How To Unhook A Gooseneck Trailer

Safety is priority number one when it comes fourth dimension to hitching or unhitching your travel trailer. Hitching peculiarly is something you want to pay close attention to every time. If yous practice it wrong, you run the risk of completely destroying your trailer. Do information technology correctly and you should have nil to worry near every bit you head down the route.

I've been hitching and unhitching our Airstream trailer for two years of living on the road. In that time, I've learned a lot about what works and what doesn't work. I haven't made all the mistakes, simply I've made a few, and so I can speak from experience. All of the examples hither are for travel trailers specifically. I am non an skillful in fifth-wheel RVs, though many of the general tips will still apply. Even if y'all do have a travel trailer, the setup and hitch may be a flake different from our Airstream. Get what you tin can from this, and always make sure to read the owner'due south manual on all your equipment for proper use and maintenance.

Preparation and Supplies for Hitching and Unhitching a Trailer

Like every attribute of travel trailer towing, hitching and unhitching safely depends partly on beingness prepared ahead of time. The beginning step is to study up, and you are already doing that by reading this article!

Your Trailer Towing Checklist

Checklists are helpful anytime that safety is a serious business organisation. The purpose is to ensure that everything is done correctly, every time. Pilots know exactly what they should do for pre-flying, but that does non mean that they will ever remember. Checklists ensure that mistakes will never happen (assuming that you really use it).

For this reason, I strongly suggest you create and use a physical checklist that covers the essential steps in hitching and unhitching your trailer. Chances are, you won't utilize it every fourth dimension, but each time you brand a mistake, you will remember "Wow, I really should take used my checklist."

It is really all-time if you write this checklist yourself. That way you tailor it to your needs so that information technology has merely the essentials that matter. Information technology will as well follow the order of activities that y'all need to do for your specific rig.

My favorite mode to do a checklist is a laminated sheet of paper, but if you prefer a digital copy, at that place are many programs y'all can become for a cell phone that as well work as well.

Trailer Towing Supplies

Before you get started, there are a few things that y'all should take with you to make the job a little easier.

Proper Lubricants

Keeping your equipment lubricated according to the manufacturer's recommendations is very important. I keep ii types. I use a can of W-D-40 spray lubricant to lubricate the jack on the front of the trailer. And a classic grease gun with high friction grease to lubricate the hitch ball and brawl receiver. We use both every time we hitch up.

An Apron or Towel

Because you lot are working with lubrication, you desire a way to wipe off your hands. Otherwise, stuff gets messy and more importantly, slippery.

I like an apron because it protects my dress, and I can apply it to wipe my easily off.

Rubber Blocks

These are something I didn't discover until after nosotros'd had a rather scary accident while unhitching.

These rubber blocks offer the best traction between your trailer jack and the basis.

That ways in that location is less chance the trailer will slip off the blocks and come crashing downwardly. They are too good for utilise with your stabilizers.

Duct Tape

You want a skilful sturdy duct tape that will stand up to moisture and grease.

The purpose of the tape is 2-fold. Beginning, you can employ them to mark the correct concatenation links on your sway control arms. Second, you tin can mark all your hitching tools with tape, so y'all don't lose them.

Here are those safe pads in activeness nether our stabilizers. Nosotros too have some plastic levelers for peak.

Hitching

Time to get hitched! It tin can be a little intimidating at first, but with practice, it'll come easier. Take your fourth dimension, focus on what you are doing, and get it exact and correct every fourth dimension. Here's a helpful video from Fraserway RV to become y'all started.

Before You Hitch

Make sure your vehicle is fueled up
Employ the bathroom
Turn off your fridge, AC, and other appliances
Disconnect all your utilities
Close and secure all the windows, vents and hatches
Close and secure all your awnings
Put away any antennas you have
Secure the contents of your trailer
Motion everything you demand for your trip to your tow vehicle
Close and lock the trailer door
Raise your steps
Enhance your stabilizers
Ensure your cycle chocks are in place and snug upwardly to the wheels.

Most of these steps protect your trailer from damage in transit or during the hitching process. Earlier you lot beginning hitching, go over this list and brand sure everything is checked off.

Ready the Trailer Connexion

Prep the trailer with these steps:

Remove your hitch lock, if y'all have one
Flip-up the receiver latch into the vertical open position
Use your jack to enhance the forepart of the trailer up
Lubricate the jack piston while information technology is extended

If you feel the trailer shift while raising it, finish immediately, and go check your bicycle chocks. Their job is to keep the trailer from moving around while you lot get it hitched.

Getting the Hitch on the Tow Vehicle

Your hitch is heavy. That'south a proficient matter, though, because it ways that it is also sturdy. Nonetheless, this can also make information technology a scrap of a hazard for you. I do a few things to compensate for this in order to protect my dorsum.

I go on my hitch in a plastic tub with handles, so it is easy to store and move around
Whenever lifting, I keep my back straight, my torso aligned with my feet, and apply my knees to raise and lower myself
I wipe whatever grease off the hitch where I will be grabbing it, and so information technology does not slip
I have a tennis ball carve up down the middle, which I place over the hitch ball to go on the grease from getting on my apparel, hands or arms
My shoes accept decent toe protection, simply in case I should lose my grip

I take my hitch out of the truck in its tub and place it close to the hitch receiver. I close the truck gate. Then, I so squat down, go a good grip on the hitch, and elevator it into position, and slide it gently into the hitch receiver.

My hitch has removable sway control arms. I actually didn't find this for more than a twelvemonth of hitching. Removing the artillery not only makes it lighter merely also easier to maneuver. This is why yous should always read the manual for your gear! You may learn something very useful.

The Linch Pivot

Now comes the MOST Of import STEP OF ALL. You must insert and secure your hitch locking pin.

You want to brand sure that it is 100% secure. I like to use one that specifically has a lock on it then that there is no doubtfulness.

If you forget this, then you can have your trailer fall correct off your tow vehicle while you are cruising downwards the highway. That could result in a catastrophic accident.

After y'all accept the pin in, become ahead and get your grease gun out and make sure the hitch brawl has a fiddling fresh grease on it. If you lot see chunks of stuff on at that place, become alee and make clean off the hitch ball, then apply fresh grease.

My demonstration of good posture when getting my hitch attached to my truck.

Link the Tow Vehicle to the Trailer

Your hitch is on and your trailer is prepped and raised! It's time to connect the two. My wife normally helps me with this process by acting as a spotter. I accept done information technology on my own, but it typically takes longer.

I use the backup photographic camera on my truck to slowly back into position. Try to support every bit squarely with respect to the trailer every bit you tin. Being at an angle tin make hitching a bit more hard.

I've learned that, because the photographic camera is off to one side, I have to line things up just a little askew in the view for it to be in the correct spot. My wife uses a 2-way radio to permit me know if I missed the mark and what I need to do to correct it.

Once I accept information technology, she lowers the trailer while I printing the brake on the truck so the truck doesn't shift out of position.

When y'all are all washed, be sure to appoint the safety brake and turn off the engine. You don't want anything moving around during these next steps.

Attach the Sway Bars

All merely the smallest trailers should have a hitch with sway control bars and/or weight distribution bars. These create tension in the connection between the trailer and the tow vehicle to help even the weight across the two.

They besides provide some resistance to keep the trailer from swaying side to side in the air current while you tow. Both features arrive much safer to booty.

My sway bars attach to the trailer via bondage that are ratcheted into place. When I had the hitch installed, the dealer determined the correct corporeality of links I needed to attach earlier locking them into place.

So that I never forget which ones to do, or count incorrectly, I've wrapped neon yellowish tape around those links. I attach my sway confined before I completely lower my trailer onto the hitch. The lower you have it, the harder information technology is to become the sway confined ratcheted into identify.

Lower the Trailer and Close the Hitch Ball Receiver

With your sway confined on, lower the trailer down until the hitch ball is fully within the ball receiver. Then, flip the receiver latch closed, locking the ball in place. Much similar the hitch pin, if yous don't do this, a big bump could de-couple the hitch and lead to an ballsy disaster.

At this point, yous can enhance the jack all the style upwardly and remove your jack blocks. This is a corking time to clean the jack blocks and the lesser of the jack foot.

The lubrication you use on the jack piston can distill down and make both slippery. That is a very bad thing as it could lead the jack to slip off the blocks when united nations-hitching. I know this from first-hand feel.

So, wipe both off at this stage with a towel. Check to make sure in that location is advisable tension on the sway bars.

Hook Up Your Brakes and Lights

Connect your brake and calorie-free cable. This is how your tow vehicle sends brake and light signals to the trailer while you bulldoze. Y'all demand to brand sure it is well seated. I like to blow out whatever dust from the cable before attaching it to reduce corrosion and article of clothing.

Adjacent up is the emergency brake release. This device attaches to the condom concatenation loops on the hitch receiver of your tow vehicle. Its job is to automatically engage your trailer brakes if the tow vehicle and trailer should become separated. It is non there to salve your trailer and then much as to go along it from barreling down the highway and smashing into other vehicles.

Connect Your Prophylactic Chains

These are your last line of defense in keeping your trailer fastened to your tow vehicle. If the hitch receiver or ball receiver should neglect or y'all forget to lock them, these chains are supposed to keep the trailer connected to your vehicle.

You want to make sure these are not dragging on the basis, but continue in mind that twisting them upwards reduces their tensile strength. Thus ideally, y'all desire safety chains that are just the exact length y'all need and then that they remain hanging a flake loose, but not touching the basis.

Last Steps

Now that you are all hooked up, you tin go ahead and remove your wheel chocks. If you lot forget this, you may find yourself strangely immobile when you get to leave.

While removing the chocks practice a final check effectually the trailer to make sure you didn't miss any open windows, latches, or forget whatever camping gear you might accept had out.

One time that is done, it is time for calorie-free checks. You demand to make certain your brakes, running lights, and turn signals are all working before you head out. If the trailer lights don't work, y'all demand to bank check the light and restriction connector to make certain it is plugged in properly.

At this point, you are prepare to start rolling out.

E'er start out boring to avoid hit anything. Before you leave your RV park or campground, requite your brakes a exam to make sure the brake controller is dialed in nicely. You want the trailer to be tugging just a scrap as you come to a full stop.

I often detect that the weather tin can change how the trailer and tow vehicle brakes are performing, so I e'er exercise a alive test and make any needed adjustments to the brake controller settings.

With that done, it's time to striking the route in high confidence!

Unhitching

The adept news is that unhitching is a lot less danger-prone than hitching. None the less, there are a few things to pay close attention to. Here's a handy video from Silver Lining Day Dreams.

Getting Situated

Once you are parked, your starting time order of business is to go your bicycle chocks on and brand certain they are snugly fit. You really don't want your trailer moving effectually while unhitching. Putting chocks on both sides of the trailer is best.

Before you lower your jack, make sure the area nether the jack is every bit apartment every bit you can get in. So, become your rubber pads down square on the ground under where the jack will come downwards. Brand sure the pads are make clean and dry out.

Lower the jack down, making sure the foot is dead heart on your pad. Run it but until the trailer only starts to lift up and break.

Hither I am coordinating with my married woman during a critical moment.

Disconnecting

At present disconnect the brake cablevision, emergency chains, and emergency brake controller.

In one case that is washed, run the jack so information technology lifts the trailer high enough that the tension on the sway bars are low enough to uncouple them. A little tension is fine, but ideally, it should be minimal. If there is besides much tension, they could send the bondage whipping around when yous ratchet them off.

In one case the sway confined are free, lower the trailer such that you are sure it is putting some weight on the tow vehicle. Only then should you lift upwardly the ball receiver lock to release the hitch ball.

Uncoupling

With the ball unlocked, utilize the jack to elevator the trailer upwardly and off of the hitch brawl. Sometimes this is catchy because there is tension between the tow vehicle and the trailer that volition cause information technology to lift up rather than come up gratis.

If this happens, don't elevator it as well high, you don't want everything jolting around when information technology finally comes out. This tin destabilize the trailer and possibly cause it to skid off the jack footings. I like to get 1 of my anxiety upwards on the hitch and gently push down, trying to free the ball.

You can too take someone become into the tow vehicle and carefully accept it out of park to try and relieve the tension.

Once the trailer is free of the hitch ball, drive the tow vehicle forwards and utilize the jack to get the trailer into a dainty level position.

At this signal, all you demand to practice is to carefully put your hitch abroad using the squat and lift method to avoid whatever injury to your dorsum. Your back tin can be especially vulnerable after a long ride in the automobile, then be extra careful about it.

Safety Travels!

You at present know all that I accept learned about safely hitching and unhitching a travel trailer. Go forth, and have wonderful adventures with one less matter to worry nearly on your next RV trip!

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