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Old 04-16-2015, 05:50 PM   #1
ksb
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5th wheel hitch wear

We pull our 2009 5.0 with a Nissan Frontier using an E-trailer Pro Series 15k hitch. Have about ~5K miles on this hitch.


We are concerned about the chucking (e-trailer's term for jerking) while driving that is causing wear on the slide bar.

The problem appears to be the large gap between the 2 inch kingpin and the slide bar, shown in the pics at 2 1/16 and 2 3/16 inch. The slide bar moves 1/8 inch front to back within it's guide.


Called E-trailer, they said the trailer brakes are not set properly. That seems inappropriate as we are not applying brakes when the jerking occurs and we are sure the brakes are adjusted properly. They also stated that, "this is an unusual combo of ultra lite trailer and a truck typically not rated for 5th wheel towing."



Anyone else have a slide bar hitch with this problem?


Does a jaws type hitch eliminate this problem by holding the kingpin more securely?
Attached Thumbnails
slide bar wear001.jpg   max gap.jpg   min gap.jpg   pro series.JPG  
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Old 04-16-2015, 06:04 PM   #2
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Yes the jaw type should eliminate this problem.
The shop I dealt with for my hitch warned me about this.

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Old 04-16-2015, 06:12 PM   #3
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We started out with the Reece 16k hitch that Escape provided and started to encounter the same issue. With the straight bar retaining the king pin the bar starts to wear in the middle as all the force is there. You should also see wear on the back of the king pin in the corresponding spot. After two years (ours was a 2010) I switched to a Curt Q-20 series hitch which has a clam shell type retainer that clamps around the king pin and retains evenly, allowing for (hopefully) more even wear. The Q-20 hitch is a bit over kill but I was not aware that Curt had a Q16 version. Maybe it wasn't available when i purchased the Q-20. The Curt (and there are other brands) should all fit the rails that you already have installed and you will only need the head. The Q-20 was just over $400 from Amazon. I would seriously consider changing the hitch head before your pin wears too badly.

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Old 04-16-2015, 06:46 PM   #4
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When talking with Wayne at Trademasters, he said that they weld the bar to add more material when it wears. They then grind it to the correct shape. The closer I get to our delivery, the more I wish I would have upgraded the hitch.
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Old 04-16-2015, 07:31 PM   #5
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FWIW, I get no jerking whatsoever with the dual jawed B&W Patriot, only had it a year and about 7k miles, no wear anywhere that I can see. It will fit the standard rails.
http://www.amazon.com/Trailer-Hitche.../dp/B004R51O1I
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Old 04-16-2015, 07:59 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by padlin View Post
FWIW, I get no jerking whatsoever with the dual jawed B&W Patriot, only had it a year and about 7k miles, no wear anywhere that I can see. It will fit the standard rails.
http://www.amazon.com/Trailer-Hitche.../dp/B004R51O1I
We have been very happy with our B&W Patriot also!
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Old 04-16-2015, 08:30 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by ksb View Post
The problem appears to be the large gap between the 2 inch kingpin and the slide bar, shown in the pics at 2 1/16 and 2 3/16 inch. The slide bar moves 1/8 inch front to back within it's guide.
It seems obvious that this is the problem, and any other discussion may be interesting but does not address the root issue.


Quote:
Originally Posted by ksb View Post
Called E-trailer, they said the trailer brakes are not set properly. That seems inappropriate as we are not applying brakes when the jerking occurs and we are sure the brakes are adjusted properly.
I agree with you: under steady-speed level conditions, or while accelerating or climbing, the bar will be pushing the pin forward; under braking, the trailer brakes should do most of the work of slowing the trailer, but not all, so the front side of the hitch will be pushing the trailer pin back. This means that - like any hitch - the direction of force and location of contact will change... that's normal and correct.

As long as the plate of the trailer's pinbox stays in contact with the plate of the hitch, relative motion is only what free play around the pin allows, and no matter how stuff might be bouncing up and down, this horizontal motion should be well-controlled. Any excessive horizontal play is bad.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ksb View Post
They also stated that, "this is an unusual combo of ultra lite trailer and a truck typically not rated for 5th wheel towing."
To eTrailer I would say "Yeah... so?" I don't see the relevance of this; perhaps they are saying they just don't have any experience with the combination. I suggest contacting the actual manufacturer (Cequent - "Pro Series" is one of their brands), rather than the retailer (eTrailer) and asking them about the issue.
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Old 04-17-2015, 11:39 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by t-twnbob View Post
When talking with Wayne at Trademasters, he said that they weld the bar to add more material when it wears. They then grind it to the correct shape. The closer I get to our delivery, the more I wish I would have upgraded the hitch.
The issue with welding is you have now added a variable in material hardness that may or may not exacerbate the situation. In addition the fix is temporary - as in the case of the OP +- 7,000 miles, (I concede that we don't have any information on how long the jaws last in the other models). You may also have to weld the notch in the kingpin which might not be a good idea.
We pick up our 5.0TA on May 4th, is that when you plan to be there?
Mark
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Old 04-17-2015, 03:05 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by t-twnbob View Post
When talking with Wayne at Trademasters, he said that they weld the bar to add more material when it wears. They then grind it to the correct shape.
Rather than accept the wear and continue to patch it, it would make more sense to me to avoid the problem in the first place. Although the hitch is pushing against the pin along a single vertical line (a point when you look at it from above), which is fundamentally bad, the wear problem is exacerbated by the hammering effect of having too much free play. Why not shim up the points which control the slide bar position so it doesn't have 1/8" of fore-and-aft free play?
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Old 04-21-2015, 10:43 AM   #10
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thanks for all the great info....another lesson learned...
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