpected since the full weight was still pushing down on the ball.

Is this "common"?

How do I avoid this?

[C&G in FL]

I do not have the Andersen hitch because it is the same concept as the Scamp 19 setup which I absolutely despised. As a result, I have a conventional 5th wheel hitch.
I typically level, chock, and lower the landing gear before disconnecting. On occasion, I find I cannot pull the release bar because the king pin is putting too much pressure on the jaws and they will not open. When this happens, I put the truck in neutral and let it roll slightly. This has never failed to remediate the problem and I can then open the jaws and disconnect. I don’t know if this will work with the Andersen but it might be worth a try.

[UncleTim]

I have never had the Anderson hitch refuse to disengage. I have un-coupled on slopes too.

I think I would start with a close inspection of the latching mechanism after disengaging, when no pressure is on it.

If it operates smoothly, then go to the next step, re-coupling. If not then you may have to take the Anderson cone off and examine for damage. I can't imagine. It should operate smoothly. The small hex head screws get torqued to 40 pounds.

If everything looks okay, then try remounting the ball and then dismounting again. You may want to move the trailer (a little) each time. The idea is if something is wrong, have it happen at home. Plus you get to focus on this attachment which should give you peace of mind when done. And you can do it on level ground.

When I lift the cone off the ball (after chalking and using the landing gear), I carefully watch to see if the cone moves away from centering the ball. If it does, it means your wheels are moving slightly when de-coupling. Usually the cone comes straight off the ball and moves left to right only slightly.

This way I know when excess pressure is placed on the cone and ball and the trailer is not totally settled. Make sense?

One other thing. I only put the x-chocks on when ALL the leveling is done. Not before. You do not want to put any additional pressure on the axles with twisting motion. When I dismount (or mount), only the chocks (fore and aft) are used.

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by UncleTim

One other thing. I only put the x-chocks on when ALL the leveling is done. Not before. You do not want to put any additional pressure on the axles with twisting motion. When I dismount (or mount), only the chalks (fore and aft) are used.

I would add that if you are relying totally on X-chocks to keep the trailer from rolling down a slope but do not want to deploy them until disconnected, I would purchase a couple of the cheap yellow plastic chocks sold at Walmart or Camping World and use them until the X-chocks are deployed. You cannot be too careful!

As a side note, I used to use “between the wheels” chocks on another tandem axle trailer, but found that they do not make my 5.0TA any more stable than just using the plastic cheapies. I would guess that the two points of contact of the landing gear reduce “trailer shake” adequately. YMMV. My X-chocks reside in my garage now, mostly unused. I only keep them for RVIng friends who may want to use them when they stay on my property.

[Shiny]

Thanks to you both.

I'll investigate more... I haven't had this happen before so maybe something changed.

In this case, we used the "rocker" load levelers to bring the downhill wheels up a little and to act as chocks. I also used the wedge chocks under the other two wheels. I then lowered the jacks to the point of contact with my blocks. When I then tried to release the pin, the handle wouldn't budge. I did put the truck in neutral and that didn't change the bind. I then lifted the trailer some and again, no improvement. So we then had to raise the jacks, back off the levelers and the pin released as usual. We leveled again with the pin released and all was well. When we lifted off the ball, the truck moved forward, even though it was in park with emergency brake engaged... so yes, there was some load front-to-back, likely from being on the rocker levelers.

No issue when we got home on the level driveway so I think it all had to do with front-to-back loading from being on a slight slope.

[marsman]

I don't know if this is the recommended procedure but i generally unlatch the locking pin on my Andersen hitch, back up, level off, put a couple of chocks on and if i'm on a slope i check to see of the trailer is lifting off the ball smoothly, if not i'll let the truck roll very slightly and engage the parking brake and try again; usually works fine.

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by marsman

I don't know if this is the recommended procedure but i generally unlatch the locking pin on my Andersen hitch, back up, level off, put a couple of chocks on and if i'm on a slope i check to see of the trailer is lifting off the ball smoothly, if not i'll let the truck roll very slightly and engage the parking brake and try again; usually works fine.

If I am correctly comprehending your procedure, I’m not sure that it is a wise idea to unlatch the connector of any trailer, 5th wheel or bumper pull until BEFORE you are through moving it into its final position, chock the wheels, and lower the Jack/landing gear. If the unlatched connection somehow separates you could be risking serious damage to the trailer and/or the to vehicle, especially so if you are situated on un-level ground.

[Centex]

Originally Posted by C&G in FL

If I am correctly comprehending your procedure, I’m not sure that it is a wise idea to unlatch the connector ... BEFORE you are through moving it into its final position ...

I tend to agree, and while I personally wouldn't adopt such a procedure as 'routine', there may be rare carefully assessed and judged situations where it solves a dilemma with 'acceptable risk' (a very situation-specific 'last resort' if you will). YMMV.

I've got and like the Andersen, I suspect the OP's situation was one of those rare anomalies, I don't recall finding any posts among the many here about Andersen hitch experience describing a similar 'bind'.

[Hawkeye Ed]

Take a quick look at how the Andersen Ultimate 5th Wheel Connection (Gooseneck Mount) actually works by looking at the installation manual:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/z02vxv...w_Res.pdf/file

Also, some time when you're 5.0 is not coupled to your truck, look up inside the kingpin coupler block while engaging and disengaging the remote latch (don't forget to first unlock the remote latch handle by turning it). You'll see the coupler pin on the end of the remote latch cable retract and then slide across the coupler block as you push and pull the handle. To lock the coupler block to the gooseneck ball, the coupler pin slides across the bottom of the gooseneck ball preventing the coupler block from lifting up off the ball.

Whenever we've found it hard to retract the coupler pin with the remote latch cable, it's usually been that the coupler block, instead of sitting down squarely on the ball, is raised or twisted a bit. That causes so much friction between the coupler pin and the ball that it's too hard to pull the coupler pin handle.

The solution is to pull the coupler pin before you start leveling the trailer just like Marsman says above. We've never had any problem leveling or even moving the trailer a bit with the coupler pin pulled out. There's still so much weight on the ball that we've never worried.

And finally, here's what Andersen says about the problem on page 7 of the installation manual:

" NOTE: Due to tight tolerances, if the trailer and tow vehicle are angled too much in reference to each other, the kingpin coupler block may not fully seat on the ball. This applies to uncoupling the kingpin coupler as well. If this occurs, the kingpin coupler block may become ‘stuck’ on the ball. To alleviate this problem, ensure that the truck and trailer are somewhat level in reference to each other. Raise the trailer up to clear the ball, disconnect your wiring harnesses and any safety cables and chains, then drive your truck out from under the trailer."