Newbie question on fifth wheel hitches

rhagfo wrote:

Durb wrote:
Welcome. I bought my first 5er last year and went through the motions of installing a very popular hitch in my Ram 3500. The ride was so terrible that the wife said to sell the 5th wheel. We were bouncing up and down plus her head was bouncing off the headrest (chucking). I ended up with a TS3 and it is now a pleasure to ride in the truck when towing. I wish I didn't have to spend the 3 grand to fix my problem. That being said, you won't be unhappy with an air hitch.

This is a good forum, I suggest you pick out the trailer you want and your truck and post to see if others have the same. They will reply regarding their towing results with various hitches.

Well you spent $3,000 on a hitch that smoothed your ride, but did NOTHING to correct the ride the 5er is experiencing :S!!!

So your 5er is bouncing and banging behind you, the Air Ride hitch is just hiding it from you.

I tow an 12,360# GVWR 5er with a 2001 Ram 2500, and have a standard Reese hitch and standard pin box. I have near zero chucking because my 5er rides smooth it's self!

#1 Reason for chucking is too light of pin 20% minimum for a 5er 22% is better. I always run with FW tank full as it is forward of the axles.

#2 Fiver as near level as possible, our 32' might now be at most an inch nose high.

#3 Great shocks on the TV, Bilstein's on ours.

#4 Shocks (working) of the 5er.

#5 Wet bolts and heavy duty shackles on the 5er.

Please don't imply I wasted my money. My pin weight is 18% and has not changed since chucking (Patriot) and not chucking (TrailerSaver). I did lower my ride height with the TS3 and am about 1" nose high. I do have Bilsteins on my truck. I have independent suspension on my 5er as I have Dexter Torflex axles. Shocks are not an option and I have no shackles.

The air hitch does mask the bouncing from my trailer which is what I paid for. It also masks the bouncing the truck sends to the trailer. The stuff that used to shift around in my cabinets before now stays in place. Smoother ride all around. Money well spent.