Ultimate Fifth Wheel Connection base losing grip during a trip?

If you are having issues with the Ultimate Base getting loose during a trip. Here are a few tips and suggestions that might help.

Be sure to re-torque the top bolt of the Base AFTER you have lowered the full weight of the trailer onto the Ultimate ball. (Make sure the two front bolts of the coupler tube section are loose until after you re-torque, then tight them down too.)

Try torquing to a higher spec, maybe 60 or 65 ft. lbs.

Make sure the bottom of the base is making good contact with the bed of the truck – look for bed bolts or other things that might protrude above the corrugation in the bed. Also check that the bed itself is flat, not curved.

Sometimes the bed liner material is more prone to allow the base to slip – or if you don’t have a liner, sometimes the metal to metal allows some slippage. In that case we recommend our Anti-Slip Kit. It’s a 41-1/2” x 37-1/2” rubber mat that provides better grip between the Ultimate Connection with the bed.

Check to see if the coupler tube is bottoming out inside of the hitch to the point where the top bolt may not be pulling up enough on the tube to make the base fully tighten down on the gooseneck ball. If so, you may need a shorter coupler tube.