5th Wheel Air Ride

[ramblin]

This is my 2nd major trip in our 5th wheel. Some of the interstate highways are in pretty bad shape. I travel around 60 to 65 mph. Please advise on pros and cons of an air ride kingpin.

[NMWildcat]

It can be nothing other than an improvement over a non-air kingpin.
They don't eliminate all jarring motion, but they sure smooth it out.
The only con I can think of is cost.
Do you have any specific questions?

[ependydad]

I honestly didn't notice a huge change when I switched my last camper to an air ride pin (Trail Air/Tri Glide by Lippert). It helped some, but that thing was pin light and just bounced around a good bit.

This time around, I opted for a full air ride hitch (TrailerSaver TS3). It made a huge & noticeable difference. But, expensive as all hell.

[Jim34RL]

I prefer my TrailAir Pin BOX this has worked great for my needs when towing my Cedar creek. This along with my Demco Auto Slider hitch has made a great towing combination for my needs. Granted the TrailAir pin box will not eliminate all of the bounce that you can get. I would estimate that this has eliminated between 90 and 95% of the bounce. The Demco Glide has eliminated any chucking that will occur between the pin box and hitch jaws. The hitch jaws lock tightly around the king pin of the pin box there is no slop like some hitches have.

So, with these two piece of equipment this has made towing a 5ER a very pleasant experience.

The TrailerSaver TS3 hitch is a good hitch, but in my humble opinion it is not worth the amount of money that is charged for that hitch.

[eaglecrest]

It does help reduce the bounce about 1/2 but does not solve the issue with some of the roads out there. I switched the pin box and traveled the same road I had issues with before and it makes a difference. It's a $1000 upgrade so that's something to consider. For us it was worth it. Next step is new shocks with slower rebound control. Once you travel the country you learn which states maintain the roads and which ones do not. We have our list to try to avoid.

We have a Cedar Creek and Demco auto slider.

[FlaNative]

I can relate to the chucking experience you're having. We went from a Curt Q20 to a Comfort Ride 184. Most of our chucking issues are resolved and now we enjoy our towing experiences. The new hitch capacities are 18K, with a pin weight max of 4K. The precision built into the hitch, along with the micro cell technology made it a great choice for towing. Our ride is so much more relaxing now, rather than being jerked around while going over bridges and overpasses.

[ramblin]

Thanks to all for your comments. I will determine which is best for me.

[old40ford]

Originally Posted by Jim34RL

I prefer my TrailAir Pin BOX this has worked great for my needs when towing my Cedar creek. This along with my Demco Auto Slider hitch has made a great towing combination for my needs. Granted the TrailAir pin box will not eliminate all of the bounce that you can get. I would estimate that this has eliminated between 90 and 95% of the bounce. The Demco Glide has eliminated any chucking that will occur between the pin box and hitch jaws. The hitch jaws lock tightly around the king pin of the pin box there is no slop like some hitches have.

So, with these two piece of equipment this has made towing a 5ER a very pleasant experience.

The TrailerSaver TS3 hitch is a good hitch, but in my humble opinion it is not worth the amount of money that is charged for that hitch.

My chucking has almost disappeared since I got my demco auto slide

[grandpacsf]

X2 with Jim34RL. We have a 2013 33RL Silverback. Compared to our previous 29RE that did not have the Air Ride pinbox - what a huge difference on the ride! The pin weight is approximately 3000# - RV/truck weighed separately with the total RV weight 14,000#. The truck is a 2007 Ram 3500 with air bags.

[mwdilday]

The Trail Air pin box is great. When I look in my rear view mirror over bouncy roads it looks like my Air Ride pin box is really doing a good job.

[rmn72]

I van hardly wait to pick up our 2017 Cedar Creek 36CK2 next week. It already has the Trailair pinbox on it. I have always wanted one and I am looking forward to trying it out.

[rmn72]

I can hardly wait to pick ours up next week. I have always wanted a Trailair pinbox and ours already has one. We tow with a 1999 F350 dually with a B&W Companion 20k hitch and our current SOB 5r does a considerable amount of chucking. Our previous Heartland Bighorn had a far better ride.

[rmn72]

We have towed our 35CK2 a couple of times now on roads that we knew were kinda rough. The difference is amazing. I can see the trailer bouncing but the ride in our TV is much better.