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Eliminating the Fore and Aft Jerking of a Fifth Wheel

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Towing with smarty

  • WHazelwood
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5th Airnprne Sidewinder

  • MMeilicke
  • Replies: 5
I had a MorRyde for a couple of years and was sitisfied with the "shucking" control but the lack of bounce control did some damage to the 5er.

We just bought a new Jayco 38' and I knew that I wanted something different so I started checking all of the airbag types ,Trailair etc, than I saw a 5th abn on an very expensive 5er and it looked like it would do a job on both "bounce" and" shuck"

I now have @ 5000 miles on this 5er with the fifth abn pin box and am very happy on the great inprovement in ride.

I just went to their web site and looked at a film strip that showed the inner workings and liked what I saw. No more "hard pounding" and Hardly noticable "shucking" (about like the MorRyde) . They can be checked out at Camping World which usually has a good price.



05 3500 dually, Drawtight signiture series hitch,progdigy
 
Having spent the last couple of hours looking, I like the 5th Airborne and they make one to fit my trailer. I love the air cushion effect and that is worthwhile as well. The only part I fail to understand and they don't give any pictures of, is just how the heck does it stop ANY chucking? Have you looked yours over enough to find their "secret method"? I am mechanically inclined and just have to know exactly how it is supposed to work before I buy one.



Bjewell said:
I had a MorRyde for a couple of years and was sitisfied with the "shucking" control but the lack of bounce control did some damage to the 5er.

We just bought a new Jayco 38' and I knew that I wanted something different so I started checking all of the airbag types ,Trailair etc, than I saw a 5th abn on an very expensive 5er and it looked like it would do a job on both "bounce" and" shuck"

I now have @ 5000 miles on this 5er with the fifth abn pin box and am very happy on the great inprovement in ride.

I just went to their web site and looked at a film strip that showed the inner workings and liked what I saw. No more "hard pounding" and Hardly noticable "shucking" (about like the MorRyde) . They can be checked out at Camping World which usually has a good price.



05 3500 dually, Drawtight signiture series hitch,progdigy
Click to expand...
 
Don,



It's too bad you found that a Demco won't fit your fiver's frame. I ran across a bargain Demco and bought it.



After a day or two of exchanging messages on the subject causing me to think about Demco king pins I was at my local RV dealer to pick up my son-in-law's Travel Supreme fiver and happened to see a Demco kingpin sitting on the floor in the parts area. It was a brand new Demco removed from a new HitchHiker fifth wheel after being pulled only 600 miles from the manufacturer in Chanute, KS to the dealer's lot Lubbock.



The HH buyer has a SWB truck and needed an extension hitch so the Demco was removed. I was able to buy it at an attractive price but already have one and will sell it.



I guess I'll list it in the classified ads on TDR and a couple RV oriented websites.
 
You might try EBay, seems to be a brisk market there. My fiver had one of those hitch extensions on it when I bought it, I have an 8 ft bed and did not need it. Took it off and put it on EBay and got a little more than list price for it!
 
I installed a MorRyde king pin box on my 290 Cougar 5er. What a difference! I read a lot of articles on TDR, RV.net and talked to some people that had them. Great information. By installing the MorRyde, and Monroe shocks on the trailer, and the Monroe Reflex shocks on the truck made it a different rig to drive. We have put about 2000 miles on this combination. Thanks for all the input.
 
Does ANYBODY know how the 5th Airborne combats chucking, or how the mechanics work on it? I have found a dealer that has one that fits my fiver and it is heavily discounted.



Don/TX said:
Having spent the last couple of hours looking, I like the 5th Airborne and they make one to fit my trailer. I love the air cushion effect and that is worthwhile as well. The only part I fail to understand and they don't give any pictures of, is just how the heck does it stop ANY chucking? Have you looked yours over enough to find their "secret method"? I am mechanically inclined and just have to know exactly how it is supposed to work before I buy one.
Click to expand...
 
Come on now guys, surely SOMEONE has looked at a 5th Airborne hitch somewhere!

Don/TX said:
Does ANYBODY know how the 5th Airborne combats chucking, or how the mechanics work on it? I have found a dealer that has one that fits my fiver and it is heavily discounted.
Click to expand...
 
To see a demo of the fifthairborne go to fifthairborne.com and look in the upper right corner right under Contact and testimonials and click on the "watch fifthairborne ". "as seen on TV" one of the inventers explains the inner workings. Another good thing about the pin box is that in the normal position the pin is level for connecting and disconnecting and the "bag" and "shock" are protected from the elements.

Regardless of the "how it works" I just know that I am very satisfied with the bounce and shuck control and know by experience that it does what they claim.

Bob
 
Well, something must be haywire with my computer, no such area exists for me! If you can get a link of the video, I would love to see it.

That said, I consider your indorsement as far more valid than sales hype, and think I will go ahead Monday. Seems like $646 to my door is the best price I can find.
 
Thats a good price, I paid $700 last year with it being delivered to our dealer for free installation.

I found a way that you may be able to access the film at their site. Go to fifthgear.com than click on fifth airborne , that should get you in the right direction. good luck



FYI-- at our dealer they have one man that does all of the pin box and hitch work, he told me that whenever he was asked for a recomendation on the best pin box he would tell them "trailair" . That was until he received my fifth airborne and checked it out and seen how it worked. He said that now he would only recommend the fifth airborne.



good luck

Bob
 
Don/TX said:
We know the site OK, what is happening is something apparently is screwed in my browser, I cannot find the "clicker" that he is guiding me towards that shows how the darned thing works. If you can get it, maybe you can send me a link to the video.
Click to expand...



The pointer isn't taking you to the actual "home" page, and that's where the video selection is located - here's a pointer to the vid:



Untitled Document
 
Last edited:
We drove from Oregon to Virginia after installing a new Demco Glide ryde and pretty much took care of the chucking on our rig. The first couple of hundred miles it didn't seem to make a big difference but after we put somemore miles on it the ride improved. Interestingly the rougher the road the better it works!

We paid something like 650 bucks from Tweetys delivered.
 
Don,



If you don't have anyone to help you you might be able to do it by yourself by laying a lumber platform across your bed rails and lowering the trailer kingpin until it rests lightly on the platform, unbolt it the raise the trailer. That would allow you to remove the original kingpin box and then attach the replacement if you can lift it onto the platform.



I removed and reinstalled the Demco Glide-Ride from my HH twice by myself by setting the kingpin down on my Reese hitch and latching it.
 
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