B&W hitch noise

Joe1967

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Joined
Mar 15, 2018
Messages
124
Location
Duluth MN
Hi all. I have a B&W 18K slider fifth wheel hitch. I have noticed that this year (don't remember if it happened last year) that when I take off after coming to a complete stop, there is a slight clunk that can be heard, which I believe is coming from the hitch. Also can be heard sometimes when coming to a stop. I checked the hitch, and all the bolts are tight, but I am able to move the hitch forward and backward by hand just a bit (1/4 inch?) and that seems to be the source of the sound. The lever for the slider is all the way down. Also, I have only used the slider twice in the year I have had it. Is this normal wear for a slider? Anything to be concerned about? This is the only time any noise comes from the hitch, no chucking at all going down the road. Thanks!
 
[MENTION=14763]Joe1967[/MENTION] Unfortunately I don’t know anything about sliders. I can say that we have the B&W Companion 25K and have had some noises similar to what you are describing. I had the rv out the other day to the dealer for some warranty work and had the clunk a couple of times. When I picked it up to bring home I re adjust the gain on my brake box and the noise didn’t happen again. We will be pulling about 600 miles or so next week, will see if it stays gone.
 
Here is an update on what I thought was hitch noise. When I got the 5th wheel last year, I had the brake controller set on 8.5, and even then I would have hoped for a little more braking from the trailer. After this post, I dropped the gain on the trailer brake controller down to 5, and the brakes work great. I guess they were a bit out of adjustment, and when they finally got to where they were working better, I had to much gain, which I suspect was making the brakes really grab, and stick a little. No lockups though. The brakes are still working really good, and the rig stops like it should. Guess I should have backed up while applying the brakes a few times when I first got the trailer (I assume that's how they adjust, like they used to on cars).
 

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