Air Ride Hitch

[rickeieio]

So, I'm wondering, are there any air ride hitch options that would allow hitch placement above the rear suspension on an hdt?  The reason I ask is, we've been waffling on upgrading our truck.  I see lots of nice trucks that are longer than ours, which would make us even more over length, unless I could mount the hitch above the rear most suspension.  I know the Trailersaver and ET both need to be dropped down between the frame rails, but is there anything else available?

One reason I'm pondering this is it would allow more under bed storage, allowing the car to be closer to the cab, allowing the hitch to move forward...........

I intend to remain tandem, so singling mid is not an option, unless I find a truck with a factory air tag.  Not likely.

It seems there might be a market for such a hitch.  I woner if anyone (Henry?) has worked on it?

[Nigel]

Just throwing an idea out here.  Has anyone thought about taking the fifth wheel pin box and rotating it 180 degrees.  That would get you a couple of feet.  I know RVH Lifestyle has done a straight down pin box.  

I’m certainly not an engineer but could it work?

 

Nigel

[steiny93]

I used an 'air safe' hitch; https://airsafehitches.com/ it didn't have to be dropped between the frame rails to have enough clearance.

[Av8r3400]

The ET Junior can be mounted on top of the frame. 

[hatrack]

ET Junior mounted 3/4" below top of frame. With a ride height of 50 1/4". I raised the hitch pin to highest position on the DRV Fullhouse. Had to use 4" X 8" x 3/8" angle with a notch cut for the torque bar bracket and had to cut a coupe of notches for bolts down the side. If you want to take a look at the mounting stop by Crossvile, Spring Lake RV Resort. We'll be here until about June.

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VNitcWr7Dl7gdiD0I72UHIWSf1VYfdSt/view?usp=sharing

Edited January 27, 2021 by hatrack

[rickeieio]

So, using Hatrack's numbers, to achieve a 47" height, you'd need to mount the Jr 4" below the frame rail, same as my TrailerSaver.  If memory serves, Henry designed the Jr to drop in where a Trailersaver had been.  So it makes sense.

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

9 hours ago, rickeieio said:

So, I'm wondering, are there any air ride hitch options that would allow hitch placement above the rear suspension on an hdt?  The reason I ask is, we've been waffling on upgrading our truck.  I see lots of nice trucks that are longer than ours, which would make us even more over length, unless I could mount the hitch above the rear most suspension.  I know the Trailersaver and ET both need to be dropped down between the frame rails, but is there anything else available?

One reason I'm pondering this is it would allow more under bed storage, allowing the car to be closer to the cab, allowing the hitch to move forward...........

I intend to remain tandem, so singling mid is not an option, unless I find a truck with a factory air tag.  Not likely.

It seems there might be a market for such a hitch.  I woner if anyone (Henry?) has worked on it?

My TrailerSaver is actually sitting on a 1" plate on top of the frame.  Plate is bolted to the original hitch rails.  Our truck is singled short at 182" and the center of the jaws is 6" behind the rear axle centerline. 

[rickeieio]

10 hours ago, Nigel said:

Just throwing an idea out here.  Has anyone thought about taking the fifth wheel pin box and rotating it 180 degrees.  That would get you a couple of feet.  I know RVH Lifestyle has done a straight down pin box.  

I’m certainly not an engineer but could it work?

 

Nigel

Now I've got to do some measuring.  I'd thought about a straight pin box, but it never dawned on me to reverse it.  I'm afraid it would foul the front pivot of the hitch frame.

[crazybanshee]

My Trailersaver hitch is mounted on top the frame rails. I have had three different trailers without any issue.

[Chad Heiser]

1 hour ago, rickeieio said:

Now I've got to do some measuring.  I'd thought about a straight pin box, but it never dawned on me to reverse it.  I'm afraid it would foul the front pivot of the hitch frame.

At the very first WCR, one of the attendees had reversed the pin box on his Hitch Hiker and pulled the trailer that way.  He had no issues, but he designed the bed overhang on his truck to be short enough to not interfere with the front of the 5th wheel in turns with it pulled that far forward.  He also had a smart on the bed of the truck.  Unfortunately this is the only picture I have of the set up.  If you zoom in, you can see the reversed pin box.

Edited January 28, 2021 by Chad Heiser

[rollinbrian]

44 minutes ago, Chad Heiser said:

At the very first WCR, one of the attendees had reversed the pin box on his Hitch Hiker and pulled the trailer that way.  He had no issues, but he designed the bed overhang on his truck to be short enough to not interfere with the front of the 5th wheel in turns with it pulled that far forward.  He also had a smart on the bed of the truck.  Unfortunately this is the only picture I have of the set up.  If you zoom in, you can see the reversed pin box.

This is very interesting.   Getting my trailersaver bolted up next week.  Will have to tape this out and see how it might fit.

[hatrack]

Rich,

I made a error mine is actually 49.5" to the top, but my frame is only 10.5" not 12" like most of your trucks. 20" center of axle 8" to bottom of frame 10.5" frame et junior 11.71" to top. I'm thinking about moving mine back 9" and dropping 2.25" and put rvh hitch pin on trailer and dropping 8" in length of truck and trailer.

[jenandjon]

I have a comfort ride on top of the frame rails. I'm 2 inches high on the trailer but when I build the new pin box I will be able to take care of that. I would like to have the pin back farther also. So when I build the pin box I,m gong to try to fudge the pin back 6-8 inches from straight down off the center of the pin box.

Edited January 29, 2021 by jenandjon

[Star Dreamer]

The biggest problem with designing an air ride hitch to sit on the top of the frame rails and still keep hitch head at a normal height of around 47" is the space required for the air bags and the pivoting hitch head and making sure the design works well enough for the loads and forces imposed on it. Usually the hitch head will be higher than normal and in some cases your trailer can handle it, in others you need to modify and in others it may put you over maximum height. 

Changing pin box will help keep the overal length with the trailer shorter but you need to do some careful measuring. The tight area is usually when doing a turn and the truck is at about a 45 degree to the trailer where the corner of the truck gets closest to the gooseneck drop on the trailer. The farther back you push the pin on the trailer the closer this distance becomes. Measure from you current pin to the vertical surface of the gooseneck. Then measure from your hitch pin location on you truck to the farthest point on the corner of the truck bed or fenders or mudflap hanger. You want at least 3-6" of clearance to allow for dips, etc... If you have more, you could move the pin rearward bit be sure to also consider any access to the front compartment on the trailer if you have doors there that you might need to get into if truck is hooked up.

[rickeieio]

Yep, I've done the math, that's why I haven't put a straight pin box on our trailer.  It'd be almost zero fudge factor.

But, looking at available trucks on the market, one could buy a truck with a longer wheelbase, flip the pin box per Nigel's suggestion, and come up with the same numbers.  The benefit is with a longer wheelbase, you can have more under bed storage, thus eliminate a drom/tool box behind the cab, and place the car closer to the cab.

Now, back to the hitch......  I think that utilizing a single larger "pancake" air bag like Henry has done on some recent hitches could get the head height down.  Might have to re-design the frame to drop the bag into a slight pocket.  The hard part is figuring how to achieve the anti-chucking function without making the front pivot points higher than the head.