Cushioned king pin or Air Bags on TV

[mtlakejim]

If you had to choose between a cushioned king pin or Air Bags on your tow vehicle which would you go with first to reduce chucking?

[kozzy]

I have Air bags in the rear of my truck, really didn't stop any chucking. More designed for leveling. I have the mor RYDE pin box, and that does a great job reducing chucking. Id say pin box first.

[DQDick]

I agree. Air bags are for leveling the ride. MorRyde pinbox and a tight hitch, in my case a Pullrite, will minimise the chucking.

[mtlakejim]

I should mention I do have the Curt 25K Hitch which has wraparound jaws and is very tight. I am very pleased with the hitch itself.

[Texan]

I had a Curt on previous truck with sob and it beat me to death. I don't blame it on Curt as i'm sure any other fixed hitch would be just as rough. I installed the Trailer-Saver TS-3 air-bag hitch on the truck and it took out all the chucking. With the air-bag hitch on the truck it can move from truck to truck and it really doesn't matter what kind of pin-box you have on your rv. Agree the air-bags on truck are for leveling your rig only as I have them also. Sometimes it takes a combination of things working together to get a good ride on truck and rv. I also have the I.S. on the rv so I feel I've got the best ride possible on the rv as i'm covered at the axles and at the hitch but still nothing is perfect. If I travel on some highway that has some very uneven pavement or big dips in it like the transition joints from bridge to highway then I've had a door once in a while come open or flower vase on table turn over.

[powerhaulic]

I have air bags on the truck, great for leveling and ride quality. Chucking was still there somewhat with a RotaFlex pin, and PullRite SuperGlide.

When I installed the Lippert Air Ride pin box, and the PullRite SuperLite chucking is now gone.

[The Bone]

I have air bags and the B&W hitch and never experienced any chucking.

[Hblick48]

Had severe chucking. Installed Reese Fifth Airborn pin box. All of the chucking is gone! Just finished 9,000 mile trip, some very bad roads and bridge transitions, didn't even know the trailer was behind being towed.

[1retired06]

Airbags on last two trucks. I got them for controlling rear end drop when hitched. Chucking has never been an issue for us.

[Golfmedik]

Chucking is usually caused by too light of a pin weight for the rig being pulled. That being said, I have both air bags on the truck and one on the pin box. It took less than three miles after installing the TrailAir pin box to realize we had made the right choice. The bags on the truck helped our ride, but the addition of the pin box greatly helped the crossing of the interstate's expansion joints o the bridges.

[Creeker]

You guys are talking me into a new pin box. I've only pulled the new 310RE home from NC to WV but it definitely has more chucking than our Wildcat. Also much heavier pin weight and over all weight.


Never even thought about a pin box or air bags with the 8500lb Wildcat. 2200 lbs makes a world of difference.

[whitesub93]

Originally Posted by Texan

I had a Curt on previous truck with sob and it beat me to death. I don't blame it on Curt as i'm sure any other fixed hitch would be just as rough. I installed the Trailer-Saver TS-3 air-bag hitch on the truck and it took out all the chucking. With the air-bag hitch on the truck it can move from truck to truck and it really doesn't matter what kind of pin-box you have on your rv. Agree the air-bags on truck are for leveling your rig only as I have them also. Sometimes it takes a combination of things working together to get a good ride on truck and rv. I also have the I.S. on the rv so I feel I've got the best ride possible on the rv as i'm covered at the axles and at the hitch but still nothing is perfect. If I travel on some highway that has some very uneven pavement or big dips in it like the transition joints from bridge to highway then I've had a door once in a while come open or flower vase on table turn over.

Too bad they don't make the TS for Ram puck system.

[Mtnquail]

Sir, the quickest fix and least expensive is to install the Anderson Ultimate fifth wheel hitch. I have had two others but the Anderson is by far, the easiest to operate, quietest, and a wonderful product.

[Jollymon]

What is "chucking"?

[Mtnquail]

It's the noise you hear caused by the movement between the fifth wheel king pin and the receiver. Or if your fifth wheel receiver is mounted between the rails inside of the bed sometimes there is movement of the receiver between the rails which causes a bumping or banging. Hope that clears it up for you.

[mtlakejim]

Originally Posted by Mtnquail

It's the noise you hear caused by the movement between the fifth wheel king pin and the receiver. Or if your fifth wheel receiver is mounted between the rails inside of the bed sometimes there is movement of the receiver between the rails which causes a bumping or banging. Hope that clears it up for you.

No sorry that is not what I am calling "Chucking". My hitch is VERY solid and there is no slack at all. What I am calling Chucking is the push the 5th wheel gives the entire truck when you hit a pothole or something in the road. There is no noise at all from our hitch it is just a motion as the trailer pushes or pulls on the truck.

While I can live with it, I can see that on an all day drive on rougher roads it would be tiresome as it sorta takes your breath just a bit.

I really am happy with the Curt hitch and I am NOT going to change that. I know that cushioned hitch pins and IS suspension on the trailer will address the issue. But I had also heard more than one person also say that airbags will help to some degree. And since airbags are significantly cheaper add than the other two I was trying to decide which to do first. When we make the leap to long timers and lots of traveling then we will definitely have all the upgrades but by that time we will highly likely have a better grade of trailer if not a Class A.

[Jollymon]

Yep, heard that sound many times. I didn't know it is called chunking. I usually resolve it by going heavy on the trailer brakes to keep the pin at the back of the hitch when stopping. Thanks for the clarification.

[mtlakejim]

Originally Posted by Jollymon

Yep, heard that sound many times. I didn't know it is called chunking. I usually resolve it by going heavy on the trailer brakes to keep the pin at the back of the hitch when stopping. Thanks for the clarification.

BUT it isn't Chucking by my definition. It is SLOP in the hitch. I had that problem with a cheap Reese pro hitch. It just had a bar to capture the back of the pin and there was a lot of slop all the way around the pin.

My new Curt has a "wrap around" hitch capture system and as such virtually zero slop. There isn't any of the slapping around noise at all from the hitch and pin.

Chucking to me is the push and pull the trailer transmits to the truck. And that happens even without any slop in the hitch.

[Ed C]

I had a lot of chucking when taking my new Monty off the lot, and towing it home. Never experienced that before. (I called it "surging."} Installed airbags, inflated to 70 lbs, and the symptom went away entirely. At 50 lbs, I still had a little chucking. So glad to have those air bags installed!

[Last2Die]

Originally Posted by Mtnquail

Sir, the quickest fix and least expensive is to install the Anderson Ultimate fifth wheel hitch. I have had two others but the Anderson is by far, the easiest to operate, quietest, and a wonderful product.

Thats what I have and only weighs 38 lbs !!! LOVE IT !!!!