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  1. #1
    Setting Up Camp GLSchmidt's Avatar
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    How to destroy a fifth wheel hitch

    Having purchased our Reflection 295RL not too long ago from a dealer who has a less-than-stellar reputation for customer service, we were anxious to see how they would do when we took it in for its first warranty service after our shakedown outing. We had a short list of fairly minor items we wanted them to take care of, and they did a good job of keeping us informed of the progress and setting up a time to pick up the rig. We arrived yesterday to pick up our rig; the service guys pulled it out for us, we did a quick check to verify what we could, and hooked up to make the 40 mile trip back to the storage lot. Everything seemed fine, and I had a pretty good feeling about the service I had received from the dealership...UNTIL we turned into the storage yard.

    I should mention, for those not familiar with the 295RL fifth wheel, that it uses the Turning Point pin box, which is a pivoting pin box. Since we tow with a short bed truck we chose to utilize the swiveling feature of the pin box, which requires that you attach a wedge to the bottom of the pin box; the wedge holds the pin box in a fixed position where it connects to the hitch, forcing the pin box to pivot where it connects to the trailer. The pin box can be used in a conventional configuration by installing two locking bolts which prevents the pin box from rotating. Back to the story...

    As we turned into the storage lot we heard a very loud crack/pop sound from the hitch, and then a few seconds later we heard something drop into the bed of the truck (which was a bit worrisome as the truck bed was totally empty except for the hitch, so nothing should have been rattling around or dropping back there). We lined up to back our rig into its parking spot and I got out to find out what caused the noise. Looking into the truck bed I saw the mangled remains of the wedge lying there, along with two bolts that appeared to have been sheared off (these two bolts held the wedge in place). Somehow the wedge had been snapped off while going around the turn; I wasn't sure exactly how it had happened, but my immediate concern was getting the rig backed into it's parking space, and without the wedge in place I couldn't turn the trailer. After thinking about it for a second I figured that I could just use the sheared-off bolts temporarily as locking bolts in the pin box, which would at least allow me to back the trailer into parking position.

    So I grabbed the remains of the bolts and moved over to the back of the pin box to install the bolts in the locking holes and was surprised to find -- you guessed it -- there were already bolts there. Yes, for some reason the dealership had REINSTALLED LOCKING BOLTS IN MY PIN BOX and had failed to remove them prior to turning the trailer over to me. The only bright side at this point was that, since the locking bolts were already in place, I could get the trailer backed into its storage space. We backed in, unhooked, and I took pictures of the destroyed hitch head, pin box wedge, bolts, and the pin box itself where the remains of the wedge bolts were still deeply embedded in the face of the pin box. And then placed a call to the dealership and left a message for the service coordinator...

    Now, to be fair to the dealership, they were good about calling me back and taking ownership for the issue. They also stated that they were going to be working on arrangements first thing this morning to get the rig transported to their location so that they could perform the necessary repairs and replacement of parts; we'll see how the follow-through from the dealership is today.

    All in all this was a little frustrating, but the good thing is that no one was hurt as a result of the equipment failure. You may be wondering why we hadn't had a problem earlier in our 40 mile trip; well, believe it or not, even though the dealership is 40 miles away we don't actually have to make any sharp turns between there and our storage facility -- until we actually have to turn into the storage lot itself.

    And the lesson learned for me is that I need to add one more item to my hookup checklist: MAKE SURE NO ONE HAS REINSTALLED PIN BOX LOCKING BOLTS WHILE I WASN'T LOOKING.
    Gary & Lisa

    2018 Reflection 150 Series 295RL
    Reese Elite 18k hitch
    2010 Dodge Ram 2500 5.7L Hemi, 4.10
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

  2. #2
    Site Sponsor
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    Sounds to me you've got a good dealer.
    Location - Wherever the road takes us...Full-timers
    2015 Momentum 380
    2019 Ram Dually

  3. #3
    Site Sponsor MarkRizRV's Avatar
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    That's sounds scary, you're lucky nothing happened out on the road. I'll definitely watch for that when we go for service

  4. #4
    Long Hauler LCBoyer's Avatar
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    Wow! I’m happy you never had any serious problems
    2018 Freedom Elite 24FE, 2 Yorkies, and my wife MARILYN, HAM call K0LCB. Traveling around this great country, making friends and seeing lot of beautiful and interesting places

  5. #5
    Setting Up Camp Natfuel1's Avatar
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    If im reading this correctly your fifth wheel and truck had no pivot point? How did you make it all the way to your storage lot, were there no turns up until that point? Or am i missing something.
    Chris and Melissa Sullivan
    Potter County PA
    15’ GMC Duramax
    14’ Heartland Sundance XLT

  6. #6
    Seasoned Camper
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    Missing the wedge and having the lockout bolts installed would would force the pivot point to be at the Hitch. When I got my fixed hitch/wedge setup on our 230RL (by also removing the lockout bolts), I had a bad feeling that somewhere down the line a dealer might see the Lockout bolts missing and put some in thinking they were doing me a good service. One of the reasons we got the 230RL was to utilize the pivoting capability of the Turning Point Pin Box so I would not have to worry about hitting the cab on tight turns.

    Sorry to hear this happened to you, Gary! Let us know what the Dealer does to make this right.

  7. #7
    Seasoned Camper cmillsbl's Avatar
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    We had a similar situation when we picked up our 307 last year. We have a Pullrite Autoslide hitch which requires an adaptor plate to be installed on the pin box. It includes the wedge to lock the pin box to the hitch. As you make a turn, the hitch head turns and slides on the hitch base towards the back of the truck bed.

    In my case, the dealer failed to install the adaptor plate. As we were maneuvering out of their parking lot, there was a loud bang as the truck jerked forward when I slowed to a stop. My salesman was riding in a golf cart next to us. I saw is eyes get big as saucers. He said don't move and headed for the garage to get a service tech. By the time he got back I had determined the adaptor plate was missing. Fortunately, no damage was done.
    Barb and Blair, retired and loving it
    2017 F250 Lariat Super Cab, Short bed, 4x4, diesel, Tow Technology Bundle, Pullrite 16K Autoslide
    2017 Reflection 307MKS, 3/17 Build
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

  8. #8
    Setting Up Camp GLSchmidt's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Natfuel1 View Post
    If im reading this correctly your fifth wheel and truck had no pivot point? How did you make it all the way to your storage lot, were there no turns up until that point? Or am i missing something.
    Yep, basically correct. Just a couple of very easy banking turns onto and off of the freeway, at least before we got to our storage lot (which is when everything went horribly wrong). I'm assuming that during the gentle turns the wedge and pin box were able to force enough slop in the hitch head that they could accommodate the minor turning, but making the 90 degree turn into the storage lot was just too much.
    Gary & Lisa

    2018 Reflection 150 Series 295RL
    Reese Elite 18k hitch
    2010 Dodge Ram 2500 5.7L Hemi, 4.10
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

  9. #9
    Seasoned Camper
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    You know, this all means that it is up to us to police this stuff - at every stage. When my hitch was installed (by the dealer), I had to "educate" them on the need for the wedge and the need to remove the lockout bolts. The guy who installed the hitch told me he had never installed a hitch like I purchased, and was also unfamiliar with the Turning Point Pin Box. Can you imagine what would have happened if I had not told him to remove the bolts? He was quite impressed when I explained to him how it all worked.

    I should have installed the hitch myself, but since it was my first 5er, I was nervous about messing something up!

  10. #10
    Setting Up Camp Natfuel1's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GLSchmidt View Post
    Yep, basically correct. Just a couple of very easy banking turns onto and off of the freeway, at least before we got to our storage lot (which is when everything went horribly wrong). I'm assuming that during the gentle turns the wedge and pin box were able to force enough slop in the hitch head that they could accommodate the minor turning, but making the 90 degree turn into the storage lot was just too much.
    Ok, makes sense now.
    Chris and Melissa Sullivan
    Potter County PA
    15’ GMC Duramax
    14’ Heartland Sundance XLT

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