Fifth Wheel Hitch bucking and swiveling
Question: I just bought the ultimate hitch gooseneck model and had it installed at my RV dealer (Crestview in Selma TX) (the dealer also installed the gooseneck ball). On the first outing pulling an 11,000 lb. 5th wheel RV, I notice considerable bucking when breaking and then accelerating;
also on some bridges. When I arrived at the RV park, I noticed the hitch was not square in the bed but had rotated about 25 degrees off of the square. Even though the square coupler seemed very tight; the hitch could be moved around the gooseneck ball about 20 degrees either left
or right without a great effort. It could also be rocked somewhat. Obviously, the dealer did not ensure the ultimate was "connected firmly to the bed".
I was wondering what the "fix" for this is? Is it installed incorrectly? Or are there "feet" that can be screwed into those pre-drilled holes along the rails? It would seem that some rubber spacers may be all that I need.
Answer: Thank you for contacting us in regards to our Ultimate Connection Hitch and we will want to do whatever we need to make sure you are safe and comfortable towing. First thing to do is when installing the hitch is to tighten the top bolt to 60 ft/lbs after you slide the pin and clip through the gooseneck ball in the bed of your truck then before you tighten the 2 jamb nuts put the weight of the trailer on the ball and then re-torque the top bolt back to 60 ft/lbs and now tighten the two lower jamb nuts. This second round of torquing makes sure any flex of the hitch and/or truck bed is taken out and the hitch is more securely mounted.
Where the hitch can rotate somewhat easily two things we would like to look at are:
1 - Is the coupler tube bottoming out inside of the hitch instead of all the pressure being put on your existing gooseneck ball? If so, we would like to get you a shorter coupler tube swapped out to eliminate this issue.
2 - We have an optional anti-slip bed mat. The Anti-Slip Kit provides extra grip between the Ultimate and the bed of the truck, all while protecting the bed from any potential scratches.