soft ride fifthwheel hitches - Montana Owners Club

Montana_2130 · 10-16-2005, 12:00 PM

Looking for any input on choices for a fifthwheel hitch that will soften the shock to the trailer pin. Have heard of More Ride....any others that are worth mentioning?

ols1932 · 10-16-2005, 02:36 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by juggernaught

Looking for any input on choices for a fifthwheel hitch that will soften the shock to the trailer pin. Have heard of More Ride....any others that are worth mentioning?

I use the Trailer Saver hitch. Go to www.trailersaver.com
Gives a wonderful ride. Pretty good truthful write-up. A bit pricey when you compare it with a Reese or Draw-tite. I've had both of those and got rid of both of them.

BillyRay · 10-16-2005, 03:16 PM

I've never used any, sorry I couldn't help.

Gypsy · 10-16-2005, 03:56 PM

I have the Mor/ryde pin box and am happy with it. It really softens the ride on those rough roads. I just went across Oklahoma on I-44 and I-40 - they are really rough in places, especially through OK City. It was still rough, but didn't jar my teeth out and make me nauseous the way it did without the new pin box.

CRUZIN 2 · 10-16-2005, 04:05 PM

juggernaught

I'm having the Glide Ride pin box put on in two weeks. The dealer I'm buying it from said it is standard on most models of the Hitchhiker. He also said that one person had a trailair hitch and he traded the Glide Ride and now is selling the trailair. If you want, you can check it out with the video on www.glide-ride.com

Montana_2130 · 10-16-2005, 04:18 PM

Have come up with three products.MoreRyde, TRAILAIR, and GLIDERIDE. I am most interested in softening the up and down motion of my Montana. MORERYDE looks to be a little firm.... GLIDERIDE looks to be geared towards the forward and backwards motion.... and TRAILAIRlooks like it might be the best for the up and down motion. Any input would be welcome.

ols1932 · 10-16-2005, 04:19 PM

Note that there is a vast difference between the TrailAir and the Trailer Saver 5th wheel hitches.

firetrucker · 10-16-2005, 04:56 PM

juggernaut, I recently purchased a TrailAir to try to soften the suspension on my TV. Unfortunately, it didn't fit, but I did get a close look at it. At the same time, a rep from MorRyde was at the Reno Rally, so I got a chance to talk to him about their pin box.

It appears that both of those units are primarily designed to stop what's called chucking, the forward and backward motion of the trailer that's transferred to the truck. TrailAir does it with an air bag and a shock absorber, MorRyde does it with rubber dampers. Neither one is designed to soften the up and down motion the way, say, the TV suspension does.

The Trailer Saver seems to come closest to that, but it is quite pricey. Chucking is a fairly common problem when the truck is lighter than the trailer, and a lot of people on the forum have said good things about both these products. If you search on those names, you should come up with some good info.

I haven't run across Glide-Ride before, but I just looked at their video, which specifically says it's designed for the chucking motion.

Bob

Dave e Victoria · 10-16-2005, 04:58 PM

There are several hitches out there. It sort of depends on what problem you are trying to solve. It seems to me, these break down into two potential problems. 1) Some trucks have a very stiff rear suspension which may impart vertical motion to the trailer. This condition does not alter the ride in the towing vehicle. 2) the second problem arises from the basic geometry of the way a fifth wheel connects to the tow vehicle. This connection is far above the center of the rear axle of the tow vehicle. As long as everything is aligned in a straight line. there is no problem. However, anything that changed this alignment such as the front wheels of the truck going over a bump causes the inertia field of the truck and the inertial field of the trailer to be in conflict. That is a "fore/aft" jerk occurs due to the rigid and off center connection between the truck and trailer. This second effect is the most common difficulty experienced when towing fifth wheel trailers. It can be severe.

This second effect is modified by truck suspension, trailer loading. overall weight of truck and trailer, and road condition. The ONLY way to deal with this second problem is to introduce some degree of elasticity at the point of connection between the truck and trailer. As the undesireable motion is fore/aft, the elastic member must allow for fore/aft movement without intoducing any translational motion-- that is up/down motion resulting fromn the fore/aft motion. The Mor ryde hitch does the best job of providing the fore/aft elastic connection while minimizing any translation to up down motion. The whole solution costs less than $1000.

Dealing with a stiff truck suspension ( effect 1) can be solved with a variety of devices mostly involving some form of air springs either in the truck suspension or in the mounting of the fifth wheel hitch to the truck bed. Replacing truck suspension with full air ride such as Link or Kelderman suspensions is relatively expension like maybe $3000 dollars or more. On the other hand, if the truck suspension is fully engaged-- that is, the truck bed is depressed -- air bags may be added to the truck to carry some of the load and provide improved dynamics. This si a much less expensive option at less than $500.00.

There are no pat answers to these issues as each truck and trailer has it's own set of dynamics. However, some guidance can be given based on the most common configuration. Here we are talking about Montanas pulled by class 2 or 3 trucks. Here, if a problem develops, the first step might be rearranging the load on the trailer making sure that around 20% of the trailer load is on the pin. Next (IMO) is to add an elastic hitch pin such as the Mor Ryde. Finally, adding air bags in combination with an elastic hitch pin will solve most problems.

For those towing with class 4 or larger tractors, the above applies but there may be plenty to be gainde by going to full air suspension including hitch mounting sytems.

Sorry for all the verbage but I have spent alot of time thinking about and analyzing this issue.

Bob Pasternak · 10-16-2005, 06:32 PM

Another solution to a bad ride can be found at the site I've put on here. Most PU's can be fitted with after market seats that have isolators like the big trucks. That will eliminate the back slap you get from the harmonics of rocking down a rough road. Just thought someone might be interested.

Check this site:
http://www.buytruckstuff.com/s_produ...selcategory=16

richfaa · 10-17-2005, 06:01 AM

In doing my Homework on the subject I find that mor-ryde and trail air although both good products do little or nothing to address the up and down motion of the camper but rather address the "chucking effect. (fore and aft motion) The trail saver addresses both issues but is very pricey..This new camper is going to cost me a lot of $ but we will be on the road much more than before..oh well it is only money..

Dave e Victoria · 10-17-2005, 08:01 AM

Rich,
What "up and down motion"?
Dave

CRUZIN 2 · 10-17-2005, 08:13 AM

All

This thread is very interesting and maybe a little touchy, but what I think, no matter which one we all have, they all will help on us and both units.

Montana_2130 · 10-17-2005, 08:43 AM

I am refering to the "shocks" that are transfered from the road(ie. rough,cracks,R/R crosings,chuck holes etc.) at 55-65mph freeway speeds, through the tires(80psi.),through the Timbrens resting on the solid axles,and through the rest of the rigid frame/hitch/pin where there is no "give" to absorb any sudden jarring motion.

Dave e Victoria · 10-17-2005, 11:53 AM

The truck suspension is supposed to take out the bulk of the input from the road. You are very right that the Mor ryde will not reduce what is left. . It seems to me that this sort of problem is best addressed in the truck suspension with airbags, full air suspension, or different shock absorbers. On the otherhand, if the bumps get thru the suspension it causes te level of the trailer mounting point to change relative to the steering axle, then this will result in the chucking motion and the mor ryde (etal) will help reduce that.

dsprik · 10-18-2005, 02:48 PM

Do we want a Trailer Saver hitch AND a Mor/Ryde AND airbags? Or is that overkill??? (If a 2500HD D/A & 2006 3400RL). On top of this it sounds like 2006 3400 (and other 37' Montanas) needs a slider hitch due to the pin being moved back 6"?? Trailer Saver says it has an adapter for the Super Glide, but does that eliminate the slide? Lots of questions... LOTS OF $$$$$.

ols1932 · 10-18-2005, 03:18 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by dsprik

Do we want a Trailer Saver hitch AND a Mor/Ryde AND airbags? Or is that overkill??? (If a 2500HD D/A & 2006 3400RL). On top of this it sounds like 2006 3400 (and other 37' Montanas) needs a slider hitch due to the pin being moved back 6"?? Trailer Saver says it has an adapter for the Super Glide, but does that eliminate the slide? Lots of questions... LOTS OF $$$$$.

If you go the way of Trailer Saver, you don't need the Mor/Rhyde or any other slider mechanism. Unless, of course, you have a short box on your tow vehicle. I do have air bags, simply because of the normal squat of my truck. The air bags take away the squat.

richfaa · 10-18-2005, 03:31 PM

What juggernaught said is what I want to correct.That is what causes the cabinet doors to fly open and the dishes to sail about the camper and for undue stress to be exerted on the camper and is no doubt what contributed to the frame separation issues. It is not the primary function of the Mor-ryde/trail-air pin box to address that problem, at least that is what I read) What you are saying Dave is that the truck suspension is where that problem should be addressed and that makes sense and it looks like that is what trailer saver hitch does??? What would you do to a one ton dually truck to improve the suspension..add air bags???? Sounds like the solution would be the mor-ryde hitch and air bags????? The trailer saver hitch is wAYYYY to expensive for this ole Retired fed.....

dsprik · 10-18-2005, 04:39 PM

$2,220??? Why, Rich... I have that right here! Wait... wrong pants! Oh, well... after all, I'm a much richer retired school teacher!

Montana_1988 · 10-18-2005, 05:17 PM

I have the TrailAir and am more than happy with it. Having said that I will also state that it alone does not correct the problem. As noted in my sig, I have a 3575 being towed by a GMC 2500HD. The ride in the truck was harsh due to almost 3K of pin weight. To remedy this problem I installed air bags on the truck. Now you forget the 5er is behind you at times. If I need a reminder of how effective the air bags are, I just have to tow it without inflating them.

I've worked on suspension and alignments for many years. The true benefit of the air bags is that it transfers the weight directly to the axle. Without them the weight is carried by the suspension. While this is fine for the short term, it places a lot of stress on the springs and associated components when the truck has to carry this weight mile after mile, year after year.

Of the three trucks, GM has the softest ride and Dodge has the harshest ride. Just look at the spring packs on each of the trucks. I've read where people remove the overload springs on the one ton trucks and install air bags to soften the ride.

My truck only dropped two inches with the 5er connected. With the air bags I air it back up to where the springs are just touching the overloads - usually 60-65 psi with the 5er. Doing this allows full travel of the springs, the same as I would get without a load. With the load and no airbags, all the weight is sitting on the overloads and there is little flex in them.

Dale

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