Husky 16K hitch failed

[gmccall]

3 years ago I purchased a 3 year old Husky 16K fifth wheel hitch.
Husky has a green colored indicator tube about an inch long that pops out
to indicate the hitch is locked on to the trailer pin.

This past week, I went to load my fifth wheel onto my truck (and hitch).
As I backed my truck into the trailer hitch pin, the swing handle bar snapped down and the green indicator plug popped out to indicate "all was well" and locked.

I then drove forward and as I did, the fifth wheel pin slipped out of the Husky 16k hitch and my trailer dropped onto my truck bed rail, thus damaging my truck.

Why did the green indicator plug pop out when the Hitch locking bar was not locked onto the trailer hitch pin ?


Bad bad bad. If there is even a possibility that the slide bar can get stuck and not lock onto the trailer hitch pin, the green indicator should not pop out and the pull bar should not swing down as if (hitching completed".

The green pop out tube is false security on this hitch and all with a Husky hitch should take warning.

Bottom line of course is to look to see if the slide bar locking mechanism has slid all the way behind the trailer pin.

[B47]

Originally Posted by gmccall

3 years ago I purchased a 3 year old Husky 16K fifth wheel hitch.
Husky has a green colored indicator tube about an inch long that pops out
to indicate the hitch is locked on to the trailer pin.

This past week, I went to load my fifth wheel onto my truck (and hitch).
As I backed my truck into the trailer hitch pin, the swing handle bar snapped down and the green indicator plug popped out to indicate "all was well" and locked.

I then drove forward and as I did, the fifth wheel pin slipped out of the Husky 16k hitch and my trailer dropped onto my truck bed rail, thus damaging my truck.

Why did the green indicator plug pop out when the Hitch locking bar was not locked onto the trailer hitch pin ?


Bad bad bad. If there is even a possibility that the slide bar can get stuck and not lock onto the trailer hitch pin, the green indicator should not pop out and the pull bar should not swing down as if (hitching completed".

The green pop out tube is false security on this hitch and all with a Husky hitch should take warning.

Bottom line of course is to look to see if the slide bar locking mechanism has slid all the way behind the trailer pin.

Sorry to hear of your misfortune and hope there wasn't any damage.

I have the same hitch and know the green pop out indicator as well as the red warning stripe on the handle.

I never had a problem with hooking up. I pull the handle out in the up position before hooking up and the green pin is in and the red stripe is visible on the handle shaft.

After hooking up, the handle goes in and snaps down, hiding the red stripe and popping the green pin out. Of course I still do a visible check as well as a pull test to make sure everything is secure.

I suggest you do a close inspection to see if anything is damaged as well as making sure the hitch is properly lubed.

If you still wary of the hitch, Herk had posted some information about an after market safety bar that is manually closed after properly hooking up. It is a bar that is mounted on the hitch plate and slides behind the king pin, ensuring the king pin won't come out.

[B47]

Sorry - I meant to say I hope there wasn't major damage to your truck.

[Ford Idaho]

I bought some wd-40 silicone spray to use on the trailer as per the manual and was planning on using it on the moving parts of my Pull-rite. keeping it lubed is very important.

Sorry to read you now have to get some things fixed but you should have tugged on it before you raised the landing legs.

[BarryD0706]

It doesn't sound like you did a "pull test" with the landing gear still mostly down. That is a crucial step, as you now know.

[B47]

I think he has learned his " Do a Pull Test before pulling away" lesson.

What concerns me is why did this happen? As stated before, I have the same hitch and it sounds from what he posted,he did everything right.

This is a simple basic hitch and if everything is working correctly, the green pin comes out and the red stripe goes in.

[Ford Idaho]

I would like to know if he lubed it.

EVERYTHING must work smooth to work correctly.

[B47]

Originally Posted by Ford Idaho

I would like to know if he lubed it.

EVERYTHING must work smooth to work correctly.

Me too on the lube - but he said the green pin popped out and by the handle going in, that tells me that everything worked.

You know by hearing when the handle goes in - it's positive.

There aren't a lot of lubricant requirements on this hitch, but it must be inspected periodically.

[Ford Idaho]

Originally Posted by B47

Me too on the lube - but he said the green pin popped out and by the handle going in, that tells me that everything worked.

You know by hearing when the handle goes in - it's positive.

There aren't a lot of lubricant requirements on this hitch, but it must be inspected periodically.

Would it be even remotely possible for the green pin to pop and the jaws not lock..

[B47]

Originally Posted by Ford Idaho

Would it be even remotely possible for the green pin to pop and the jaws not lock..

Anything is possible - remotely or otherwise. But everything on this hitch is mechanical - push pull etc and something made the green pin pop out.

If something was broken, I would think it would be detected when moving the handle in or out.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by B47

Anything is possible - remotely or otherwise. But everything on this hitch is mechanical - push pull etc and something made the green pin pop out.

If something was broken, I would think it would be detected when moving the handle in or out.

Sounds like it does NOT have a fail safe on the green pin coming out.

[B47]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

Sounds like it does NOT have a fail safe on the green pin coming out.

While the manual doesn't clearly show or explain the function of the green pin, when the hitch jaws are properly engaged around the king pin, that drives the green pin to the out position and not until or unless.

Worked Everytime for us.