How to Hitch Your Fifth Wheel

Hitching up your fifth wheel for the first time can be an intimidating prospect. If something goes wrong, it can lead to damage to your rig and tow vehicle, as well as injuries to yourself and others. Leach Camper Sales wants your experience as a fifth wheel owner to be as safe and enjoyable as possible. That is why our experts have created this fifth wheel hitching guide.

1. Choose a Level Surface 

Whenever possible, you should perform the hitching on a level surface. This will help you establish a safe and solid connection, as well as make it much easier to back up the trailer. Once you have found your level surface, add wheel chocks for extra support and check to make sure that your hitch has been set to the right height for coupling. 

2. Open the Wheel Jaws

Next, open the jaws or retract the locking bar. You can do this by pulling the side handle and setting it securely in the open position. If you are having trouble with this step, applying high-pressure grease may help. Consider installing a lube plate if this is a persistent issue.

3. Back Up Slowly

Once the jaws and hitch are in the proper position, lower your tailgate and prepare to line up the hitch. Having a friend or family member act as lookout and guide you to the trailer can be a huge help, but make sure no one is anywhere near the kingpin. Your truck will shift slightly after you put it in park, so make sure that you stop a little early to account for that fact. 

4. Adjust the Jacks

Once the hitch and kingpin have been properly aligned, it is time to adjust the trailer jacks. The fifth wheel hitch plate should be a little higher than the kingpin box so that it will be able to ramp up onto the hitch plate. The kingpin box itself should generally be ½” below the top of the fifth wheel head. 

5. Engage the Coupler

Back up slowly until the kingpin is fully connected with the fifth wheel head. Once the connection has been made, place your truck in park and engage the emergency brake. 

Take the time to inspect the connection so that you can be sure that fifth wheel jaws are locked and engaged completely. On some models, you will be required to manually engage the lock bar or wheel jaws, though in other cases this process will occur automatically. Finally, it is time to insert the safety pin to keep the coupling secure. 

6. Test the Coupling and Complete Your Checklist

The last step is to finalize the coupling. Disengage the emergency brake, activate your trailer brakes, and then place the truck in drive. Move forward slowly to allow the truck to tug at the trailer. If you feel some resistance, this means that the connection is secure.

Before you hit the road, run through your checklist one last time. Make sure that you have closed your tailgate, put the safety pin and chains in place, connected any and all wiring, removed the wheel chocks, lifted the jacks, and ensured that the trailer lights are fully functioning. 

We here at Leach Camper Sales wish you luck on all your future camping trips with your fifth wheel. For more information or to view our selection of models, visit us at our dealership in Lincoln, Nebraska. We also offer parts, financing, and servicing, making us your one-stop shop for all your RV needs. We are also proud to serve communities like Omaha, Nebraska.