Is it 3 strikes and I am out?

Srike one: Tearing a hole in my roof material.
Strike two: Clipping tailgate with king pin, No Damage.
Strike three: Getting my Cat ready for storeage and hooking up. I put the tailgate down, backed up to the truck right on the hitch plate. Put the locking pin in the bar. Hooked up the saftey wire. Put tailgate up and pluged wiring harness in.
All stablizers are up, blocks are moved out of way, lights working, steps up, antenna down, Shore cable removed and stowed away. Ok move truck and cat, check breaks everything fine. Take pictures of the truck and camper. Lighting is bad move camper again. Good lighting, nice picture, back rig out of the way, BAM!
Cat came off of the plate. Slamed down on back of truck and took out the tailgate, the box and who knows what else. Can't move truck from cat yet.
Now waiting for the insurance company and the body shop to call. May have to give up RVing, wait till the wife finds out. Last thing she said was be carefull with the camper, then she went to work. I give up!

BUMMER!!! Really sorry to hear this.

I know its too late now, but what kind of hitch do you have?

We always do a pull test before we pull out.

After hooking up, with landing an inch or 2 from the ground, hold the trailer brake on and try to pull forward.

Lots of us also have painted the jaws inside the hitch white or red to see if they are closed.

Don't give up, I know its upsetting, but hang in there.....

Wow, that's a tough morning!. Head up, it will get better. Does the 'Cat seem damaged?

I know somebody who did the same thing about 3 months ago, he has the automatic legs that he runs from a remote (Cedar Creek). He heard the hitch latch put the legs up and pulled forward (never got out of the cab), made it about 200 ft and took a turn, he now admits that he should have gotten out and made sure the hitch latched. The camper was fine, did $3k worth of damage to the truck.

Sorry to hear it happened to you, I use a B&W companion and you cannot latch the hitch if the claws are not properly around the kingpin.

It can only get better from now on....

Shooter I hope your right, $1000.00 for tailgate repair.

Wildcat is in storage until spring.

Beartoo,

Sorry to hear about your mishap. Things will get better next spring.

I would just put a new fifth wheel tail gate on it and let it ride.

what brand of hitch do you have ? Seems like when you backed up the second time it would have latched properly. If you were out side the jaws it would have came off when you pulled up the first time.

I'm sure that made your heart drop. that would be enough to bring a tear to my eye.

Hope everything goes good next spring.

Beartoo, So sorry man!!

But on the bright side, you're getting all the "disasters" out of the way early. Maybe that's a omen that you'll have clear sailing for years to come with no more troubles. We can only hope.

Keep the faith brother.

TC

beartoo, I painted the jaws white, and painted the lower part of the pin ring orange. That way I can look at the jaws to see that they are closed and that the pin ring is below the jaws. its my age telling me I need all the help I can get.

You could try one of these:

http://www.tweetys.com/blueoxbedsaver-1.aspx?gclid=CLaI79es750CFcZM5QodUFV-Lw

They are supposed to work GREAT!!!!

oldelmer1 wrote:You could try one of these:

http://www.tweetys.com/blueoxbedsaver-1.aspx?gclid=CLaI79es750CFcZM5QodUFV-Lw

They are supposed to work GREAT!!!!

Here's an even better price.

http://www.carparts.com/autoparts/Product/Pr-p_Product.CATENTRY_ID:2013355/c-10618/Nty-1/p-2013355/Ntx-mode+matchallpartial/N-10618/tf-Browse/s-10401/Ntk-AllTextSearchGroup?Ntt=bed+saver

Did you ever consider a 5th wheel tailgate. In this area they are on Craig list all the time. Lots of them sell for 150 to 225.00.

oldelmer1 wrote:You could try one of these:

http://www.tweetys.com/blueoxbedsaver-1.aspx?gclid=CLaI79es750CFcZM5QodUFV-Lw

They are supposed to work GREAT!!!!

I've got one of these! Best $200 worth of marriage insurance I ever bought.

This where I got my 5th wheel tailgate: http://www.handyindustries.com/shop/subdepartment_view.asp?D=2&S=10
After I backed into a tree when I was parking the truck after I just unhooked from the 5th wheel at the campground

Just ordered Bedsaver from Carparts.com.
Another thing for the TV and Camper, Merry Christmas.

The "painted" jaws have been working okay for me. But we do a "pilot-like" walk around and checklist every time before we move it. Just check and re-check. Lots of $$$$ invested. Good luck in the future.

I have learned my lesson and will do the walk around. My DW said the Bed Saver would make her feel better. That and the new TV has no dents and the tail gate is in new condition. I will paint the jaws when warm weather comes.

I have thought of getting one of those bed savers before. I haven't done it yet, but still may. They just look like they eat up so much bed space. I try to check and double check my hitch when hooking up. If the DW or kids start talking to me, I have to start all over.

Pedy6Pak wrote:I have thought of getting one of those bed savers before. I haven't done it yet, but still may. They just look like they eat up so much bed space. I try to check and double check my hitch when hooking up. If the DW or kids start talking to me, I have to start all over.

Now that I ordered the bed saver, I have been thinking of the space it will take up too. I can't trust myself to make sure it (the king pin) is secure. So I have to give up the space and save the tail gate and camper.

Even when I drove big tractor trailer trucks, thats the first thing you get beat into your head. Check and recheck the hitch visually.

So its just a built in habit for me now. paint your jaws and it makes it real easy to see them in the dark .

when ever I stop I always stick my head around there and check the jaws and the tires.

It only sticks out 6 inches beyond the back bed rail, so I don't see why everyone's worried that it'll take up extra bed space. And, if you're like me, when not in use, the hitch sits in the garage so I can use my truck to haul stuff around, and get better fuel mileage.

We installed the bed saver months ago, and it does not take up to much room in my opinion. I purchased it for peace of mind, just in case of pin failure or human error. It is cheap insurance. Bed rails, tail gate and camper damage can get expensive. The bed saver is cheap. We purchased the Blue Ox, but I am sure they all work great.




http://www.google.com/products?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS347&q=bed+saver+for+5th+wheel&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=8B8tS7XIHpP-sgOQ1vX9BQ&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=image&resnum=3&ved=0CCAQzAMwAg

Barry I painted the lower ring of the pin box orange so I could see that it was locked in the jaws

Here is how I painted the jaws

I also painted a white line on the pin box and the hitch to help me line up the cat as I was hitching up

Thanks Ken

As soon as the temperature get up to where paint will stick I will do that.
Thanks for the hints.

Barry

Thanks for including the pictures. As a newbie I was not quite following the painting comments. I'll keep reading and learning from this group. Unfortunate we learn so much from our own and others mishaps.

Now the "Bed Saver" has arrived, I want to install it soon. It doesn't look like it will be too bad to install.

mattebury wrote:It only sticks out 6 inches beyond the back bed rail, so I don't see why everyone's worried that it'll take up extra bed space. And, if you're like me, when not in use, the hitch sits in the garage so I can use my truck to haul stuff around, and get better fuel mileage.

I have never actually seen one in person. I have only seen pictures on the web sites. It is good to know that it does not take up much more room. I think it will be a good insurance policy so to speak.

I also check mine every time I stop. When I was driving OTR, I was taught real quick to check the hitch and tires every time I stopped, just prior to rolling. I never actually saw it happen, but was told by other drivers that there are people out there who will disengage your hitch just to watch you drop your trailer on the ground. That was and automatic reason to fire you at the company I drove for. So the last thing I did prior to climbing up in the cab was thump my tires and check my hitch.

I have not painted mine, but think I will now that I have seen these pictures. I do use a flashlight, even in the daylight to make sure I can see the jaws.

Merry Christmas to you all!!!!

Today I installed my "Bed Saver", what an easy install.

Looks good Bear. That does not look like it takes up much room at all.