smartcows
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Re: Sidewinder 5th Airborne
There are some missunderstandings about the sidewinder pin box by Reese Mfg. I have a 5th airborne Elite. I installed it myself and have used it for one season and driven about 4000 miles so far. I have a 16000# Reese RP30047 hitch (dual pivot). First if you are researching, download the installation instructions to get an idea on how the setup works. Also be aware that the sidewinder cannot be used on all fith wheel hitches. The instructions detail this. Second, Reese does not do a good job of explaining and promoting this unit. Hence the rumors and wrong ideas. Third, the sidewinder does NOT change the load point on the TV. It is about the same length as an extended pin box so the pin to trailer position does not change. It just moves the pivot point back to the pin box attach point. I am an engineer and have studied my sidewinder constantly while I've owned it. Here are my observations: 1. Hooking up to the sidewinder is a new challenge especially if you have a lot of experience hooking up a regular pin box. I have read many forums where people cannot get the pin to go fully into the fifth wheel latch. With the standard pin box you just align your hitch to the pin and back in until it stops. With the sidewinder you have a lock plate that keys into the slot in the back of the hitch so the sidewinder (the part that pivots) must be parallel to the trucks longitudinal axis. I know that sounds complicated but all you need to understand is what to align to when backing in. Instead of looking at the pin, watch in your inside mirror and center the trailer pin box attachment point to the middle of your rear window slide. If you do not have a sliding rear window you can place a piece of colored tape vertivally in the center of the window. If the pivot part of the sidewinder is slightly missaligned to the slot in the hitch it will move over by itself or you can push it over until it will enter the slot. The lock plate will then enter the slot all the way and allow the latch to close. then do your normal pre-tow hitch latch test. 2. Sometimes the pin is difficult to unlatch. This is an ongoing issue for me though it is becoming less so. Though I am not sure why yet, obviously there is too much pressure on the jaws to be able to pull the release. I am thinking that it is a combination of the tightness of the lock plate to the slot and the air bag pressure. When it is difficult to release I lock the trailer brakes, reverse the truck to push the pin forward in the hitch. I also remove more weight from the hitch by raising the trailer more. That all seems to help. Next outing I am going to try removing the air pressure from the airbag to see what difference it might make. 3. The pivot is impossible to move by hand. The instructions say to lubricate the nylatron bearing and thrust washer with grease and to torque the four pivot plate bolts to 45 lb.ft. This results in a locked pivot that will only pivot while connected to the truck. Also after about 2000 miles of towing, I checked the bolts and found they were becoming quite loose and I have to tighten them periodically. I am trying to communicate with Reese about this as this issue has safety concerns. When the bolts are any looser than the recommended torque, if you pivot the pin box you can see the bolts cant to one side and back. The problem is that the trust washer is too thick and the bolt plate cannot bottom out on the post. i would like to sand down the washer but I want to hear what Reese has to say about this. 4. Towing and manuvering is better with this pin box. high speed stability is exactly the same as before but the air bag definitely cushions the chucking. Turning around in a tight campground is so much better as I can jacknife the trailer so much farther than before(over 90 degrees). 5. The pin box and hitch combines to make a lot of racket when stopping and starting. This is due to the multiple loose joints in the system. There is play where the hitch mounts to the rails, play between the pin and jaws, play in the two pivots in the hitch and play in the lock plate to the slot. it is not a safety concern but I did scare the #$@&% out of a lady toll booth operator. In summary I would recommend this pin box but if you are not very good at hitching or aligning you may become frustrated enough to decide it is not worth it.507Views0likes0Comments
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