Fifth wheel hitch question

[Tunnel_Vision]

I bought a new 2018 Ram dually crew cab with the tow package which included the 30k Mopar (Curt) fifth wheel hitch.

I have right at 2000 miles on it now, about 800 towing our Raptor 361 LEV toy hauler. First and second trip all good and quiet. Used it this last weekend for 8 hr drive round trip, all highways and noticed a “clunk” coming from the bed. Long story short, the fifth wheel hitch plate pin, it runs fore and aft is loose in the hole of the cast iron base mount.
I have not measured it yet but would guess .040+ clearance.

The load clunk is when your leaving a stop, doesn’t seem the be noticeable while stopping.

Anyone else ran into this?

[Tunnel_Vision]

No one has the same set up?

[Chief Mole]

Definitely not the same setup but a possible solution if I'm reading your specs properly:
Ours is a 2015 Ram 2500 CC Tradesman with the puck system in the bed. Our puck adapter rail needed to be adjusted and each corner is an independent adjustment. I would think that you should be able to remove the hitch and mount (upper two pieces) to leave only the rail in the bed. Using a pry bar, attempt to lift one corner to see if it loose while the rails are locked in, working your way around until you identify the culprit(s). Then all that would be left is to adjust the height of the loose mounting point or points.

I hope that this is helpful! Safe travels and amazing journeys! Cheers!

[Tunnel_Vision]

It is helpful and thank you, I checked the pucks and their good and tight.

[Ruko]

I have the Curt Q24 in my Ram with the factory puck system and so far it works great with no noticeable clunking. I am not sure what you trying to describe. Maybe a picture would help.

[jsmith948]

Is there a way to adjust the jaws on your hitch? Can the "clunking" sound be heard when you start/stop? Maybe you could find a place to conduct a little test. Chock your wheels fore and aft, have someone move the truck forward and then backward (slowly and carefully). If the jaws are not tight around the pin, you should see movement between the pin box and the hitch. If that's okay then look for movement elsewhere at all of the attachment points. Of course, you will want to check every bolt on the hitch and the pin box to make sure they are tight.

[Tunnel_Vision]

We did the test you describe, the noise comes from the main pin in the base housing. There is a pin approx. 1.25” dia. That runs front to rear that gives us left to right flexibility. That pin is loose it’s bore.

[Brentw]

What model is the hitch, cannot locate a 30k on Curt's Web site. I'm wondering if a bushing has come out. Is the issue in the head or the base?

[Brentw]

If it is the A series and this is the pin that is clunking, that would be concerning. I run a Q series and the pin runs across the the bed.

[Chief Mole]

We did the test you describe, the noise comes from the main pin in the base housing. There is a pin approx. 1.25” dia. That runs front to rear that gives us left to right flexibility. That pin is loose it’s bore.

On our Reese hitch, the installation tech. installed one of the bumpers in the wrong location and we also had an intermittent noise. I'll try to give a shot of description with letters here:

A-----B
H
C-----D


Letters A thru D are locations that a bumper could go with the line created by a line between points A-B being nearest the cab and C-D being nearest the tailgate. H is the hitch itself. When installed, the hitch would rest on the C-D areas of the hitch body without the trailer connected. The installer placed a bumper at locations B & C with the intent being that the hitch, when loaded with trailer, would hit a bumper on either forward or rearward movement. As in your description, our pin is inserted perpendicular to the lines created by points A-B and C-D. Our noise problem happened primarily when our truck (TV) was front end pointing down in relation to the fifth wheel (FW) being a level object, that is, if the TV has started going down over a crest like a railroad track while the FW was still climbing the same crest. Think of something like this:


TV /\ FW

where TV is the tow vehicle, the diagonal lines are the crest and FW is the fifth wheel. We didn't notice a noise problem when we crossed a ditch

TV \/ FW.

I moved the bumper that was originally located on the cab side at position B and moved it to position D and our noise issue ceased. I may later look at purchasing additional bumpers for positions A & B but my hitch literature doesn't show a bumper at either of those locations.

I looked at the Curt website at http://curtmfg.com (http://curtmfg.com) but could not find a link for any of the installation literature.


I hope that this is somewhat helpful, I tried to be as simple as possible due to the restrictions of the program but believe me I will understand if this mess I typed doesn't quite make sense. :dizzy:

Cheers and happy camping!

[Tunnel_Vision]

If it is the A series and this is the pin that is clunking, that would be concerning. I run a Q series and the pin runs across the the bed.



Thats what the 30k model looks like. Curt makes it for Mopar. The large pin right in the center is where the noise is coming from.

[Frank G]

Is there room to install a washer (spacer) to take up the movement on the pin?

[jsmith948]

On our Reese, the large pin passes through the framework of the base and the casting of the hitch head. The cast iron piece is meant to rotate back and forth around the pin. The pin is designed with a flat 'keeper' welded on one end (this is to keep the pin from rotating in the base frame) and a tractor style spring clip through a hole on the opposite end. The pin and the bearing surface machined into the casting should be greased often and liberally with a chassis grease that has an EP additive. The pin should not have a great deal of 'slop' in the fit but should pass through the casting without a lot of difficulty. I would use a heavy grease applied liberally to the pin. That should help with the noise.

[Tbos]

My A20 is similar in construction and the only noises we hear are from the area where the pins meet the rails. I don’t have a factory pick system.

[Pathfinder75]

I believe I would be speaking with my Ram Dealer since you said you purchased truck with hitch. They should be able to determine and correct what ever is wrong. If not then I would think they could speak to Curt and get advice. Does not sound safe to use in its present condition.