Bent Locking Hitch Pin

[lamokadave]

Just began using a locking device that gets inserted into the hole on the hitch lock after you lock onto the ball or remove the ball. Used for the first time today. Moved the TT several miles and remove the pin lock to open the coupler. The 1/4" or so pin was bent a bit but removed easily. Reattached the TT and locked the hitch down but now I don't have full clearance through that hole to reinsert the pin lock. I moved the TT several hundred ft to a more level stretch of rd and checked the hole clearance again and still no good. I believe the locking lever did indeed lock onto the ball as I felt it engage but don't understand why I'm not getting clearance to insert the locking pin.
Any help greatly appreciated

[Bama Rambler]

Post a picture of the coupler so we can see what you're talking about.

Some of those levers will move back and forth a little bit once they're engaged. That may be what happened to misalign the holes. Take a small Phillips screwdriver and try to align the holes, or tap the lever one way or the other to line up the holes.

[MillMitch]

Originally Posted by lamokadave

Just began using a locking device that gets inserted into the hole on the hitch lock after you lock onto the ball or remove the ball. Used for the first time today. Moved the TT several miles and remove the pin lock to open the coupler. The 1/4" or so pin was bent a bit but removed easily. Reattached the TT and locked the hitch down but now I don't have full clearance through that hole to reinsert the pin lock. I moved the TT several hundred ft to a more level stretch of rd and checked the hole clearance again and still no good. I believe the locking lever did indeed lock onto the ball as I felt it engage but don't understand why I'm not getting clearance to insert the locking pin.
Any help greatly appreciated

I have the same issue with just a hitch pin. I have to raise and/or lower the tongue to get the hole clear enough to get the pin through. My son usually squats down and eyeballs it so i know whether the hole is opening.

[Oaklevel]

Originally Posted by lamokadave

Just began using a locking device that gets inserted into the hole on the hitch lock after you lock onto the ball or remove the ball. Used for the first time today. Moved the TT several miles and remove the pin lock to open the coupler. The 1/4" or so pin was bent a bit but removed easily. Reattached the TT and locked the hitch down but now I don't have full clearance through that hole to reinsert the pin lock. I moved the TT several hundred ft to a more level stretch of rd and checked the hole clearance again and still no good. I believe the locking lever did indeed lock onto the ball as I felt it engage but don't understand why I'm not getting clearance to insert the locking pin.
Any help greatly appreciated

Not sure either could you post a picture. I guess that I have not had this issue.

[lcv800]

Try backing up?
Rusty

[lamokadave]

I ended up taking weight off the ball, opening the level, reloading the ball and locking the lever again but this time on level ground. Everything lined up. Must have simply been a suboptimal alignment issue

[rlh1957]

The bent pin is definite proof that a pin should always be placed in there when towing.
The force and movement strong enough to bend the pin, proves without a pin it has the potential of popping open and lifting off the ball.
I shudder when I think of the rigs I see towing without some sort of pin, lock or even a 10d nail in a pinch.
But everyone does their own way so I never volunteer to tell anyone they are doing it different than I do.

[elchilero53]

Never had the problem you describe. Is there a problem with the hitch assembly itself?

[lamokadave]

Originally Posted by elchilero53

Never had the problem you describe. Is there a problem with the hitch assembly itself?

No problem.
I was parked on a decline. Even though the trailer was choked and theTV had park brake engaged, there is always some built in torque in the coupler that is relived when you unhook. Once you reconnected, even without moving, things are no longer perfectly aligned which likely caused a slight misalignment and a new set out interferences. Once I was again on level road, a simple disconnect, reconnect solved the problem

[Larry-NC]

Well, you know the lever doesn't merely flip down. It flips down and slides forward, flips up and slide back. If the ball isn't perfectly centered, you won't be able to get the sliding motion.

Larry