16 replies to this topic

[David Jobes]

Pin Box

Edited by David Jobes, 18 May 2012 - 07:30 PM.

[missourijan]

We towed for 5 1/2 years with just an extended pin box and now we have a Trail Aire. We really like it, it smooths out the rough highways for our 5'r. We know someone in AR who would trade with you, he really wants one.

[Stanley P. Miller]

I'm not a trailair fan but yours sounds like it may have some type of problem. I'd call the trailair folks and talk to one of their tech.

I'm much fonder of air hitches, the hinged lever and bag ones in particular.

[Jim2]

By doing this...
"I prefer to run the airbag deflated..."

You were the cause of this...
"The kingpin and plate it’s welded to, slide front to back approx 6 inches with NO DAMPENING. When I accelerate, the trailer slams back. When I hit the brakes, the trailer slams forward. While traveling down the road, the pin moves freely front to back which feels like the trailer is disconnecting from the hitch."


Otherwise you have some type of major defect, or incompatability issue with your hitch.


I have Trailair Pin Boxes on both my 5'ers and they work great with the airbag properly inflated. When its properly inflated for the load, it dampens the up/down movement; it doesnt generate up/down movement. But by taking all the air out of the bag, you removed the dampening.

[richfaa]

You have a problem. That is NOT proper operation of the trailair hitch. The hitch does NOT move freely back and forth, Sounds like the hitch is defective.
the trailair and the Mor Ryde hitch are both good products that do smooth out the ride.

[richfaa]

ooops

Edited by richfaa, 28 January 2012 - 08:30 PM.

[psaint]

You definitely have a problem. What you describe is not the way the hitch works. I have had the Trailair for 6 years now and do thousands of miles of very comfortable riding. It hitches and unhitches with no problems at all and does not operate as you posted.

I can think of several reasons why semi trucks don't use it : 1-It would be costly for one to handle 45,000 lb. loads. 2-The cab of the tractor is air ride so they don't feel the bouncing of the trailer. 3-Product on or in the trailer is protected so if the trailer bounces it doesn't matter. Just because trailer transporters don't use it means nothing. They make very little money and don't spend money on accessories that don't make them money. They have no concern because the trailers they haul don't have everything loaded as we do.

[Chief 2]

I have aTrail Aire pin box on my 5'r and have found it to be great. I keep the air bag inflated to the correct pressure and the camper just floats down the road. It also decreases the impact on the rear suspension of the truck. I towed our MS 18k plus miles back in 2010 and didn't have any issues with the hitch.

[David Jobes]

Thanks for the input. Still haven't heard back from the manufacture. I think the airbag on the Trailair works against the air-ride suspension on my tow vehicle. The end result is the trailer bouncing. No air in the Trailair equals no bounce!
As for the king pin, I've found out this is a new model called the "TRI GLIDE TRAIL AIR". The king pin and base plate are NOT mounted solid to the pinbox. It actually hangs like a pendulum underneath. The king pin is designed to move fore & aft with no resistance. Don't know why...Guess it's just another gimmick?
Anyhow, I have found out that the manufacture of the Trailair (Lippert) has a whole bunch of accessories on my trailer that are not up to par. The snap pins that hold the foot pads to the jacks are bending. The spring loaded "set pins" that you pull to set the jack height are bending. The jacks themselves are flimsy. A couple of the slide-out motors have burned out already...Should I go on? How about the dealer told me not to use the slide outs when the temps are below 40 degrees??? Keep in mind I've never used the trailer yet! K, I've gotten off track...
As much as I'm still going to hound the manufacture about the Trailair, I bought a Reese king pin/pinbox that I plan to install tomorrow morning.

Edited by David Jobes, 17 February 2012 - 09:34 PM.

[Big Greg]

We have a Demco pin box and the plate with the king pin will easily slide forward and backward when disconnected. When connected the 5W weight on the king pin & hitch will not allow the assemly to slide as easily and the weight causes the forward & backward dampening when towing. The Demco works very well. Greg

[David Jobes]

Big Greg, thanks for mentioning Demco. I never heard of them before. I went to Demco's website and watched the video of their "Glide Ride". Though both units (Trailair & Demco) have the same idea in mind, the Demco appears to be a much better product then what I have. The Demco "self centers" after it moves, but the Trailair stays ether forward or back. This causes the unit to bang hard when it moves in the opposite direction. I wish they put a Demco on my unit...I probably wouldn't have any complaints. I installed the Reese Sidewinder, so we'll see how that goes. Thankz!

[bilmorvn]

When we originally got our 5W, had a FithAirborne hitchpin installed. I like it very much. One our first trip to the factory for repairs to the 5W, they replaced it with the Trialaire. didn't like it as much as the 5thAirbborne. Next trip to the factory, had Trailaire install their "gliding" jaw. Mine works (doesn't work) just like the OP says his does. We also have the Trailaire centerpoint suspension and air bags in the truck. Think there are times they work against each other. Right now one of the centerpoint airbags has a leak and I need to replace it. Would not recommend Trailaire to anyone.

[Sasha and Laura]

We have the Mor Ryde King pin and an AirSafe 25K hitch

My link 1


My link 2


Great combo. Would not be without an airbag hitch.

[Jim Wildman]

We love our Trailair. I've found that I can adjust it based on how much water, waste, etc I have in the trailer to get a better ride. It does 'slam' if you don't have the trailer brakes adjust right.

[RWinslow]

The older TrailAirs are very sensitive to the air pressure in the pin box air spring, we have found that a 5 psi difference can make all the difference in the world on the trailer response, however once the sweet spot is located it is a very nice ride. Since this is a dynamic environment everybody's situation will be a bit different.

RV 5th wheels are much stiffer than a semi truck van trailer. Our trailers are not designed to flex in the walls and the floor - if they did everything would come apart or be on the floor. Semi-truck trailers do flex quite a bit as they go down the road - their walls are very thin and no heavy cabinets are hung from them - hence they do not need the air ride pin / hitch.

TrailAir was bought by Lippert last year. I purchased one of the last of the original Trailairs and it arrived without some of the key parts needed (bushings, etc.) I re-engineered a couple of the key stress points and put in my own bushings, etc - the unit works very well for us. Lippert customer service was horrible - and that is being very nice! The original TrailAirs can produce some fore and aft chucking motion in some situations - hence the sliding king pin plate. Morryde and Demco both have much better solutions than Trailairs latest idea, nowever they do not dampen out the up and down motion as well as an air ride hitch or the trailair type of king pin hitch.

[rick.rutel]

We have the same set up on our 41' KZ and love it. No problems at all.

[rick.rutel]

We have the same set up on our 41' KZ and love it. No problems at all.