Hitching and unhitching with TS

[Tackleberry]

Still getting the hang of this magnificent beast!

How do you do it?

I was told to deflate trailer saver air bags and rear truck suspension when unhitching, and have all bags filled when hitching.

Is that the common HDT method?

Original owner explained that full airbags on the hitch will cause hitch to pop up when truck pulls out from under trailer, and pop an air bag.

I get that, but why dump rear suspension air when unhitching?

[Jim & Wilma]

Welcome to the HDT world.

We use the fifth wheel front jacks to lift the load off the hitch.  We look for a small gap between the pin box plate and the hitch plate before unlocking the hitch and pulling away.  As we raise the fifth wheel, the truck suspension and hitch air bags automatically adjust to compensate for change in load.  Takes a few seconds for the system to stabilize which you can hear by listening to the air releasing from the bags as the load is removed from the truck.

You could drop the pressure in the air bags and accomplish the same but don't see any advantage.  In either case, you want to be mindful of not allowing the fifth to support the truck load.

[Randyretired]

I think there are a number of different ways to unhitch.  I usually don't drop the air in the truck.  I raise the trailer enough to see it move up slightly.   Then release the hitch air and make sure the hitch doesn't bottom out.  Then release and pull away.  I pull other equipment trailers and some have significant tongue weight and it works for me.  Whatever way works for you is what I would do.  Just don't have the hitch spring up.  If the angles are such that the trailer needs to be raised a lot I will dump the truck air bags but usually not.  I also don't fill the hitch bags before hitching.   I just use the trailer legs and the hitch air to get everything aligned before final backing.  I like the hitch to be slightly higher so than the trailer pushes it down when backing under.  My DW can't guide me and I don't have a camera so I have to pop out of the seat usually a couple of times to get hitched.  Your methods may be different.

[GlennWest]

I have Henry's hitch. I never put a dump vave on it. Just raise up Teton. It may be simpler to have dump valve. Works either way though.

Edited November 18, 2022 by GlennWest

[rickeieio]

As evident from the variety of responses, we each have our own preferred system.  We raise the trailer until we see the hitch raise slightly, unhitch and move gently forward.  If  it appears the hitch still has pressure on it, I may dump the air bags as I move forward, and then when clear, air them up again.  Did the same when we had the TrailerSaver hitch.

BUT, you left out some info that can make a difference.  Do you have a leveling valve on the hitch, or, do you add air when hitching/unhitching?  If no leveling vale, I recommend you add one.  It's easy, using common hardware, and can save a ton of grief in the future.  Do a search and you may find pictures of mine from way back when.  

[ddm502001]

Been running commercial air rode equipment a long time, big semi trailers displace a lot of pressure to truck chassis and flex considerably as the fifth wheel comes away.  We would unlatch pull forward and dump air to sit trailer to landing gear then complete pull out.  To reconnect back toward trailer dump suspension until Fifth wheel under nose the reinflate to couple and latch.

With a 5ver can see jacking until hear air from suspension exhausting, await the pressure to start moving the hitch down unlatch and pull out.  On reconnecting, lower the 5ver to contact the hitch with a slight amount of pressure just to start the rising pressure in the air bag then back in and allow to latch, raise jacks and verify jaws locked closed. 

Have seen more than one semi soft latch enough to pull out then unlatch and disconnect.

 

Dave

[Star Dreamer]

I believe the Trailer Saver hitches are similar to our first hitch, where they do not have a leveling valve but you add air as needed to put the hitch at a predetermined level location once the trailer is hitched up. When trailer is unhooked, the hitch has a stop at the top of it's travel. 

What I did was put a mark on our hitch where that upper limit was at and then I raised the trailer up to that point gradually letting the truck suspension catch up. At that point, I would unhook and pull forward knowing the hitch could not spring up since it was already at it's stop. I was careful to not raise it higher so that the truck was not hanging on the hitch, this is where the small gap comes into play that others had mentioned. 

We have now changed to an ET hitch which has a different unhitching procedure. 

[Av8r3400]

This is an older video, of a different brand hitch, but may offer some good insight.

This video is how I have based by hook and drop procedures.  I have this type ET hitch.

 

 

Edited November 19, 2022 by Av8r3400

[Brad & Jacolyn]

I have a TS hitch and I do the same thing that Jim & Wilma said. Just raise until you see light and pull out slowly.

[Darryl&Rita]

Yup, TrailerSaver here, too. Drop the legs to just start taking weight, drop the pressure in the air bags, using the air switch on the dash. The truck will move some during this, as the truck suspension adjusts to the weight removal. This may hae been what the previous owner was trying to mitigate by dropping the suspension pressure. Once the hitch air is dropped, release the jaw lock, then pull forward. Our method involves being beside the hitch a couple times, but the only times we've had hiccups in the hitching/unhitching process we've been in a hurry or tried to do too much in one step.