Air Pin Box: Which one to get???

[bowler1]

Hi,
I am thinking of getting an air-type pin box for my trailer to smooth out the ride and add control. Which one do you have / recommend? I am leaning toward the Reese 5th Airborne based on reviews I have seen so far. I have a Lippert right now.

thanks
Matt

[2012Oudoorsman]

I'm quite happy with my trail air. You can see it work while driving over the bumps. I am quite new to th 5th wheel world and have bot towed without this on the trailer. I do have second thoughts about the $1,000 it cost to upgrade and wonder if the Morryde rubber pin box would have been just as good for nearlt half the price.

Either way I've had no chucking and nothing but a pleasant ride when towing a 40' camper with a SRW without any airbags.

[hbillsmith]

For the first 2 years with my 11,000# Wildcat I towed using the factory installed BAL Lippert 1621 clone (no shocks, no air, no rubber) and it towed great. The few times we even felt a chuck was crossing over an old, severely in need of repair, bridge joint (like those on I-20 in Shreveport). Everywhere else just fine though. Then Forest River sent me a new pinbox because the original one was rated less than the designated Gross Vehicle Weight for my trailer (side note: I had never loaded up to the GVWR limit, so my original pinbox never did exceed limit).

The new one they sent is the BAL Rubber Pin Box (aka RPB, it was the model that's a bolt-match replace for the LCI 1621). I had the new RPB installed and we've now towed about 12,000 miles with it. It made a significant difference and our last trip across the Shreveport bridges confirmed it is indeed a better ride.

The BAL RPB uses a rubber plate to absorb shocks (no airbag, no compression shock). We like and recommend it.

[ependydad]

Bionic Man wrote:
I “upgraded” to a Trail Air on our 5er probably 5 or 6 years ago. In my opinion the change was a waste of money as the ride is not significantly different.

X2. We traveled extensively with the TrailAir for 3 or 4 years and never saw the great improvement that people claim vs. the fixed pin box it replaced.

[Bionic_Man]

I “upgraded” to a Trail Air on our 5er probably 5 or 6 years ago. In my opinion the change was a waste of money as the ride is not significantly different.

[xtech]

Also have Reese 5th airborne and we love it.

[ACZL]

On our 2nd 5th AB and very satisfied with it. Takes a little to dial in, but everything is still in place inside RV and ride on both truck and RV is smooth. Kinda neat watching the pin box flex and not feel it in cab of truck.

[Cummins12V98]

Simply compare the geometry of the two. TrailAire wins hands down.

[BB_TX]

Have had a 5th Airborne on our 5er for 8 yrs. Works great.

[donn0128]

Habe only had a TrailAir and like it just fine. With the shock and indicator lable its easy to see when you havemthe right amount of air in the air bag.

[southernsky]

ugeesta wrote:
We like our Reese 5th Airborne so much, we had the dealer switch out the pin box when we traded in our trailer for a new one. Don’t have experience with the other air pin boxes to compare though.

We did the same

[ugeesta]

We like our Reese 5th Airborne so much, we had the dealer switch out the pin box when we traded in our trailer for a new one. Don’t have experience with the other air pin boxes to compare though.