There are many types and sizes of fifth wheel trailers.
Most of them offer home amenities and are a source of recreation for most vehicle enthusiast.
Before towing your vehicle on the open road, practice hooking it up so that towing becomes easy.
A special hitch is used when hooking up a fifth wheel trailer.
The hitch is usually mounted in the bed of the truck.
Depending on how you hook up a trailer, your trip could be memorable or disastrous.
Here are some tips to make sure you have a successful towing trip.
You will need a chock, jacks and a tape measure.
1.
On the truck, drop the tail gate.
There is an electric switch that makes sure the front jacks are level.
Press it so that the trailer is raised higher than the bed of the truck.
This switch can be found near the pin box.
You can confirm with your manual where exactly it's located.
2.
Next release the locking mechanism of the fifth wheel hitch.
Make sure the arm is pulled out so that the locking mechanism opens.
3.
After the locking mechanism opens, back up the truck so that it's directly under the king pin.
Line up the kingpin to the truck hitch.
You could ask a friend to check whether they are in line.
If a friend is not present use a yellow piece of paper to act as a guide.
The paper should be placed on the pin box and on the truck hitch.
The two should align exactly.
4.
The truck should be in park.
The hitch should be even with the pin box.
If you deem it necessary, you can re position the trailer so that they are even.
The tailgate should be raised too.
5.
The truck should then be reversed so that the king pin slides easily in to the slot of the locking mechanism.
The locking arms should engage and the safety latch secured.
6.
Push the truck forward to make sure that hitch and trailer are secure.
In case they are not secure repeat the process until they are.
7.
The power cord should then be connected to the truck.
This will help in activating the trailer lights that are interior and exterior.
The lighting system should be working.
8.
Next you should raise the trailer's rear feet an inch off the ground using a hand crank.
While inside the truck, apply the trailer's brake controller.
Pull forward again slightly so as to make sure the hitch and trailer are secure and that the brakes are working.
9.
Remove the chock and raise the rear and front jacks to their top position.
These steps will make sure you enjoy your towing trip.
Caution should be taken and no step skipped.
If the trailer is hooked up right, chances of swaying are minimal.
Make sure the king pin is secure to avoid damaging the truck bed in case it drops.