Hiya fellas.

I pull a Sierra 5th wheel with a '96 F250. Parked now, can't
get the hitch to come loose, I guess it's bound.

My trucker father told me there's a tool called a "come along"
that I can use to yank the thing free.

Trouble is my vehicle is hooked to a trailer and I don't want
to have to take a cab all over town trying to find this "come
along."

I looked on Google and all I can find are e-retailers like eBay
and Lug-ALL that have them.

Would Wal-Mart have one of these "come alongs"? AutoZone,
O'Reilly's? What's the best place to go to get one?

Thanks in advance.

 

yes, home depot, lowes, probably walmart, tractor supplyco., sears. It is a cable with hooks, and a ratchet mechanism with a hand lever. Aroud 20 bux gets the 2000 lb. model, 30 gets you the 4000 lb model

 

Thanks Cougar.

Heck, I'm in farming country -- Western Nebraska.
There ought to be a Tractor Supply Co. around here
someplace.

That d*mn hitch is coming loose one way or another.

 

It's never good to force something like this that you plan on using again!

If it were me, I would move the rig and relieve whatever is binding the hitch by getting everything equalized. Maybe you are parked with the truck in a bind relative to the trailer.

 

The hitch is pinned to rails on the bed floor of the truck and can be released and left hanging from the Hitch pin. You can lower the tail gate and raise the trailer on the landing legs and drive out. The hitch will remain with the trailer. If you have to separate the two to use the Truck this would be a way I would go. Lube the hitch with good Penetrating oil and let it sit.

Good Luck
Mello

 

I second melloo's opinion. Use PB Blaster or a like product. If that won't loosen it, shake up a bottle of Coke and spray it. It'll eat through rust like nothing. Just give it a few hours to work.

 

I agree with the above 2 post. Pull the 4 pins on the hitch and raise the trailer up. Some hitches have 2 pins near the plate where the plate pivots that can be removed also. This should unbind it and remove it fron the king pin.

 

I don't think he meant come along as in ratcheting winch. Truckers use a long hook shaped rod to reach in and pull the release, I think maybe that's what he means. Every truck stop has them. Have you tried backing into the trailer? Chock the wheels of the trailer and gently back into it to relieve the pressure on the kingpin. Then try pulling the release.

 

You may also be in a situation where the trailer landing gear is either not up far enough, or up too high - and is putting force on the hitch. Driving out of it could have one of two consequences:

1) It will make a very loud "SPANG!!!" noise coming out, and possibly damage your bed hitch.

2) It will make an ominous groaning sound, and fall on your truck bed...

Take a serious look at that too.

BLUNTLY: That sucker is binding. I never back a trailer without rolling it at least two feet forward and backwards IN A STRAIGHT LINE to get any twist out of the axles under it. Even in a tight spot, you can get two feet - you may have to go back and forth a few times to get the tires lined up right. If you backed in any kind of a curve, those axles want to twist the trailer around - so you need to make sure they are not twisted under it. Best way is to look at the wheels and tires (especially the lower sidewalls). They should all be lined up with eachother.

ABOUT lubricating the inside working parts of your fifth wheel hitch plate and release: HECK YES!!! Use PB BLASTER to get it loose, and then shoot it with lithium grease to KEEP IT LOOSE....

I wish I knew of an inexpensive and effective fifth hitch cover to put over it when not in use, but they must be out there. I recommend that too.

NO WATER - NO RUST!!!

 

I'm with Colorado-native and Greywolf - try to relieve what is binding. Sometimes its that the TV and trailer are on different pitches from side to side; creating a binding condition. If you force it while like that, you may find that its difficult to engage it again too. A rocker type hitch is much less succeptable to binding like that. Better to park where the side pitches are similar, if possible.

 

I did this. When I stopped, the truck was at an angle to the
trailer, so I straightened it out. It's still stuck.

Okay, I will try this before I try to yank the hitch free, see what
happens. I see the four pins you're talking about, I'll see if I can
get them loose.

We did the de-rust and lube thing before this trip, got in there
and cleaned it up. It's just frustrating being stuck like this.

Thanks everybody.

 

HEY!

Is there a place on level ground you can try releasing it before going to the bed rail pins? If so I would try that first - and I mean ABSOLUTELY level and flat...

If you pull those pins, and there really IS a bind - you could get BLUE CROSSED in the blink of an eye, buddy.

 

By "BLUE-CROSSED," you mean hurt real bad, don't you?

Girls don't have the upper body strength of guys, so usually I grab a guy in
the park I'm in and draft him to give the hitch a good yank and usually that
pulls it free. The park we're staying in, the guy who runs it felt so bad about
not being able to get the thing released for me that he let me borrow his Jeep
yesterday to do all of my running around, so I'm good for supplies for a while.

I'm headed from North Platte up to Keystone, South Dakota this Saturday. I'll
find a piece of flat ground where I'm going and try again there before I go for
the bed rail pins.

On the way, I'll stop off at a truck stop and see if I can find that hook one of
you guys talked about. And then I'll take the winch I bought back to Wal-Mart.

 

Roger that. While you are on the road look for "PB BLASTER" spray lube. I swear, it could get a penny out of a misers fingers!!!

If nothing is bent, it should git it loose.

PS: By "BLUE CROSSED" I mean to say there just might be a lot of stored energy in that thing, and when it cuts loose you better be out of the way!

Dead level. FLAT ground. Pull in straight so the axles are not loaded.

Then watch the hitch plates to make sure they are at the right level for seperation....

The reason the release handle is as long as it is, is because someone paid in blood once upon a time. Whatever you do Girl - DO IT SAFELY!

~Wolfie

 

Aye aye, sir. Safety first. Got it. Thanks greatly for your input.

BTW, you wouldn't happen to know what the "long hook shaped
rod" thing might be called that the truckers use? It goes on my
list along with the PB Blaster.

This hitch was used when I bought it. I think it knows how much
I hate it. "You want me to do what?"