Super-Glide 5th Wheel Hitch Concern.

[MMerlino]

I have had many requests for information concerning what I perceive to be a serious safety concern for Pullrite Super Glide Fifth-Wheel Hitch. What precipitated my concern was while I was camping I went to open the hitch to facilitate it connecting to my fifth-wheel trailer. When I pulled the handle, the handle mechanism came loose from the sliding gear that moves the locking bar. The reason for this is that the pin where the handle attaches to broke off the locking bar. The pin weld had come apart. It was apparent the weld had insufficient penetration to the locking bar (see attached pictures). So there I was, in the middle of nowhere wondering what am I going to do now (I am sure all who read this have been there). To make this story short I backed the truck into the trailer and manually closed the locking bar. I attached a pair of vice-grips to the hitch to prevent the locking bar from coming open and drove home with a lot of pucker power.



I called and emailed Pullrite and they were super in sending out a new locking bar mechanism in overnight mail. I subsequently sent a letter of concern to the company. They were of the opinion that the bar would not have worked loose. I am not an engineer but living in Washington and pulling my trailer up and down mountains and engaging switchbacks etc. with the trailer either being pulled by the truck going uphill or pushing the truck going downhill I didn’t feel good about their assurances the locking bar would not open. What further concerns me is what would have happened if the pin fell out while driving. In this condition I would not know that there was nothing to prevent the locking bar from backing out of my trailer pin and loosing my trailer, or God forbid the trailer sliding into another vehicle. To exasperate my concerns was the part they mailed me had the previous defectively attached pin attached the same way!



To repair this I used 6011 rod and did a weld 360 degrees around the pin penetrating the metal about 1/16 inch. This can be done by most anyone who has rudimental welding abilities. After showing other Super Glide owners what happened, I have done the same for them. I don’t know if this is a serious concern for any of you who have a Super Glide Hitch, but I recommend you look at the attached pictures and check your own hitch.



I also drilled the outside end of the pin and secured the handle to the pin with a thrust washer and cotter pin. Don’t like those press on clips…

 

[MMerlino]

To put clarification to the pictures:



1. The first picture shows the hitch attachment unit as a whole albeit the pin holding the handle to the locking gear slider has detached. Note the cogs on the circular locking bar. The locking gear slider has similar cogs (can be seen on later pictures) that engage the circular locking bar which holds the trailer king pin to the trailer hitch. Without the handle attached there is nothing to stop the locking gear slider bar from backing out when the circular locking bar puts tension on it when the trailer is turning! If this occurs, kiss your trailer goodbye…



2. The second picture shows the pin still in the release handle but turned 180 degrees to see the separated weld. Also note on the edge of the hole of the locking gear slider bar the dark mark. This is where the tac weld was on the bar. Note there was very little, if any weld penetration.



3. The third picture shows the locking gear slider bar removed and the pin placed back in the hole. Note the single tac weld covering less than 90 degrees on the pin. This is what you need to re-weld to assure good penetration and I would suggest welding it a full 360 degrees with good penetration. Please be advised I am not nor do I claim to be an engineer - it just makes sense to me especially since my hitch failed with what I would say was gentle usage.



4. The fourth picture is a better view of the failed weld. This is all that holds the handle that you pull to release the circular locking bar from your trailers king pin. It also acts as restraint both by spring attached to the handle and a mechanical tab on the handle that must be physically lifted to pull the handle.



5. The fifth picture shows the entire the locking gear slider bar removed and the pin placed back in the hole. This picture shows the cogs that engage the matching cogs on the circular locking gear.

 

[DWeiler]

Thanks,i will be checking/fixing mine----but Pullright sent me a e-mail stating that there has never been any issues with the hitches---#@$%!GREAT

 

[MMerlino]

DWeiler - Well they say pictures are worth a thousand words. I do have their reply back when I sent a letter to the owner. They indicated the issue would be corrected. However, I have see newer ones with the same small tac weld holding the pin. I hope mine was just one of those few "opps" that come along now and then. But with this post and pictures I hope others who have these hitches check theirs. Pullrite did say that the circular locking bar wouldn't come open. To that I say if the pin fails as mine did what prevents it from opening while driving?



The fix is easy provided owners are aware of the concern...

 

[DWeiler]

DWeiler - Well they say pictures are worth a thousand words. I do have their reply back when I sent a letter to the owner. They indicated the issue would be corrected. However, I have see newer ones with the same small tac weld holding the pin. I hope mine was just one of those few "opps" that come along now and then. But with this post and pictures I hope others who have these hitches check theirs. Pullrite did say that the circular locking bar wouldn't come open. To that I say if the pin fails as mine did what prevents it from opening while driving?



The fix is easy provided owners are aware of the concern...

I will pass this info along to as many i see or greet that have this hitch while out rving,probable won"t get around to fixing mine until spring(trailer is parked at our lake lot until next summer)KUDOS TO YOU for passing this info along---THANKS. With the way Pullrite is handling their end i doubt they would cover any damages if i or someone else was to drop or lose there rig due to this failure. They have deeper pocket than the rest of us to defend themselves against any claim--heck its not their rv. DW

 

[esibcy]

Thanks for the info MMerlino!! I was one of the ones "badgering" you earlier for more info on the Artic Fox thread. Thanks for taking the time to provide info that could prevent a serious accident. I will be checking mine this weekend for sure! Thanks again, Eric

 

[MMerlino]

DWeiler & esibey,

You are both very welcome. DWeiler saw my thread (first ever) before I could try and contact you guys. I did try to "Private Message esibey but couldn't figure out how. I used esibey as the address but it said no such person. I will have to figure out how it works. I will follow this thread and respond to any questions anyone might have. As I feel this is a valid safety concern I believe others should be apprised. In my letter to Pullrite after I received an email from their customer service stating they didn't think the hitch would open I did mention that they were possibly betting their company on it. I think the company is good but I don't feel they took me seriously. To their statement that the circular bar wouldn't open - my reply is what is preventing it from opening while driving if the pin breaks off? Murphy's Law always prevails...

 

[Grizzly]

I have the 16K Pullrite Super 5th Hitch, (not the Super Glide). I looked at the weld on the pin where the handle attaches. It looks fine, good weld. My concern is that I see no way to set a padlock on the handle to keep a no account from pulling the handle while you are parked and away from the truck and 5er. Other 5th wheel hitches I have seen have a slot or hole to insert a padlock to secure the 5er to the truck. Anyone have any ideas on how to fix this situation?

 

[Boondocker]

MMerlino,

Thanks for the advice. I lost the spring clip for that pin that holds the spring assembly on. I think it came off when the hitch fell off a wagon I was transporting it with. I finally found a suitable replacement, so far it's holding. Now I'll go check the pin weld.

Neil

 

[I-6DZL]

His name for you to PM is E S I B C Y. Plz don't take the caps and spaces offensive, they're just easier to read and explain why you're pm wouldn't go through.



Thank you for posting this even though i don't have one of these hitches.



Thanks

Curtis

 

[MMerlino]

Grizzy

I do not know for sure if your hitch has the same locking mechanism as mine. If it does I can place a lock in the hole where the handle first goes through the super structure of the hitch. As the handel has a wedged piece of metal on the bottom (that needs to be raised to pull the handle through) the lock will prevent anyone from maliciously pulling the handle out. Please advise me if this idea will work for you.

MM

 

[Grizzly]

Grizzy

I do not know for sure if your hitch has the same locking mechanism as mine. If it does I can place a lock in the hole where the handle first goes through the super structure of the hitch. As the handel has a wedged piece of metal on the bottom (that needs to be raised to pull the handle through) the lock will prevent anyone from maliciously pulling the handle out. Please advise me if this idea will work for you.

MM

My hitch handle does not have that hole where you can place a padlock. I thought of drilling such a hole on the handle. What I did do is wrap a heavy chain around the handle and around the lower hitch cross frame and set a padlock. This way one can not lift the handle to clear the wedged piece of metal welded on the handle. I use the same heavy chain and padlock to wrap around the pin when the 5er is removed from the truck.



I like the way your handle is fabricated better. Can you download a picture so that I can see exactly where the hole is drilled. I'm really surprised and disappointed that PullRite didn't think of providing a way to secure the 5er to the truck as there are malicious people out there.

 

[Fireman]

I had the same thing happen to mine last spring. I hooked the spring end into the hole the pen came out of to hold it untill I got home. Yes Pull Rite has a few small deficencies, but I still like them better than any other on the market.



The plate and locking mechanism is the same on all Pull Rite's FW hitches.



Grizzly, if you park on the flat, or on a slight up hill grade, manually activate the trailer brake and try to pull foreward to put pressure on the jaw. With pressure on the jaw even Arnold can't pull the handle out.

 

[MMerlino]

Method of Locking Pullrite 5th Hitch

Grizzly,

The idea from Fireman (on the Super-Glide Hitch thread) is good. However, I cannot help thinking your mechanism is the same as mine. Per your request, I have attached pictures of my lock. It looks remarkably simple but with the lock (with that diameter hasp) in the hole the handle cannot be pulled out. Let me know if this works for you...

MM

 

[Grizzly]

I had already done that, however the handle still has too much upward movement.

 

[MMerlino]

Grizzly,



How about a lock with a larger diameter hasp? If this doesn't work and as your hole is to large to prevent the handle from coming up and out an alternative resolution would be to use a small piece of 1/4 inch flat stock an weld on a larger triangular tab to the handle than what is there now. Make the tab large enough to restrict the handle from coming out into the release mode with a lock engaged as seen above in the picture. With the pictured lock, my handle can be pulled up somewhat but not enough to clear the factory triangular tab on the bottom of the handle and be pulled out. Your chain business works but sure sounds time consuming. Let me know of your solution. Enjoy your new rig...



MM

 

[Grizzly]

Grizzly,



How about a lock with a larger diameter hasp? If this doesn’t work and as your hole is to large to prevent the handle from coming up and out an alternative resolution would be to use a small piece of 1/4 inch flat stock an weld on a larger triangular tab to the handle than what is there now. Make the tab large enough to restrict the handle from coming out into the release mode with a lock engaged as seen above in the picture. With the pictured lock, my handle can be pulled up somewhat but not enough to clear the factory triangular tab on the bottom of the handle and be pulled out. Your chain business works but sure sounds time consuming. Let me know of your solution. Enjoy your new rig...

MM

What if I squash the tube handle just a tad, at the wedge location only, making it slightly egg shape. With a little bit of squash and the padlock in place, the handle can't pass through the hole in the frame. I have to be careful because too much squash and I could break the weld on the wedge.

 

[icman95]

There is a safety device that Blue Ox is making for just such emergencies. It is a 5th wheel pin catcher. It bolts on to the back of the 5th hitch and catches the king pin if the trailer ever falls off the hitch while in motion. It holds it up enough to prevent it from falling on the side of the bed rails and sliding off the truck. I had looked into getting one for my Reese Signature Series hitch, but at the time they didn't make one for it and I haven't looked since. It would seem like a good idea, though.

 

[Fireman]

Several years ago Pull Rite used 1/2" square tubing for the handle and they had a tab with a hole in it that could be locked, then some years back they changed to round tubing and put the little wedge shaped stop on the bottom of it. You could drill a small hole in the little stop and put a small padlock through it, if all you are worried about is someone messing with it while you are stopped.

 

[Grizzly]

With the pin weight of the 5er on the hitch, as stated by Fireman on Post #13, even Arnold Shorts-a-ma-digger couldn't pull the handle. I squashed the handle a small bit at the wedge and with a padlock in the hole I can't lift the handle enough to clear the wedge. Problem solved.