hitch

[Turbo Thom]

I ditched the Reese hitch saturday and bought a RBW "little rocker". What a hitch. I now fill really locked in now. With the trouble I've been having with the locking mechanism,I would always be looking in the rear mirrow. Not any more.



I like it.



. . Preston. .

 

[dremelts]

I'm in the process of trying to decide which hitch to buy myself. I have read just about every posting I can find on the subject. Narrowed it down to Reese 16K and RBW Lil Rocker, and I'm leaning very strong towards RBW.



I like to understand how things work and it just appears to me from studying the drawings of the mechanisms on both that the Reese is a more complicated arrangement of pivots and levers. Every pivot point is a wear point and a potential failure point.



There have been posts by those who said that every instance they knew about where the trailer came unhooked it was a Reese hitch. However, this could simply be because there are so many more Reese hitches out there.



The dealer where we're getting the 5er will put in either hitch, and they slightly favor the Reese, but no one has yet presented any technical reasons why I should spend $200 extra for a Reese. My own "technical analysis" tells me that the KISS approach of RBW is going to be more reliable.



BTW, Preston, what problems did you have with the Reese?



PS - don't forget to change your sig.

 

[Turbo Thom]

Dave:



The problem I had with the hitch, was for some reason the latch started to protude a little into the area where the king pin slides into. Last thursday I backed in under my work trailer and the king pin caught the latch bar and pushed it to the front of the hitch. I got a steel rod and pried it out to where it would latch and came on home. I went to back under my RV (fiver) and it happened again. Now I was worried about the hitch comming apart. Saturday a local dealer made me a price using my rails and I couldn't walk away. The RBW locks itself. Then after it locks and the handle rotates down, it cannot retract till the handle is lifted to line up a pin in the handle and a grove in the hitch.



Another thing I like is the foot of the RBW is made of tube and not channel iron. I work with iron every day and will take tube over channel anytime. I pulled with the Reese 3 years and never had it come lose. I have had a problem getting it to latch. I just feel better now.



As for as the price, I paid $650 for the Reese installed. I guess $175. 00 installation. I paid $275 for the RBW on my rails.



One more thing I noticed today leaving the race track. The fifth wheel king pin set up on the trailer had RBW on so now I have a match.



Good luck with which ever you get.



. . Preston. . Oo.

 

[dremelts]

Preston,



Thanks for the info. I just called the dealer and ordered the RBW. Price is $491 incl. tax and installation.

 

[merryman]

On the other hand;

I HATE my 'lil rocker'!!

Most times when I start to unhitch, I have a terrible time unlatching the thing. Usually end up with my wife in the truck rocking it back and forth while I yank on the handle as hard as I can and occasionally pound on it with a 4 foot 2X6. By the time I get unhooked I am usually swearing I am going to get rid of it and go back to my 15 year old RBW cross bed hitch.

I have talked to the RBW technical people about the problem and got no real assistance in bettering the problem.



Vaughn

 

[Dbonzi]

LiL Rocker rocks

I've got a little rocker and I love it.

When I bought my fifth Wheel the RV Dealer said they would sell me a Lil Rocker. I asked about the reese They said they wouldn't sell me one, and they wouldn't even install one for me as they had 2 of them in 2yaers come loose and the fifth Wheels were totaled Thats good enough for me!!!

Dennis

 

[Turbo Thom]

Merryman:

I had the same thing happen with the Reese. Thought I would need a come-along hooked to the side of the bed to get it off. What I found I was doing wrong is the king pin box was to high for the latch to slide to the side. The bottom of the grove in the king pin was catching the slide and it would let it move. Also I had to make sure the truck was back . (space between the king pin and slide) Now I make sure the trailer will drop an inch or two and I have had no more trouble. I'm going to get a new head and put the Reese on the wife's truck, for an occasional tow.



If I have trouble I will let everybody know, but for now .



. . Preston. .

 

[sskidmore]

Do you have a web address for the RBW hitch? Also, am I to understand that the RBW fits on the Reese rails? Thanks

 

[dremelts]

Sskidmore,



RBW has no web site. You can call them at (800)451-7821. Their address is:

RBW Industries, Inc.

5740 Schaefer Ave.

Chino, CA 91710



You can call (800)495-5858 to locate a dealer.

 

[sskidmore]

Thanks, Dave. I'll give them a call.

 

[Turbo Thom]

skidmore:

The answer is yes on the rails. The mounting system from foot to rail is the same. 4 pins through foot clips and rail.



. . Preston. .

 

[Steve M]

When we bought our 5th wheel, I had the dealer install the hitch. He said I could order whatever brand I wanted but he prefered Reese for their reliability and customer service. I too have heard rumors and one claim of a Reese coming loose but never a substantiated claim. The one claim I read about was that the trailer came loose and dropped on the bed rails. Reese sent the owner a new head free of charge, evaluated the old head and concluded that there was nothing wrong with the head. It was determined that the owner must not have hitched up properly. With a Reese it's easy to hitch up properly but just as easy as the other brands to forget if you pull the handle out to hitch up and forget to let it back in. The proper way to hitch up with the Reese is to unlock it and back into it until you hear it lock and see the handle slide back into place. Then lock it with a padlock to prevent pranksters from pulling the handle out when you stop. The design of the jaws is such that the harder you pull, the harder they hold. I don't buy the claim that they just "opened up". All 5th wheel hitches are strong and will do the job they're rated to do. It's a matter of personal preference. I just hate to see a reputable manufacturer suffer the effects of rumors. We are very happy with our Reese and the way it performs.

 

[C Schomer]

That's interesting about the Reese problem! I thought Reese and Drawtite were twins. My old Drawtite 15K rocker has two contoured cast jaws that allow the pin to push apart when hitching and they snap shut behind the pin, like the full size Hollands and Fontaines. Once they're shut, the geometry won't let them accidently open if I don't put the safety latch down. If the handle pulls too hard when opening the jaws, I release the emergency brake on the truck so the truck can move. It's bulletproof! Craig

 

[sskidmore]

Thanks for the info, Preston.

BTW I was told today by a local dealer that Reese & Draw-Tite were one & the same. I don't know if he meant they were made by the same company or were just identical. He carried both brands.



Steve

 

[Turbo Thom]

Well folks, here is a little up-date on the Reese deal. I call Reese yesterday and talked to techical service. I was told to take it back to the dealer I bought it from. They said it sounds like a warranty thing. Today I took the head to the dealer and called Reese. We were told that type hitch was not manufactured anymore. The " Trailboss" , 15,000. The dealer told them it was there call on the replacement of the hitch but that he would not tell me to use it because if it broke and somebody died, he was not going to be libel. He was told to cut that head up with a torch and a new style was be here in 3 working days. I think the slide design of the old hitch has caused some problems.



Now I wait to see. If all goes well that is some nice customer service.



. . Preston. .

 

[merryman]

Turbo Tom;

Thanks for the suggestion/explaination. It makes sence, and I am looking forward to trying it. Solving that problem would make me a happier camper.



Vaughn

 

[Paul Somers]

Merryman

I too had problem pulling handle when un-hooking. What happens is as you raise front of 5th wheel it pulls at the pin. Next time you are ready to un-hook try this: only let your landing gear down just enough to touch ground plus a little more lever will be easy to pull. If you try to go up very much the 5er and truck sre pulling hard against pull bar. Make sure you chock 5er with this method.

I had to modify my little rocker. The levers that allow side to side swevel kept popping up. I had to fix mine where the levers couldn't come up out of slot.