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Old 10-12-2013, 06:09 PM   #1
luggage
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What the heck is BAL 25005 King Pin Stab.

Recently purchased my first 5th Wheel; 2002 Mountaineer 289 RLS by Montana in very good condition. Seller threw in a unexpected bonus a 42gal Barker 4 wheel Tote along. He also gave me a surprise. A bal 25005 king pin stabilizer. This thing is a Bi-pod, not a tripod for the front end stabilizer(I know very little about 5th wheelers). It kinda looks like a Dinosaur compared to some other tripods I have seen supporting 5th wheel campers and will require some cosmetic touch up but appears to work. Also a little heavy. Is this thing worth keeping or should I start over and buy tripod. Any suggestions.
 
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Old 10-13-2013, 01:26 AM   #2
HOOK
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IMHO King pin stabilizers are not worth the trouble. Bought one, not much help. Mashed my fingers! Heavy! Gave it away!
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Old 10-13-2013, 02:00 AM   #3
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I have seen the bi-pods on units in some of the parks we have been in. Never paid much attention as to how you set them up. I, like hook bought the tripod. I also agree with his assesment, very litlle help for the effort it takes. They do help some just not much for the effort and weight. Jim
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Old 10-13-2013, 03:24 AM   #4
DQDick
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Don't know about a bipod, I had a tripod and used it until we added level-up. I think it helped for us, but that is because we have a washer/dryer in the front cap and it can move the rig when it's not balanced well. The only other thing it's good for is keeping short folks from walking into the king pin
It was heavy, hard to set up and took up a lot of space. If we didn't have the washer/dryer I'd have dumped it long before we did.
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Old 10-13-2013, 05:11 AM   #5
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I had a bipod kingpin support back when ... does one of your legs have basically an old ratcheting bumper jack head off the 70's era cars and a chain between the two feet? If so and you want to try it, adjust the spacing on the legs in or out to contact the king pin. Secure it to the king pin with the supplied ubolt gizmo. Hook the chains together as tight as possible down by the feet. Jack the jack head up just like you were jacking up the old 70's car till you fell pretty good resistance ... you're done. I really wasn't too impressed with it's benefits, so I didn't use it long. JT'stabilizers or it's knock off competition are way better ... unless you have an extra 5 grand laying around to play with the big boys and install a level up ...
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Old 10-13-2013, 05:31 AM   #6
bigmurf
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I have a Bipod under the hitch now. It does help. I don't travel with it but when we are set up for the Winter we use it.
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Old 10-13-2013, 11:25 AM   #7
bigred715
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I built one myself and used it a few times on my 2880RL and then sold it. Don't think it made much difference and just something else to get in the way when loading up.
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Old 10-14-2013, 06:24 AM   #8
bobsals
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quote:Originally posted by HOOK

IMHO King pin stabilizers are not worth the trouble. Bought one, not much help. Mashed my fingers! Heavy! Gave it away!
Yup, same here, more trouble than the benefit was worth. Helped a little with the minor bounce, but the weight, pinch hazard, storage, and trip hazard made it more of a pia than it was worth.
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Old 10-14-2013, 07:46 AM   #9
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Like most others, I did not find a tripod worth the trouble of carrying it around and setting it up. Seemed to help a little. But installed JT Armstrongs and sold the tripod.
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