5th Wheel Hitches, what did you buy?

Discuss with others about towing. What is the best tow vehicle, hitches, brake controllers, etc, keeping in mind that everybody has his/her favorite.

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Re: 5th Wheel Hitches, what did you buy?

Post by campswithcritters »

Charles Riviere wrote:Hey Bruce....The Air Rides seem like overkill .But I most likley will never need another hitch... Life time warranty on the Firestone Air Bags. Almost bought the Hensley Trailersaver. After research I felt the Airsafe best fit my needs.
The place I bought the truck had this one in stock and got it thrown into the deal. $1200 less than me ordering it and they installed it for free. Great thing of having air brakes is that it is adjustable (with gauge and valve) from inside the cab.
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Re: 5th Wheel Hitches, what did you buy?

Post by Chief409 »

campswithcritters wrote:Looks like a rough hook-up!
Except for dropping the right front wheel into the ditch, with the tilt, no harder then usual. The only wheel in the dirt at any time was the right front, and all the mud you see on the pavement is from when I took the trailer out a couple of days before to dump tanks. I used 4Hi coming out because of the spring and I sank in fairly far. The people at the dealer I bought the 'Bird and hitch from thought I was doing overkill with this hitch, but I don't regret it. It also has a one piece jaw, there is no doubt when it's locked.

I will say this is the best riding trailer I've owned or pulled. I put a toilet paper roll on the heater duct in the toilet, and it's in place after a day's run. I've experienced chucking vary rarely and by varying the speed I've been able to minimize it then. Of course I not hauling on I80 in Pennsylvania or on the freeways in Boston out here. Ever watch in your mirrors and see 2' to 3' of air under the trailer tires? :o
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Re: 5th Wheel Hitches, what did you buy?

Post by Mike Clay »

Yes I got to see that twice on the way to New Mexico but it was more like 6" dang, had spices coming out of the spice racks had to put half the racks back on in the fridg. :(
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Re: 5th Wheel Hitches, what did you buy?

Post by Don Wilson »

Mike is not exagarating about the air under his tires!

I was travelimg that same road Hiway :twisted: 666 :twisted: now renumbered 491 from Farmington NM to Gallup NM several years ago pulling a tow trailer with my previous Dodge 2500 and I swear at least once the truck and trailer were both off the ground at the same time!

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Re: 5th Wheel Hitches, what did you buy?

Post by Chief409 »

Of course I not hauling on I80 in Pennsylvania or on the freeways in Boston out here. Ever watch in your mirrors and see 2' to 3' of air under the trailer tires?

On these roads I'd find the burner grids all over, the stove top some where and I had to put the burners back together. We were using plastic plates then, and a good thing too! :) This was in th 1980's, with a 14' TT behind a Toy SWB 4X4, and then my Bronco, I hope things are better now. But I won't bet on it. :roll:
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Re: 5th Wheel Hitches, what did you buy?

Post by Future Fulltimers »

Charles Riviere wrote:
Future Fulltimers wrote:We just ordered this to upgrade our Reese 16k:
http://www.airsafehitches.com/25k_fifth_wheel.html
Wife said she was tired of all the chucking and bouncing. :x Maybe a little of an overkill but when Mama is happy, EVERYONE is happy!!! :bounce: :mrgreen: :wink:


Wayne....I bought the 25k with the Binkley Head we really liked the trip to Albuq. was nice.Big improvement over the RBW.

When you get it if it leaks air to fast and you check all fitting and it still leaks tighten the valve stem...Mine was not tight so that's what I had to do....Mine seems to do well at 65 - 75 lbs. Just try different pressures till you find what works best for your setup.

Hope you enjoy it :thumbrt: :
Thanks Charles for the tip.
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Re: 5th Wheel Hitches, what did you buy?

Post by Mike Clay »

Don Wilson wrote:Mike is not exagarating about the air under his tires!

I was travelimg that same road Hiway :twisted: 666 :twisted: now renumbered 491 from Farmington NM to Gallup NM several years ago pulling a tow trailer with my previous Dodge 2500 and I swear at least once the truck and trailer were both off the ground at the same time!

Don
No kidding the good ole devils hwy. :shock: Susanna is talking about going back in that area next year dang I wont have a trailer left by Yellowstone. :shock:
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Re: 5th Wheel Hitches, what did you buy?

Post by bigbunkhouse »

Chief409 wrote:
campswithcritters wrote:Looks like a rough hook-up!
Of course I not hauling on I80 in Pennsylvania or on the freeways in Boston out here. Ever watch in your mirrors and see 2' to 3' of air under the trailer tires? :o

These roads are great! :shock: if ya like the drivin down a railroad bed wit an occasional 12 in frost heave! Thats probably why I do so many shocks and ball joints in others vehicles. I actually feel that the dually with tthe trailer takes the roads better than most cars, we see how they act infront of us but it seems to be much less in our rig :thumbrt:
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Re: 5th Wheel Hitches, what did you buy?

Post by Chief409 »

bigbunkhouse wrote:
Chief409 wrote:
campswithcritters wrote:Looks like a rough hook-up!
Of course I not hauling on I80 in Pennsylvania or on the freeways in Boston out here. Ever watch in your mirrors and see 2' to 3' of air under the trailer tires? :o

These roads are great! :shock: if ya like the drivin down a railroad bed wit an occasional 12 in frost heave! Thats probably why I do so many shocks and ball joints in others vehicles. I actually feel that the dually with tthe trailer takes the roads better than most cars, we see how they act infront of us but it seems to be much less in our rig :thumbrt:
Tire shops love 'em too! The ONLY time I ever had to replace 2 front tires for rim cuts was after hitting a "pothole" on HWY 1 in Nesheminy, PA. Some "pothole", 8' to 10' long, the width of the concrete lane, and down to the rebar. On a Toyota PU, with 8 ply mud and snows. Rush hour traffic at 50 MPH. :x It's amazing how fast one of those things grow, and how long it takes PennDOT to fix one. The condition of I80 is just neglect, it isn't part of the Turnpike. When we moved from PA to Maine in 1985, even the trucks were avoiding it.
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Re: 5th Wheel Hitches, what did you buy?

Post by Traveler II »

We have a Reese 18K. When it was new we had some problems hooking up and unhooking. But after a while we either learned how to do it or the hitch was broken in. Just a few weeks ago, going through a car wash, the car wash bent the handel so bad we had to replace the complete top of the hitch. I was worried that I would have trouble with the new one, but it worked great the first time I used it. As I said it was either me or the first one had to much paint build up when it was new.
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Re: 5th Wheel Hitches, what did you buy?

Post by Mike Clay »

A little tip with the Reese hitch anyway is if you are not backing up a ramp before you unhook hit the trailer brake controller while backing up to take the pressure off the hitch.
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Re: 5th Wheel Hitches, what did you buy?

Post by Chief409 »

Traveler II wrote:We have a Reese 18K. When it was new we had some problems hooking up and unhooking. But after a while we either learned how to do it or the hitch was broken in. Just a few weeks ago, going through a car wash, the car wash bent the handel so bad we had to replace the complete top of the hitch. I was worried that I would have trouble with the new one, but it worked great the first time I used it. As I said it was either me or the first one had to much paint build up when it was new.
I had some problems at first hooking up also, the hitch would would latch, but the pin wouldn't go thru the hole. What I do now is make sure the kingpin plate hits on the bottom to mid range of the green area of the ramp, and back in slowly. And hit the brakes as soon as the hitch trips. That seems to work better for me. I also think the trip lever was a bit misadjusted, so that it released a bit early, a few bangs backing in plus a few thousand miles cured that. :thumbrt: Unhooking I chock the trailer wheels and put the transmission in neutral, release the truck brakes, then set the parking brake and unhook. Whatever it takes to get tension off the kingpin. I have had the trailer roll back onto the chocks and move an inch or so when I've pulled the release though, even after all the above, if I'm setting up on the crown of a rise (truck on one side/trailer on the other). The first time that happened... :o

If you don't mind me asking, what did Reese charge for the replacement hitch top?
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Re: 5th Wheel Hitches, what did you buy?

Post by Traveler II »

The replacement head cost $406.
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Re: 5th Wheel Hitches, what did you buy?

Post by Future Fulltimers »

Future Fulltimers wrote:
Charles Riviere wrote:
Future Fulltimers wrote:We just ordered this to upgrade our Reese 16k:
http://www.airsafehitches.com/25k_fifth_wheel.html
Wife said she was tired of all the chucking and bouncing. :x Maybe a little of an overkill but when Mama is happy, EVERYONE is happy!!! :bounce: :mrgreen: :wink:


Wayne....I bought the 25k with the Binkley Head we really liked the trip to Albuq. was nice.Big improvement over the RBW.

When you get it if it leaks air to fast and you check all fitting and it still leaks tighten the valve stem...Mine was not tight so that's what I had to do....Mine seems to do well at 65 - 75 lbs. Just try different pressures till you find what works best for your setup.

Hope you enjoy it :thumbrt: :
Thanks Charles for the tip.
This is more like it. :D :mrgreen: If anyone is thinking about replacing their hitch, this is the way to go!!! It may seem a little pricy but the rewards are worth it ESPECIALLY with some of the bad roads we travel. Incidentally, if you are traveling I-40 in NC, hang on to something :shock:
Wayne & Peggy Williamson
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2007 Silverado 3500 Classic 6.6L D'Max
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