Suspension Upgrades

[Mikele]

Has anyone done any suspension upgrades on a 5th wheel that helped with ride or tow quality? I've added shocks and had the eqauflex installed when ours was being built. I Also upgraded tires from 10 ply to 14ply. The shocks did help with the bounce, like they are supposed to. As for the equaflex i cant comment as i never pulled the trailer with out them.

[arpipeliner]

Air ride hitch. Fifth airborne for me. Trail air would not deliver to my address so that is the reason. Will not ever own a fifth wheel without one for towing purposes.

[Mikele]

That is something I need to do. I tow with a MDT and I imagine that would help smooth things out a bit on rough roads.

[Allistah]

How does the air ride hitch help with the quality of the tow? Can you describe how it feels before/after?

[SilhouettePenny]

You'll never truly appreciate the ride quality of an air ride pin box until you travel through Oklahoma or New Mexico on I-40 (apparently NM doesn't even have a DOT road division). I added the Trailair bag/shock unit to my 10,000 pound 5th wheel before a recent trip from Nashville to Vegas, wow what a difference in ride quality. Elsewhere on the FRF are countless conversations about 5th Airborne, Mor-Ryde and Trailair. Just do your research and have help installing this monster heavy but worthwhile upgrade.

[18CrewDually]

Trailair pinbox here too. After my Lippert frame sheared near the pinbox I bought one. It takes out almost all the jarring and dampens the ride greatly. You really realize it when going down the road and you can see the shock working up and down. Well worth it.
They are pinbox # specific. Here is my source for a Lippert box#1621, the best deal I could find shipped. I've installed them on friends 5ers too and they love the difference.
http://www.adventurerv.net/ultra-fab...s-p-14217.html

[arpipeliner]

As others stated. It takes a lot of chucking. The truck is recovering from the bump as the trailer hits and they compound the roughness of the ride. Just another shock absorber to smooth the ride.

[NMWildcat]

Fifth Airborne on our sidewinder hitch. Takes most of the back and forth chucking out and helps with the up and down. Sometimes I forget the rig is back there!!! We liked the Fifth Airborne option better as it encloses the airbag and shock and protects them against weather aging. Once you try any air ride option you will wonder why you waited so long.

And for Silhouettepenny: NM doesn't have a lot of things, but we do have a DOT division.

[18CrewDually]

The reason I recommend and myself went with the Trailair is because if you look at the pivot point compared to the kingpin it has a lot more travel and chance of fully absorbing the bumps before bottoming out. As far as weathering, these air bags are on truck tractor cabs and air ride suspensions. They are constructed to last all conditions. You'll more than likely get a replacement 5er before the bag ever deteriorates. And the shock has a built in cover. Actually the cover is used to set ride height, which can be seen from the rear view mirror so you can check the status on the fly.
Just my thoughts.