5th wheel hitch build

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Background: My buddy is salvaging a 5th wheel camping trailer frame. He stripped everything off the frame and then asked me to move it for him. The pin on the trailer was some oddball size. No go. So we ordered a new forged pin. But I was tasked with making it work. I took 1/4inch hot rolled plate, laid out my lines and then put it in the press brake to put a slip lip on the front. This is so when you back up your truck to the trailer out of alignment just a little, the lip will slide up and onto the hitch. I drilled out a 3inch hole, dropped the forged pin in and tacked it in place. I don't have the trailer here so I can't show the fit up yet. I will post more pictures later when I get the plate welded and bolted to the trailer. Note, I was impressed with how easily the plate bent in the brake. That plate is 17 inches by 17 inches by 1/4inch. Pretty stout stuff to bend in my brake. See next post for more picsLincoln Power Mig 210MP MIGLincoln Power Mig 350MP - MIG and Push-PullLincoln TIG 300-300Lincoln Hobby-Weld 110v  Thanks JLAMESCK TIG TORCH, gas diffuser, pyrex cupThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 101My brain
Reply:nice job  the only problem I can see is that the pin is to big for the plate eg :the stepped lip that makes a 3" needed should not be sticking out of the plate like its looks in the last pic the smallest king pin with a large head like that I have seen is for 3/8 plate the section of pin poking out will cause the trailer to rock from side to side it may only be sitting up a little but when you transfer that distance to 4ft either side its a fair bit I not picking on your work just sharing my thoughts as I have been working with semi trailers for the last 25yrs Creative metal Creative metal Facebook
Reply:Originally Posted by wellonice job  the only problem I can see is that the pin is to big for the plate eg :the stepped lip that makes a 3" needed should not be sticking out of the plate like its looks in the last pic the smallest king pin with a large head like that I have seen is for 3/8 plate the section of pin poking out will cause the trailer to rock from side to side it may only be sitting up a little but when you transfer that distance to 4ft either side its a fair bit I not picking on your work just sharing my thoughts as I have been working with semi trailers for the last 25yrs
Reply:You guys may both be right. I asked the same question but the supplier told me it was for 1/4inch. I will check it before I weld it up. If need be I can add a plate behind the 1/4inch plate. This is why I only tacked it up. I wanted to be sure everything was going to fit up first. He has the plate and the hitch now to check it. I won't get it back until tonight.Thanks for pointing that out to me. I will get on it!!!!Lincoln Power Mig 210MP MIGLincoln Power Mig 350MP - MIG and Push-PullLincoln TIG 300-300Lincoln Hobby-Weld 110v  Thanks JLAMESCK TIG TORCH, gas diffuser, pyrex cupThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 101My brain
Reply:looks pretty good, other than the previously mentioned pointThe Welder Shop has great deals and reviews on Hobart, Miller and Lincoln Welders.
Reply:here is a pic that will help you a little it shows how much of the pin should come out of your platethe numbers stamped on the bottom of the pin should tell you what plate it is for going by wallace forge's website thats a pin for 3/8 plate  Last edited by wello; 12-21-2007 at 08:25 PM.Creative metal Creative metal Facebook
Reply:Wello,I did get on their website and I called them. You are correct. It is 3/8. I resolved the issue with a 1/8 inch plate 12inch by 12inch centered on the pin. This will give the desired 3/8 thickness and I will still have the pin welded to the 1/4 from behind. All is well.I will get pics on it when I complete it. We drilled the mounting holes on the pinbox today. Broke my damn 9/16 bit too.I will be glad to be done with this pain in the rear by the end of the weekend!Stay tuned for the pics!Lincoln Power Mig 210MP MIGLincoln Power Mig 350MP - MIG and Push-PullLincoln TIG 300-300Lincoln Hobby-Weld 110v  Thanks JLAMESCK TIG TORCH, gas diffuser, pyrex cupThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 101My brain
Reply:Originally Posted by Joker11... I resolved the issue with a 1/8 inch plate 12inch by 12inch centered on the pin....
Reply:Ok, well, I cut the 1/8 plate and attached it to the 1/4 using the stitch method. Weld 1 inch, jump to the other side, weld one inch, rotate, weld one inch. I was trying to avoid warping the 1/8th and still get enough heat for the 1/4. It ended up being unsightly but the welds are outside the contact surface area of the hitch. I measured it. Here is what I RE-LEARNED. Don't rush a job. Clean all the area before welding. I forgot that my buddy sprayed wd40 all over it when he drilled the holes. I should have cleaned it and I didn't. It shows. I had a few beads that had some porosity in them. It wasn't critical and I let it go.I hate to post stuff that looks like crap but I have to be honest and suck it up and take your criticism and hope I do better next time.Last edited by Joker11; 12-22-2007 at 02:41 AM.Lincoln Power Mig 210MP MIGLincoln Power Mig 350MP - MIG and Push-PullLincoln TIG 300-300Lincoln Hobby-Weld 110v  Thanks JLAMESCK TIG TORCH, gas diffuser, pyrex cupThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 101My brain
Reply:good job Joker11turned out all right in the end and you learnt some new stuff and re learned some  old stuff so alls good Creative metal Creative metal Facebook
Reply:are you guys making another camper or car hauler or what
Reply:The job looks plenty good from here. If your buddy needs pretty you can put a bow on it or sumpin.
Reply:Scubaholic,  to be honest...I don't know what he wants to do with it. At first he said flatbed trailer, then he wanted to put a water tank on it, now he said something about carhauler. I have tried my best to talk him out of using it. It was an rv. an old rv at that. those axles are probably 2000lb axles or at best 3500lb axles. 7000lb total minus whatever weight he adds by reinforcing it doesn't leave a lot to do with it. It is so rickety. I will post the pic of the trailer as it now sits with the new hitch attached. I moved it yesterday for him out to a field. He has it in his head that this is money well spent. Yeah, especially since I did it all for free. Sandy, I was actually happy with the construction of it. it's not pretty, but it is solid. One onlooker commented that it was way overkill. Sounds good to me.I painted it it gunship gray. Looks decent now. Stay tuned for the pics of  a nice hitch on a turd.Lincoln Power Mig 210MP MIGLincoln Power Mig 350MP - MIG and Push-PullLincoln TIG 300-300Lincoln Hobby-Weld 110v  Thanks JLAMESCK TIG TORCH, gas diffuser, pyrex cupThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 101My brain
Reply:Originally Posted by SandyThe job looks plenty good from here. If your buddy needs pretty you can put a bow on it or sumpin.
Reply:Just a question here....Depending on the hitch, and how the actual wear surface has been assembled, is there a possibility of the 1/8" material catching the wheel when your friend goes to pin up???  I know that the Holland Binkley series wheel will have no issues with it, but I'm more talking about Reese, Husky, DSP, etc hitches that are in the back of pickups.Hey, while we're on the subject of hitches, if you run across the need later, I designed and built a nice dual hitch setup that uses a flipover Binkley, as well as a pop up Gooseneck ball, that both hide away into the frame for flat loading.  It's a little skookum for a pickup, but I designed it for a smaller single axle L-80 Freighliner that I put a custom deck on. Merry ChristmasLater,Jason
Reply:Black Wolf,No, it doesn't catch. I tooka  grinder and made sure no weld bead was higher than the 1/8 inch plate. I also smoothed the front bead to blend into the 1/4 inch plate.  Also, the 1/8inch is wider  than the hitch all the way around, so no contact occurs other than at hitchup.For the record, I used my Reese 15K hitch to move it. It hitched up like a dream. I wouldn't do it again this way, but I was not about to scrap the material for something that had an easy workaround.I am going to find some 3/8 and see if I can even brake that. I would be surprised if I could!Lincoln Power Mig 210MP MIGLincoln Power Mig 350MP - MIG and Push-PullLincoln TIG 300-300Lincoln Hobby-Weld 110v  Thanks JLAMESCK TIG TORCH, gas diffuser, pyrex cupThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 101My brain