unhitching help

[rider10099]

The new Raptor 3612 is home and the driveway, we picked it up last night.  Backed it into the driveway and went to unhitch.  When parked it wasn't level side to side and I just plain couldn't get the hitch handle to release.  ended up backing in further to obtain level side by side and it unhitched side to side.  So the question - is this normal - do I have to be fairly level side to side to unhitch or was this just a moment.  We have hauled TT for years, but this is our first FW.
Cheers
John

 

[Karl]

Maybe too much forward thrust on the kingpin? Try blocking the trailer wheels, then let the truck move forward slightly to release the pressure. I'm not a 5'er person, so this is an uneducated guess.

 

[John From Detroit]

There are a couple of 5th wheels that are more forgiving of "unlevel" but the standard REESE hitch (which is nothing more than a cut down version of what is used on a semi truck) wants a fairly flat parking spot (Need not be level, but both truck and trailer need to be properly "Aligned"  This is to say the trailer needs to be level with respect to the bed of the tow-vehicle

Also as the other poster mentioned, if you have stress on the pin, front to rear, it may also affect the release, espically if the pin is pushing forward against the truck I would expect the handle to pull easily, but it would not release (You need to lock it "Unlocked" and pull forward to release) if the trailer is pulling back on the pin & hitch then the latch won't let go (Cause it thinks you are heading down the freeway and trust me you don't want it letting go under those conditions)

That said: I drive a calss A

 

[Houseofarticcats]

He is right.. Chock the wheels let the truck roll forward and the lever will pull right out.. Didn't take me long to learn this..heheheheh  ;D

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

You didn't mention what brand and model of hitch you have, so it's difficult tosay if that is normal. But yes, with many hitches it can be difficult to disengage with side-tilt pressure on the pin.  But it may not have been the side-side level that was causing the binding - you may have relieved front or back pressure by moving a bit.

Does your hitch have the side-to-side rocking feature? That helps a bit with the side level problem.