Pin Box Question
Hello everyone, I am thinking about adding an air ride pin box to my trailer. Wondering if anyone has any knowledge or experience with either of the following units. Trailair Flex Air 5th Wheel...
Forum Discussion
Lippert has discontinued the Trail Air and the Trail Air Tri-Glide. The new Air Ride box is just a re-named Trail Air. The Flex Air is the replacement for the Tri-Glide. etrailer does still have some of the older units in stock but when they are gone, they are gone. If you do buy from etrailer, be sure to use their 110% low price guarantee. After you buy, scour the net and find the absolute lowest price on the box you choose. Email a link to etrailer customer service with the lower price and they will refund you 110% of the difference.
All that said, I have used the Trail Air (same as Air Ride), the Tri-Glide, and the Reese 5th Airborne. The Trail Air and 5th Airborne tow 100% identically. The advantage of the 5th Airborne is two fold. It looks a lot better with it's guts inside and can fit under a factory or Lippert pinbox cover due it having the same shape as a standard 1621 steel box. The second advantage is it weighs about 80# less than the Trail Air which keeps your pin weight down a bit. The Tri-Glide does eliminate chucking more than the other two but it comes at the cost of being very noisy, being heavier than the other two, and adding 2" of front ride height. You can raise it up in it's mounting wings and lower your hitch, but some setups will still need the trailer lifted to get level. The noise comes from the jaw's ability to roll back and fourth. While this does work great to eliminate chucking, it gives a loud clunk at take off and while in stop and go traffic.
All that said, I have used the Trail Air (same as Air Ride), the Tri-Glide, and the Reese 5th Airborne. The Trail Air and 5th Airborne tow 100% identically. The advantage of the 5th Airborne is two fold. It looks a lot better with it's guts inside and can fit under a factory or Lippert pinbox cover due it having the same shape as a standard 1621 steel box. The second advantage is it weighs about 80# less than the Trail Air which keeps your pin weight down a bit. The Tri-Glide does eliminate chucking more than the other two but it comes at the cost of being very noisy, being heavier than the other two, and adding 2" of front ride height. You can raise it up in it's mounting wings and lower your hitch, but some setups will still need the trailer lifted to get level. The noise comes from the jaw's ability to roll back and fourth. While this does work great to eliminate chucking, it gives a loud clunk at take off and while in stop and go traffic.
