Reese hitch issue

[kanatachris]

Towing the trailer today, 50-60 miles no problems. Making a sharp right turn on a bit of a slope and the hitch dogs pop open for some reason. The pin box lands on the right rear corner of the truck box. Thankfully, that's where the generator lives so the 1/4 panel looks ok. It and the tailgate took the brunt of it. The hitch was completely locked when this happened. I'm at a complete loss as to how this happened. It's a Reese 16K with a slider kit. I was able to get the front of the trailer up and re-hitched. Moved it about 100' and it seemed fine. Anyone ever seen something like this? I've been towing with this hitch 7-8 years without any problems at all. Having not locked the hitch once before and having the trailer land on the tailgate of a previous truck, makes me super conscious of ensuring it is properly locked which it was today.

[minnow101]

When you say the hitch was locked, what do you mean ?

[Cate&Rob]

Hi Chris,

This is distressing to hear (since I also have a Reese slider hitch).
Glad that this was not as bad as it could have been.

My Reese hitch is a Titan model and once latched and "locked" I put a padlock through the provided hole, to make sure the lever can't move. On mine, the lever would have to bounce up and slide out, to release the pin. Is yours the same as this ?

Rob

[Dave and Monica]

I'd suggest that you talk to someone at Reese...wondering if something in the latching mechanism failed allowing the jaws to open. The tech number from their site is 888-521-0510.

Dave

[kanatachris]

Minnow... The locking bar and safety latch engaged.

Rob...mine is the same the safety would have to come off and the actuator rod 'pop' up and out.

Dave..,gonna take the hitch out tomorrow. When I get the truck back from the body shop, I'll take the hitch to the Reese dealer and get it checked.

Just wondering if this has ever happened before.

Chris.

[Dave and Monica]

Just wondering if this has ever happened before.

I vaguely recall a similar incident reported on the Forest River Forum some years ago, but don't recollect any of the details or resolve.

Dave

[Cate&Rob]

Chris,

If you can, take lots of pictures. Something bent/twisted/loose/worn could be the root cause.
I will be very interested in what you learn from your Reese dealer . . .

Rob

[minnow101]

I recall reading a few years back a similar issue on a Reese hitch. I also recall the hitch owner calling Reese and not getting much help as Reese adamantly stated that it could only be operator failure as to why the hitch opened. I believe you can replace just the hitch head on certain models thereby keeping the mounting brackets(and your $$ lower). I think I'd be looking into that. A hitch mysteriously opening is not something I'd be fooling with nor a piece if equipment I'd ever trust again.

[Albertasaurus]

I have to agree with minnow101... once the hitch fails, it's hard to trust it anymore. One option would be to install a Bedsaver(tm) device. Here's a Youtube video of the Bedsaver:
https://youtu.be/w1P974jljWs

I don't know how much these things are, but I assume they are less money than a new hitch.

[minnow101]

Watched the video. It looks to me that this might be a great piece of insurance on a long bed truck. Not sure on a short bed as it looks like the rear of the king pin would hit the tailgate. Note that in the video, the tailgate is always down when during the demonstration. Yes, for sure you'll save the sides of the bed but I think the tailgate would be a goner on a short bed truck.