Camco Eaz-Lift 12-Inch Fifth Wheel Lube Plate 44674

If you tow a fifth wheel, you already know the sound. That groan and chirp coming off the hitch every time you crank the wheel in a campground or a tight fuel stop. That's steel grinding on steel up at the pin box, and over a season it wears both the hitch head and the kingpin plate. The Camco Eaz-Lift 12-inch Fifth Wheel Lube Plate is the cheap fix for it. It's a 12-inch disc that drops over the kingpin and rides between your truck's hitch and the trailer, so those two surfaces slide against the plate instead of chewing on each other.

Think of it as a sacrificial buffer. The plate takes the friction so your hitch doesn't. It cuts down the wear that shows up as slop and play in an older hitch, and it quiets the whole connection. Camco says it also helps absorb some of the vibration that travels up through the pin box, which takes a little of the harshness out of the ride on rough pavement. For a part that costs less than a tank of diesel, that's a lot of protection for two expensive pieces of hardware.

Where you really notice it is in the turns. A fifth wheel pivots right at that hitch connection, so every time you turn the truck the two plates rotate against each other under the full weight of the trailer's nose. Dry steel on dry steel binds, and that bind is what you hear and feel. Put a lube plate in between and the rotation stays smooth and predictable, which makes low-speed maneuvering in a crowded campground feel a lot less like a wrestling match.

Installation is about as easy as it gets. No tools, no drilling, no mess. You don't glue it, bolt it, or modify anything on the truck or the trailer. You drop the plate over the kingpin so it rests on the trailer's pin box plate, then back your truck under it and couple up like you always do. That's it. A lot of folks like it because it keeps the grease off their hands and off their pant legs. If you've ever fought with a tube of hitch grease in a gravel lot, you'll appreciate that.

This is the 12-inch standard size, sold as a single plate, and it's built to sit on a standard fifth wheel hitch head. Before you order, take a quick measurement of your hitch head so you know the 12-inch disc covers your contact surface. It's a sensible upgrade for full-timers, weekend campers, and anybody who tows the same rig enough to care about how it wears. If you spend a lot of time making tight, low-speed turns, this is exactly the kind of part that earns its keep.

The package ships with English and French language labeling, so it's ready for buyers on both sides of the border. Care is simple. It's a wear part by design, same idea as brake pads. Keep an eye on the plate over the season and swap it out when it gets worn or chewed up, since it's meant to wear so your hitch doesn't. Replacing a lube plate is a few dollars. Replacing a scored hitch head is not.

Bottom line, it's one of those small parts that quietly makes towing better. Less noise, less wear, less grease on your hands, and a hitch that stays tight longer. It won't turn a bad hitch into a good one, but it will keep a good hitch in good shape a lot longer, and it takes about ten seconds to put in place. If you tow a fifth wheel, it's worth keeping one on the pin box and a spare in the storage bay for when the first one wears down.