Community Forums

Buddyandme · 11-06-2019, 07:54 AM

When hooking up your truck to your 5th wheel prior to departure do you raise your rear landing gear first? I never have but talked to an experienced RV’er who does. I don’t raise my rear landing gear until I am hooked up to my truck. I then raise my front then the rear.

Kiss4aFrog · 11-06-2019, 08:06 AM

Welcome to iRV2 Buddyandme

don't have an answer to your question just wanted to say hi.

.

bddadles · 11-06-2019, 08:07 AM

I have been rving since 2001 and full timing since 2009. I really don't know how you can raise the front jacks to hook to the truck without raising the rear jacks first. Something is going to break. I could do it with my rig BUT I have a Bigfoot. Depending on the levelness of the site the wheels would come off the ground before the the front was high enough to get hooked up.
If you have regular old electric jacks on front and scissor jacks on the back either the back jacks will bend OR the front jacks will either just stop because it can not lift the load OR the little gears doing the lifting may just strip and that is a mess. Done that once when I forgot on a previous rig.

So long answer short, raise rear jacks, raise front of rig to hook to truck, and then raise the front jacks.
Hope this helps.
Brad

tuffr2 · 11-06-2019, 08:08 AM

Yes, raise you rear landing gear 1st or it might get damaged when hooking to the truck. I would need to back the hitch into the hitch pin and sometimes the trailer would get jarred. Raise the rear gear 1st but keep the wheels chalked.

450Donn · 11-06-2019, 08:11 AM

Nefore I hooked up I close slides, raise stabilizers, disconnect everything. Basically hitching is the last step except pulling the wheel chocks.

LAKnox · 11-06-2019, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buddyandme

When hooking up your truck to your 5th wheel prior to departure do you raise your rear landing gear first? I never have but talked to an experienced RV’er who does. I don’t raise my rear landing gear until I am hooked up to my truck. I then raise my front then the rear.

Since you don't have your rig posted, all we can do is guess. If you have rear stabilizers, crank or electric, you'd run the risk of damaging them, or your FW's frame, if you have to raise the front end very much to hitch up. Now that I have an auto-level system, I damn sure don't want to damage my rear jacks by not raising them before hitching. I'm still a comparative newbie, only RVing since '04, but I =always= raise the rear stabilizers/jacks before hitching.

Lyle

jimcumminsw · 11-06-2019, 02:02 PM

I have the 6-point leveling system on my trailer. And this is our procedure for breaking camp and preparing the trailer for towing. Slides are put in first, the electrical cord is than put away. We will than retract the four rear legs and raise the front legs (usually) to allow the king pin to clear the hitch head so, it will engage the jaws. The rear hydraulic stabilizer pads are than put away. Truck is backed up to engage the kingpin and the jaws closed around kingpin. My wife will than retract the front legs, as I engage the trailer umbilical cord to the 7-pin connector. Safety brake cable is attached to the locking pin of the hitch release lever. Front landing pads and wheel chocks are put away. We than check all lights to insure they are in working order such as turn signals and brake lights. One more walk around to insure nothing has been forgotten and all compartment doors are lock. We are now good to go!

THEHOFF · 11-07-2019, 08:36 PM

I can tell you when I’m ready to reconnect I press auto-reconnect on the Lippert 3.0 System. First thing it does is lifts back 2 feet and Middle feet all the way, then raises to last known position front jacks of where it came off the truck. So since it does it in that order, I too believe it takes all risk of damaging the rear ones. Just a minor bump could bend them.

Old-Biscuit · 11-07-2019, 08:47 PM

I lower front landing gear to relieve the pressure on rear electric stabilizers
Raise/stow rear stabilizers
Then raise front landing gear so king pin plate is just below the 5th wheel hitch plate height
Back into king pin which rides UP the hitch plate and locks in place. Visually check jaws closed/locked

Raise front landing gear so that ALL of the pin weight is being carried by 5th wheel hitch (landing gear feet not touching the ground)
Plug in umbilical cord.

Check LIGHTS

Do pull test.....
Manually engage trailer brakes/place truck in Drive---truck parking brake off and nudge forward to check that jaws ARE locked.
Raise front landing gear fully

Remove wheel chocks and GIT!

TXiceman · 11-07-2019, 08:59 PM

If the trailer was nose high before leveling, you will put an extreme amount of pressure on the rear jacks when you lift the front back to hook up height to connect.

I assume you have the wheels chocked. Raise the back jacks first. Then bring the front back to hook up height.

My 5er has the Quadra Big Foot leveling system. Hydraulic levelers. When you tell it to lift to connect, the first thing it does is to raise and store the rear jacks, then it moves the front back to hook up height.

Ken