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Old 09-26-2006, 10:33 AM   #1
2Seekers
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Air ride hitch

Does anyone have any experience with the "Air Safe" air ride 5th wheel hitch? They claim six to eight way cushioning with air bags and shock absorbers as compared to competitors two to four. Also, they offer a Holland - Binkley (commercial grade?)anvil and 5 yr warranty. I have decided after a visit to Lippert and talking with Dale that I need some type of cushioning between my TV and Montana if both are going to last as long as I need them to. All the air bag hitches seem quite pricey though. Please share any experience.
 
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Old 09-26-2006, 11:23 AM   #2
bsmeaton
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Byron,

I must agree, the pin/hitch trauma has got to be hard on both vehicles, and would seem to possibly lead to some of the broken welds on the pin box area some have experienced.

I do not have an air ride hitch, and I don't want to hijack your thread, but for my own curiosity did you rule out the Trailair pin box? I know it does not do much for the acceleration and deceleration trauma, but takes a lot of the beating out of pitch and yaw. I'm consdering the Trailair just because of cost ($1,000 vs 2-3,000). Just curious.

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Old 09-26-2006, 11:39 AM   #3
CountryGuy
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If you invest one time in a air HITCH, next truck and next truck and next truck, you can take it with you. Air pin, pretty much will have to stay with your rig when you upgrade. We were fussing with numbers the other night, and a air pin and new hitch in your truck, could come close to the cost of one air hitch. (Depending of course on the type and expense of the hitch you install.)

We would most likely go with a HITCH if we knew then, what we knew now, including possible frame stresses from NOT having something AIR!!
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Old 09-26-2006, 12:03 PM   #4
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Brad, I can certainly appreciate what you are saying about cost. My wife and I work for a ministry and don't have a lot of money to throw around, but someone reminded me of what we have already invested in TV & Montana and this would be insurance to preserve it. My thinking is kind of in line with Al's comments. I can do the Air Safe hitch with a Reese, Draw-Tite, Pull-Rite head (anvil)or the Holland-Binkley for a number of extra dollars. Does anyone know anything about that?

Byron
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Old 09-26-2006, 01:38 PM   #5
ols1932
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Byron,
We have the Trailer Saver Air Ride hitch and I agree that if you want to change trucks you can take the hitch with you. Not necessarily so with the pin box mod. The Trailer Saver is expensive but you have to decide if you want to have a more comfortable ride with a whole lot less stress on your rig, or take the pounding that comes with the standard hitch.

Orv
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Old 09-26-2006, 02:04 PM   #6
bsmeaton
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Well - I was going to defend myself by saying a need a slider for my short bed, but I just found that Trailer Saver has one called a SaverSlide for a mere $3,850 - GULP! Does have a remote control though.

Brad
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Old 09-26-2006, 02:30 PM   #7
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Byron, I had a Trailair pin box installed on our Mountaineer. I felt the truck and fiver were taking a beating going down the road. It was also wearing me out driving the rig all day. I would say the Trailair eliminated 80-90% of the vertical pounding and horizontal jerking of the truck/fiver. I also installed Bilstein shocks which helped also. I felt it was all a worthwhile investment like others have said. It is true that with an air hitch you can move it truck to truck. One thing I did was keep the original pin from my fiver. At some point if I sell the rig and discover I am not going to get any extra money for the Trailair, I will just un-bolt it and put the original back on. Then I will sell the Trailair on the side if it can't be used on the next fiver. Just something else to consider. Here's a pic:
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Old 09-28-2006, 01:28 AM   #8
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Thanks guys for your input. This forum is one of the main reasons we are glad that we bought a Montana.

I will attempt to digest all the info and then, hopefully, do something that I won't regret later.
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Old 09-28-2006, 04:28 AM   #9
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not to hijack this thread. But to those of you with Air pin boxes, do you still use a tri-pod under the pin to support the front? Does it do any good with the air allowing it to float up and down. We are considering a new trail air pin and use a tri-pod currently to steady the movement of the trailer.
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Old 09-28-2006, 04:11 PM   #10
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Fordzilla, I still use the tripod. It works like normal. If you think about it, if you have a pin weight of say 2000 lbs or more that the airbag is supporting, and then it takes that same 2000 lbs of weight to compress the bag going over bumps etc, there is no way the average person is going to be able to compress the bag by walking in the fiver etc. I use the tripod like normal and have not noticed the bag compressing or making any difference at all. Here's another pic w/tripod:

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Old 09-28-2006, 09:09 PM   #11
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Thanks. What makes sense doesn't always work out that way so I wanted to ask someone who had one to get an opinion. Our local dealer sells the Trail Air pins and we have looked at them before.
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Old 09-29-2006, 05:43 AM   #12
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Myron - sounds like a good choice. If I was to start over I would most likely go that way.

Fordzilla - I think I will bite on the Trailair pin from the dealer ($1K installed). My two objectives are to put less stress on the frame and to increase the pin rating. The Trailair that fits mine has a 22K rating versus my existing box at 15.5K. I want to put money towards retrofitting to the Mor-ryde suspension as well, so can't afford it all. The Trailair pin is a nice alternative. Thanks for the answer on the tripod to AZCampingfool. I questioned the same thing.

Brad
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Old 09-29-2006, 11:10 AM   #13
Sandymom
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Brad,

Have you looked at the Glide-Ride pin box by Demco? If so, what are your thoughts?

Mike
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Old 09-29-2006, 11:30 AM   #14
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Mike

I don't want to take over this thread but I have the Glide-Ride pin box, I have used it for about 8,000 miles. There is so much difference with it, we really like it, with very few moving parts. Larry
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Old 09-29-2006, 01:10 PM   #15
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Larry,

I was hoping to hear that! It's really tough to evaluate some of these products without individual input from someone who actually has experience. Your assessment agrees with my intuition and I'll probably end up with the Glide-Ride.

Thanks for the input! (I didn't intend to take over the thread either).

Mike
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Old 09-29-2006, 03:03 PM   #16
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Brad,

That's a great sounding switch, has anyone used one of those Trailer Saver SaverSlide on here? I like the idea of an air ride hitch and I like the slider, hmmmmm.

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Old 09-29-2006, 07:01 PM   #17
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Mac,
You might want to look at that saverslide for your new rig! Pricey, but has nice features such as slide from remotely in the cab.

Mike, I haven't heard of the Glide-Ride, but I'll try and look it up.

Brad
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Old 09-29-2006, 07:28 PM   #18
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Larry,

Just looked at the Demco web. What does the glide ride use to absorb the energy? I looks like it uses a swing action pivot that self center but what keeps it from banging back and forth - rubber, springs, air? It wasn't real clear on the demo.

Clearly it must do well with forward and back jolts - how does it do with the up and down?

Brad
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Old 09-29-2006, 08:13 PM   #19
CountryGuy
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TrailAire has a prototype being tested that takes care of the chucking or porpoising AND the bounce. Rumor has it that it may be available by the end of the year, but cha know about rumors! They also have a new equalizer arrangement, not the center point, this one is called Equa-Flex (or something akin, hey, it is the middle of the night -- ) Their web site, does not have either of these, but they are installing the Equa-Flex right now. EF is several hundred dollars less than their center-point suspension.

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Old 09-30-2006, 04:21 AM   #20
CRUZIN 2
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Brad

You have it about right, its the weight of your rig ( pinbox weight ) that keeps it centered, and keeps it from swinging back and forth. When it swings, it has to swing up which is pushing all the weight up. I hope this isn't too confusing.

Larry
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