Fifth Wheel Hitch Maintenance Tips

You’ve undoubtedly heard stories before of trailers becoming detached from their towing vehicles and becoming runaways, a dangerous obstacle on highways. In fact, you might have feared your own fifth wheel coming undone from your vehicle and you’re wondering what you can do to prevent this from occurring.

Performing some maintenance on your fifth-wheel hitch will help to reduce the risk of your trailer disconnecting on the road. Because of the amount of weight placed on this component, it’s best to inspect it and maintain it every three months or 48,000 kilometres. 

Schwab's RV World in Leduc is your Alberta fifth wheel dealer. Below, you’ll find some helpful tips for maintaining your fifth-wheel hitch so that it’s always working correctly.

1. Remove Grease

First, you’ll want to remove as much dirty grease and debris from the hitch as possible. This will help you to see it better so that you can inspect it and maintain it. Removing old grease before winter sets in and replacing it with fresh grease is also recommended. Degreasing and inspecting your fifth wheel every season will help to make sure it’s in good working order.

Some people may try to add grease without cleaning the old grease away, but the old grease can pick up contaminants that cause it to freeze in cold temperatures, preventing the lock from operating correctly.

2. Inspect For Damage

Carefully inspect all parts of the fifth-wheel hitch for signs of damage. The lock jaw, throat and pivot points are the most likely places where damage may occur. Components may also have fallen off and welds may break. Test parts that move to see if they have their full range of motion still. 

Corrosion and rust can set in and cause parts to malfunction and become stiff, and this is dangerous since the coupling of your fifth wheel is dependent upon timing so that the trailer and hitch can lock into place. Replace any part that needs to be replaced promptly.

3. Replace Liners

The liners should be replaced around every 500,000 kilometres for standard usage. Check the bracket liner thickness every time you maintain your fifth-wheel hitch and replace any worn or broken liners.

4. Lubricate Parts

You’ll need to re-grease all the moving parts on your fifth wheel to make sure they can move correctly. Apply a water-resistant lithium grease to the contact surfaces between the fifth wheel and trailer, including yoke tips, cam profile, yoke shaft, secondary lock, release handle and where the kingpin makes contact. Lubricate the kingpin lock itself and apply a light oil to moving parts. If your fifth wheel slides, you may want to lubricate the slide path on the base plate as well.

5. Make Sure the Latch Holds

Once you’ve fixed up everything, you’ll want to test the kingpin and make sure that it sits correctly and that the latch works. You can use a lock tester to make sure that the lock is functional. 

We hope these tips help you to maintain your hitch and ensure that your fifth wheel isn’t dangerous to operate. Need some assistance with fifth wheel maintenance in general? Get in touch with our service department to schedule an appointment with our mechanics. We can address any issues you’re having and get you back on the road pronto.

Visit our dealership in Leduc, AB, today to take a look at our selection of new and used fifth wheels for sale. Talk to our staff about our financing options if you’d like to make use of them. Schwab’s RV World serves the entire Edmonton, AB, metropolitan area.