King Pin Tripod

[Chillbilly]

I was just noticing that when parked, the whole 5th wheel is supported by the two 1/4 inch pins in my landing gear legs. I assume that these pins are extremely strong? But my thoughts leap to a king pin tripod. Do you use it? Pro and Con ?

[Ford Idaho]

They work to an extent but I do not think they are made to hold the weight of the trailer rather to help stabilize it.
Some are made of steel while others are made of aluminum I would get a steel one.

Not a big deal but if you pack a lot of stuff you need to make room for the tripod.



https://www.google.com/#q=jt+strongarm

I have these on mine.

RV Designer E537 5th Wheel Landing Gear Pins Camper Trailer RV

You could swap out the pins for a hardened bolt if you want.

[h20ski]

I wouldn't worry about the pins. If you have 1800lbs of weight at the landing gear, that weight is shared by both pins, 900 each.

I do have a tripod and I use it when we are going to be there for a few days. I helps with stabilizing the 5th wheel when we are up front.

[WFD]

instructions that came with our tripod specifically said that the tripod is a stabilizing factor...it is not intended to take any of the pin weight.

[B47]

Originally Posted by h20ski

I wouldn't worry about the pins. If you have 1800lbs of weight at the landing gear, that weight is shared by both pins, 900 each.

I do have a tripod and I use it when we are going to be there for a few days. I helps with stabilizing the 5th wheel when we are up front.

The weight on each pin also depends on the configuration of the FW area over the landing gear.

Our FW has a three drawer dresser on one end of a storage area,but we added a washer/dryer combo at the other end. I don't remember the washer/combo weight,but it's considerably more than the dresser,so the weight is not spread even over the pins.

But I have never heard of the front landing gear pins shearing from overloading.

[Chillbilly]

Ford Idaho - I have similar landing gear pins as you do. I haven't heard of these pins shearing off either, but they seem a weak link in the overall scheme of things. I would think that they would have to share the pin weight. My pin weight is about 1300 lbs, so each pin has to support about 650 lbs. Anyone know what weight these pins are rated for?

[AquaMan]

Your pins are safe, nothing to worry about. As for a tripod, YES it does help to stabilize, and NO, they are not made to hold the weight of your trailer. It also doesn't matter whether you have an aluminum one or steel. I have both. The aluminum one is much lighter and easier to handle, but considerably more expensive.