reese pro series 15K hitch wear

Anyone else having any issues with wear on their hitch, specifically in the areas that contact the front and back of the king pin?

BUMP - no one else is seeing any wear on their hitch?

I don't use that type of hitch, but I am intrigued. Is the area, the semi-circular area, worn from contact with the kingpin? If so, how many miles do you have on it? I would think that should not be normal.

Have you contacted the dealer you bought it from to get their opinion?

-Mark

How does the kingpin look ?

we are on our 4th season with it and average 14 trips a year with 1 long haul a season. I would estimate about 12-15K total.

The worn area is where the kingpin is in contact with the hitch.

I have not noticed any abnormal wear on the kingpin, but I will double check it when I pick it up this weekend.

As far as the dealer goes, I was not impressed with any of the repairs that they did under warranty and now tend to take care of most things myself. So I never even considered having them look at it. i wonder if I will get any help from Reese?

I would check with Reese and see what they say. I don't know if it would make a difference, but do you lube the king pin at all?

I don't have that type of hitch so I can't compare to mine, but I do use a thin coat of grease on the king pin.

AVid

PS--I just noticed you are from Warren. Only Sterling Heights separates us!

avid, you are right around the corner.....

I called reese today and he said that this type of hitch will wear becasue initially the slider bar that locks the king pin in is flat. Over time with the kingpin rotating in it casues wear. He also stated that they do not sell replacment components for this hitch either (a disposable hitch...nice).

His suggestion was to change the brake controller setting so that the truck does more of the braking. Which I really dont think will make much of a difference. His other suggestion was to lube the kingpin.

Structurally the hitch is fine. The thing that is a pain is that the slider tends to hang up when I am unhitching. I have to back into the kingpin so that it is not in the radius that it created on the slider that locks it (if that makes any sense).

So, it looks like I may be in the market for a new hitch soon......

I use the White Lube plate, and also put a thin coat of grease around the kingpin.

I'd upgrade to a 16K, You'll like it much better. Easy on/off.

Admin wrote:I use the White Lube plate, and also put a thin coat of grease around the kingpin.

I'd upgrade to a 16K, You'll like it much better. Easy on/off.

I 2nd this - plus the Demco Glide Ride.

Admin wrote:How does the kingpin look ?

I looked at that following our trip and the rear part of the kingpin is worn where it contacts the lock bar. I would say that it has a groove in it that is at least 1/16th deep. This really doesnt surprise me considering the wear creates more play between the 2 parts which in turn causes even more wear...........

Any non-Reese hitch recomendations? I was looking at the airsafe hitch earlier in the season, but it was a little $$

I see in your sig. that you have a long bed truck. I have an '02 version of your truck and use the B&W turn over ball and 5th wheel companion hitch. I really like this set up. The hitch has 2 jaws that clamp around the kingpin. The jaws are 2"+ where they contact the kingpin. After 4+ years of pulling my Cat, I do not see any wear on the hitch or the kingpin.

It is a bit expensive, but I have no complaints.

Let me know if you would like more info and I will be glad to help.

-Mark

Thanks maxrock, I may take you up on that offer. Did you do the install yourself? That looks like a great hitch and I could get rid of the rails in the bed. 2" of contact around the pin would be great and really distribute the load onto the whole surface of the kingpin. Right now there is only around 3/8" contact.

The dealer really pushed this hitch when I bought the trailer and being our first camper I took the hook. I am sure that they are aware of its downfalls, but figure that you will be back to buy another eventually.

ffruff22 wrote:Did you do the install yourself?

My BIL and I did the install, took about 4 hours. We took our time and measured, remeasured, got the drill out to cut the 4" hole, and measured and remeasured again. Doing the second one would take a lot less time.

When you take the companion hitch out, the bed is completely flat, which why I like it so much. Plus you have the added benefit of being able to tow a gooseneck trailer if the need arises. I'll try to post some pics later today.

-Mark

just an update, my uncle had the same hitch that he used 8 times sitting in his garage which he gave to me. Because it is relatively new, it made a HUGE differance in towing the cat. I am going to start saving up now for the new hitch (because I know it is only a matter of time before this one wears out......

You cannot beat the price......FREE

ffruff22 wrote:You cannot beat the price......FREE

Doesn't get any better than that!