-Today's video is about how to properly and safely hitch up your fifth wheel to your truck.
-We are bringing you all the must-know content...
and details when it comes to doing this in a safe and proper way.
-Don't worry guys.
We're also going to demonstrate how to unhitch your RV from the tow vehicle.
You are going to want to stick around to the end of the video.
Because we are going to share how we scored such an awesome,
good quality hitch at the dealership, when we bought this fifth wheel.
-Nice. So guys without further ado, let's just get right into it.
The details are waiting and all the steps to follow.
Are you guys ready to do this?
-I think they're ready so I'm gonna go say, I'm ready too.
-Okay. Let's do it.
(music)
-To begin, we are first going to demonstrate the process of
hooking up your fifth wheel to your tow vehicle.
Before you start, make sure your slides are retracted in.
The reason for this is that it is not good to move the slides in and out when the RV is unlevel.
We also like to make sure the steps are up. And the door is securely latched.
Return the fifth wheel to its hitch height.
This should be a setting on your auto level where it returns the rig...
to the height right before auto level was engaged.
But if not, you can always manually raise the fifth wheel to the hitch height.
(electronic jacks retracting)
Just make sure the rear jacks are retracted before the front of the rig lifts up.
(electronic jacks extending)
Lower the tailgate and make sure the handle to the hitch is in the open position.
We like to double check by seeing that the jaws are open.
Did I mention make sure the tailgate is down?
We heard too many stories where people dented their tailgate from this mistake.
(truck engine starting)
At this point, back up the truck towards the hitch until it is about five to six inches away.
But making sure it is lined up straight.
A second person can help with this.
But you should be able to see the hitch from the back window.
Once you are close to the hitch, get out of the truck,
and check to make sure the height is correct.
The top of the fifth wheel pin where there is an upward ramp
should slide into the downward ramp of your hitch to make perfect contact.
This is important to prevent high hitching.
which makes it seem like you are connected but are not.
Now you can back up the tow vehicle until contact is made with the king pin and hitch.
The handle should engage and latch on its own.
Engage the e-brake on the tow vehicle.
Look at the king pin area and make sure the jaws are fully enclosed around the pin.
Also, make sure the latch is in the closed position.
Secure the latch by locking the pin in place.
We like to attach our breakaway cable here.
Also make sure the breakaway cable isn't snagged on anything so it doesn't accidentally engage.
Connect the seven-way pin and make sure there is a connection to the tow vehicle.
Raise that tailgate.
If your tailgate is left down and you make turns while driving it will do some major damage.
It is good habit at this time to double check your connection and make sure the pin is locked.
Retract your front jacks until they are just barely off the ground.
(electronic jacks retracting)
This is so you can perform a pull test.
And if the trailer drops for any reason it won't happen on the bed of the truck.
The pull test. While applying the trailer brakes,
have the truck move forward very slightly by either being in first gear or just letting off the brake.
The truck movement forward should be restricted and the pin should remain attached in the hitch.
Once you pass the pull test,
hit retract all to retract the front jacks all the way up and make sure they are secured.
(electronic jacks retracting)
Perform a check on the lights.
We like to have one of us stand behind and signal that the brake and turn signals are working.
Remove the wheel chocks.
Perform a final walk around to check all connections.
Make sure all jacks are up and nothing is out of place.
We like to get down and look under the RV as well.
Before driving away, make sure the tow vehicle is in tow haul mode.
The trailer brake gain is set.
And if equipped, the exhaust brake is turned on.
Also, make sure those mirrors are extended.
You are now hitched up and ready to hit the road.
So let's go over the process of how to safely unhitch your fifth wheel from the tow vehicle.
After you finish parking the RV, engage the e-brake and chock those wheels.
Drop the tailgate.
(electronic jacks extending)
Lower the front jacks until all of the weight is off of the truck and the tension is off of the hitch.
Pay attention to the connection of the hitch and fifth wheel.
You will know when to stop when you start to see a small gap between these plates.
Undo the pin with the breakaway cable.
And pull the handle to disengage the tow vehicle from the king pin.
You might notice the truck moves slightly forward once it unhooks.
Undo the 7-way plug.
Secure the plug and breakaway cable so it doesn't get caught when the truck moves away.
Now it is okay to move the truck forward since you are unhitched.
But make sure the tailgate stays down.
There have been people who put the tailgate up too early
and end up pulling their fifth wheel forward with them.
At this point, you are ready to auto level.
All right. -Ah.
Good information. And I'm so glad you guys stuck around to the end.
As promised, we're gonna let you in on some details.
Now something we want to give you a little insight on is when you actually go to the dealership...
You can actually work it into the details of negotiation.
That they throw in the hitch with the price of the fifth wheel.
We went to negotiate with an RV dealer and...
they didn't meet the negotiation that we were looking for.
The pricing just wasn't there.
-So it ended up being a better deal for them to throw the hitch...
and the hitch instillation in than the deal that we initially gave them at the end.
For example, we were trying to get another one thousand dollars knocked off the MRSP.
Or add a thousand dollars to the trade-in value.
Then we decided, well let's see if they'll throw in the hitch installation and the hitch itself.
They said they would do that.
And then we actually did some research and looked at the hitch they were going to install.
And found out that, I guess...
The price of the hitch and the installation was well over two thousand dollars.
And we were like okay, score. We'll take that.
So what we're trying to say is think about all the things that need to be done.
Instead of talking money and numbers.
Just having them include all the extras that would normally cost thousands of dollars.
-Absolutely. Because when we had my truck it did not have the puck system.
Or the seated in gooseneck fifth wheel ball hitch.
So we went to the dealer and when we negotiated we got the puck system.
We got the hitch. And we got the installation.
All included into the pricing of the fifth wheel.
-Just remember if you're brand new to the RV life.
It's not just about the RV. There's many accessories that come along with it.
There's the puck system into the truck. There's the fifth wheel hitch.
There's the installation. There is so much.
-We hope you guys got some amazing content that you can apply to your safety,
and travels when you hit the road full-time.
As always, make sure you subscribe to us and hit the notification bell.
Guys there is more content coming.
And we also want to hear your input on what you guys want to see us bring to the channel.
All right guys. So until next time, stay safe. Happy trails.
-And we'll see you out there. -Bye. -Bye.