Many of you have been asking how the hitch
works: how we connect up and tow the fifth wheeler. So this is an attempt to
explain the hitching process—an explanation from a newbie who also has no
mechanical expertise whatsoever . . . .
Dave is the official backer-upper and I’m
the one who tells him what to do (of course). A friend suggested we purchase a
set of walkie talkies, which saves the neighbours from having to listen to me
shouting at Dave. So we did. And they work really well! We got them on special at
Super Cheap Auto for $47.99. They have a range of up to three kilometres,
depending on the terrain, so no doubt could come in handy at other times as
well.
The Hitch:
Back in March when we first got our Ranger
ute, we took it to On the Way RV in Mt Maunganui for
2-3 days and they bolted a couple of bars (base rails) through the tray.
Although the rest of the hitch can be removed reasonably easily and you can use
the tray, these rails are pretty permanent. They lie across the tray, running
from side to side. Another two arch-like pieces sit over them (running from
front to back) and then the hitch connects on top. On the very top is a large flat
plate shaped a bit like a horseshoe.
Note the lovely, clean, empty tray! It doesn't last, as you will see soon.
The hitch has a bar coming out the side
(called a shank or hitch handle) and this pulls the jaws in the centre part of
the horseshoe open or shut. The jaws are the part that close and hold
onto the kingpin, which is a round steel pin that is under the gooseneck of the
fifth wheeler (see second photo below).
Wikipedia tells me, “The
term fifth wheel comes from a similar
coupling used on four-wheel horse-drawn carriages and wagons. The device
allowed the front axle assembly to pivot in the horizontal plane, to facilitate
turning”.
When hitching, the round plate above the
kingpin slides over the flat plate on top of the hitch and the kingpin slides into the
horseshoe opening. The hitch moves and tips forward a bit, which allows the kingpin to slide in and up onto the skid plate. Note in the pic (four above) the hitch is tipped forward slightly. It straightens up as the rig slides on.
This is a close up of the kingpin from underneath and shows the round white plate that helps it all slide onto the hitch.
Lining it up . . .
As it connects, the kingpin forces the jaws open, then they close shut behind it,
holding the kingpin in place.
Sorry, not the best photo of everything in place, but I tried to lighten it so you could see the jaws. It's pretty dark looking in to check that the jaws have closed around the kingpin. We have pulled out the torch in the past—nothing like being absolutely sure!
You then flip a small bail (aka handle
latch) over on the shank (aka hitch handle), preventing it from pulling out
(which would open the jaws and release the kingpin).
Latch/bail off:
Latch/bail on:
After hitching up, the power, light and brake cables are attached . . .
. . . and also the safety cable—that's the little silver cord dangling down that connects on to something on the tray so that if we ever became unattached (horrors), it would pull the pin and the automatic brake on the rig would come on. We're taking their word on this—not planning on testing that
Next step, the legs come up. We retract them using a button in the side hatch until they lift up off the ground and the weight is on the hitch, then they are manually raised the rest of the way. There is a pin through each leg that comes out; you lift them up, and then put the pins back in.
The last job after you've closed the hatches and everything is ready to roll is to take the handbrake off. That's the red lever in the photo above.
I added a photo of us parked in the Waipa Workingmen's Club car park in Te Awamutu so you can see where the legs and kingpin are in relation to the whole rig.
Hope that all made sense! Let me know if you have any questions, but I can't promise to know the answer.
Enjoying the blog Joy and David
ReplyDeleteThat's great to know. Thanks, Elizabeth. :)
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