5th Wheel Keeps Locking When Pulling Out From Under Trailer

The brand of truck is irrelevant. There are several brands of fifth wheel, the most common being Fontaine, Jost, and Holland. Each is available on every brand of truck. Knowing the fifth wheel brand may be helpful, but my guess is your locking mechanism is worn and it will have to be rebuilt.

 

What said above. Plus Release spring may be broke.

Or it could simply be over greased. could have so much sticky grease and grime built up in the jaws that it cannot open up all the way and get past the release point any longer so they just close back up.

Pressure wash clean and inspect.

 

ViseGrips on handle against said fifth wheel works.

 

Beat me to it... I guess not everyone was raised on a farm where such things were common practice.

 

If the handle is one of those that has a "catch" in the form of a piece of metal welded to the rod itself, that metal can be worn down in time... factor in ice buildup in winter and the "catch" no longer grabs the edge like it should. The handle rod may also be bent, you might wanna check it. Just my $.02 on the subject, I remember dealing with a release handle that wouldn't stay out like it should, and it was a PITA. The suggestion to use Vise-Grips is a good one, that'll keep the handle in place while you unhook... in essence, you're creating a new "catch" using the tool. If anything, it'll work until you figure out what needs to be done. Don't get me started on sticky slider pins, lol...

 

Bungee cord from handle to the side of the trailer works too.

 

I occasionally have that issue, what I ended up doing is letting off the clutch in low gear, before releasing tractor brakes. That pull me forward an inch or two before I dump my bags to set the landing gear down gently. If I dump bags while brakes are set, it will sometimes allow the jaws to lock again.

 

Or tarp strap...

 

Until you forget to unhook it and it goes flying into an innocent bystander with Dewey,Cheatem and How on speed dial.