Community Forums

immortl · 05-22-2023, 12:17 PM

I'm 'stuck', somewhat literally and am down to my last idea. Curious if I'm missing something, thought I'd check with the collective knowledge here for inspiration.

I currently have a 40ft goose neck cargo/car trailer hooked up to my truck, and I cannot get it unhitched. The truck and trailer are parked on an incline, which I know does not help, however, it's the same parking spot, same incline where I had no problems unhooking the trailer 3 times previously. Not sure why this time is a problem. This is a downhill incline that the truck/trailer is backed down, so truck is higher than the trailer.

I have used boards under the truck tires to get the truck within 1" or so of being perfectly in line with the trailer front to back and side to side.
I have rocked the setup back and forth both with and without wheel chocks in place.
I have done the rocking above both gently and somewhat vigorously, hoping to jostle whatever is bound loose.
I have 'tapped' the coupler with a 10lb persuader.
I have verified the retaining bar in the coupler is in fact sliding back (can feel up there with my fingers, very carefully) when the release is held back.
I have jumped up and down in the bed of the truck when it's lifted by the trailer.
I have left the truck in neutral when raising the trailer so the truck could roll back/forward as necessary.
I have tried removing the pin for the ball from the receiver so the whole ball could be lifted out.
Throughout all of this, I can easily move the latch release/bar open and closed and feel it moving, there doesn't appear to be any excess tension on it. In other words, I don't feel the bottom of the ball hitting the bottom of the coupler.

Every time I lower the jacks on the trailer, it just lifts the rear of the truck. It seems like it's hung up, but I cannot figure out how. I looked at the goose box coupler on my RV and it's just a concave bowl up in there where the goosneck ball goes. I was thinking the cargo trailer coupler would be similar. I don't understand what it's hanging up on since there appears to be no tension on the coupler lock bar when the truck bed is being held up by the trailer.

My final attempt it going to be pulling it over to a level parking lot and trying to disconnect there. I'm not yet skilled at backing up these trailers and it's a tight spot, so it takes me a bit to get them back in when I pull them out. If it still doesn't, off to the trailer shop. If I does, then I don't know, guess I'll try at home again, maybe something got unstuck on the drive over.

This seems simple, but I'm obviously missing something and it's driving me (and my brother) crazy. Someone please show me how much of an idiot I am and tell me what I'm missing, please...

attached pic show the truck and trailer when I made things 'inline' with assorted levels of boards under 3 of the trucks tires.

Old-Biscuit · 05-22-2023, 01:27 PM

Pictures of gooseneck coupling.......

Latch release may be opening/closing BUT is it actually releasing the coupler
Might need to get inside truck bed, lay on your back and get better visual on coupler

Arch Hoagland · 05-22-2023, 01:35 PM

I think I'd spray a lubricant into the hitch and ball assembly. Can't hurt.

shootist · 05-22-2023, 01:43 PM

If you released the ball and it won’t lift out by jacking up the trailer you have tension from the angle on it. Jacking up the front of the truck if it’s low should align it.

TandW · 05-22-2023, 03:55 PM

Raise both ends of trailer.

tuffr2 · 05-22-2023, 04:29 PM

Not that it will help you but I had to put the truck in neutral a few times to loosen a standard 5th wheel.hitch jaws. You might try that as it would lessen force in the ball maybe.

Somehow you need to find the sweet spot or a place that little to no force is on the ball.

twinboat · 05-22-2023, 05:41 PM

Can you unbolt the top of the goose neck.

Get it out from under the trailer to see what's wrong.

immortl · 05-22-2023, 05:57 PM

So this afternoon I went at it again. I sprayed a good bit of penetrating oil up in there using the tube on the can. I raised the trailer by backing it on to 3 stacked 2"x12"x8' boards. Nothing, still just lifted the back end of the truck.

I then pulled it out, drove it around, hit every bump I could find, hit the brakes, hit the accelerator, got some chucking going on and tried again, in a perfectly level parking lot. Same deal, just raises the back end of the truck.

I have tried both at home and in the parking lot with the truck in neutral so it can roll a little, didn't help at all.

When you push the coupler lock back by hand, if I reach up into the coupler, I can feel the bar across the bottom of the ball retract. Interestingly enough, I would think the ball would be putting some tension on that when the back end is lifted but I cannot detect any.

It's as if the ball somehow broke through the roof of the cavity and is stuck up in there. But if that happened, the coupler would be lower, hitting the bed of the truck and it's not, it all looks pretty normal.

I will post some more pics of the level setup and the coupler a bit later, have to run out to help some folks.

Thanks!

4x4ord · 05-22-2023, 07:09 PM

You could try putting the trailer jack legs on 6 x 6 blocks; crank the jack until you've got the rear wheels of the truck at least 6 inches off the ground; open the end gate; put the truck in 4 wheel drive and pull ahead causing the jacks to fall off the 6x6.... If that doesn't work you could try stacking up two 6x6 blocks under each leg and suspend the truck a foot off the ground before puling ahead. It seems as though your latch is not opening but I've never seen a gooseneck latch that couldn't be tapped open with a hammer.

tuffr2 · 05-22-2023, 07:30 PM

What 4x4ord is suggesting is extreme. But maybe that is what you need..you seemed to try everything a normal person would try now to try something a crazy person would try.

Arch Hoagland · 05-22-2023, 07:41 PM

I assume you have used all the appropriate language on it.....threats included?

immortl · 05-22-2023, 07:45 PM

Well, as the trailer raises the rear of the truck, I hear creaking/groaning noises and the wall of the trailer starts to flex a little, I haven't actually lifted the tires off the ground. At the point of creaking/flex, I usually stop trying to raise the trailer.

I was wondering what would a trailer place do to pry them apart? Then I started thinking and came up with the idea of putting a stack of boards in the bed, a bottle jack on them, and more boards on top of the jack. The boards would distribute the force across the bed and then the frame of the trailer, perhaps that might force things apart.

Anyone have any thoughts on that idea?

immortl · 05-22-2023, 07:45 PM

Yes, I have used a wide range of appropriate words, threats, and a 10lb persuader on it.

shootist · 05-22-2023, 07:52 PM

After a few reads, apparently you can friction weld the ball to the hitch. Lifting the bed a few inches with the trailer jacks and an 8 pound sledge to the ball area of the hitch is the only answer I saw.