5th Wheel Pin Box

[Chateau Duke To Go]

We got our Cruiser Air CAF28RK back in August and are loving it. Living in a moderate climate, we took several trips over the winter and this spring. The only concern was the rough ride while towing over some of the terrible interstates in Louisiana and Mississippi. The wife had a couple of broken dishes the last trip going north on I 55 in Mississippi.

The first thing I looked at was to make sure the hitch set up was correct and we ride level. That checked out. Apparently the rough ride problem is common. So, I started looking at pin box upgrades. I've looked at Mor/Ride, Demco Glide Ride, and Ultrafab Trailair. Each claim to be the best and I have found separate articles claiming each to be the best. I have not found any articles that directly compare and contrast each of these.

So, do you all have any experience with these or any suggestions for surviving the bucking and jolting on rough roads.

The stock pin box is a Lippert 1621 and the GVWR of the RV is 11,700 lbs. I'm towing it with a 2010 Ford F250 with a B&W Companion 5th wheel.

Thanks in advance.

[fhenn]

We had the same problem, went with the Demco Glide Ride, got it from Tweety's easy swap, and made a lot of difference. I have had it on since 2008

[Lloyd]

I put the Mor/Ryde on our rig. It smoothed out the ride considerably.
I see you have a rear kitchen also. They take a little more effort putting things in there proper places. I little better packing helps a lot.

[Stan]

Another vote for the Demco. I decided to upgrade my 1621 out after the first trip home from the dealer. What a great improvement. I also made sure I had a 4 way pivoting hitch and I feel it makes a nice improvement to the ride as well. Pricey for the two components but worth the investment.

[gball]

X2 on the Mor/Ryde. It made a huge difference in the way the trailer pulled after I changed to the Mor/Ryde.

[cwit]

If you don,t have equa flex this helped a whole lot on the bumps.

[Chateau Duke To Go]

Thank you all for the advice. It seems Demco and Morryde are equal quality products that accomplish the objective through different approaches. I got the MorRyde from Tweedy's for a good price with free shipping. I installed it this morning with a little lifting help from a buddy. It was really easy. I did replace the OEM grade 5 bolts with grade 8 bolts. I was going to upload a picture but I have to go figure out how to do it.

Thanks again for the help.

[Lloyd]

You're going to like it!

[st.rodder2]

I would check with Mor/Ryde about upgrading the bolts to grade 8. A grade 8 may be to brittle for this application. A grade 8 bolt has a higher tensile strength but may shear easier.

[Chateau Duke To Go]

Originally Posted by st.rodder2

I would check with Mor/Ryde about upgrading the bolts to grade 8. A grade 8 may be to brittle for this application. A grade 8 bolt has a higher tensile strength but may shear easier.

Mor Ryde recommends either grade 5 torqued to 135 ftlb or Grade 8 torqued to 170 ftlb in their installation instructions. I suspect that having that much clamping force over 10 bolts overcomes the shearing concern.

The one thing I found interesting is that they called for 5 bolts on either side but Lippert only used 4 bolts on either side with the OEM pin box even though the extra bolt hole was available. I used 5 on each side of course as Mor Ryde called for.

Thanks for bringing this up though. The sharing of info on this forum is awesome.

[Chateau Duke To Go]

Just took first trip with new pin box. It was like night and day. A HUGE difference. The stretch of I-10 from Slidell LA to the Mississippi line was terrible previously. This time it was not bad at all. The wife was on a conference call with her work and did not even know we had passed that stretch of road.

Thank you all for the advice.

[r2millers]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm not sure a smoother hitch pin system will help eliminate the breaking dish issue as stated by the OP.
It will smoothen out the truck ride, absorbing and cushioning the inertia of a trailer behind you, but the suspension under the trailer would really be the difference maker.
Am I wrong?

[nrausa]

Take a look at this site. Good info and free stuff.

www.trailersaver.com

Stan

[rcflyer]

Two things that has been overlooked. Often bucking and chucking can be caused by low pin weight.

Recommend the OP determine what is pin weight percentage is.

I have also found balancing the trailer tires will help on dish breakage.

[fhenn]

A good pin box can make a lot of difference, With the one from the factory I had lots of Chucking open cabinet doors things thrown out all over the place. I did the tire balancing first, no difference Pull a lot out of the basment and put inside in the back nope. Pin hieght check out fine. Put air bags in the truck nope. Finally thanks to a person on this forum I went with the Demco Glide rite pin box no more problems. In fact the Lovely Janet, can leave a cup of water on the night stand, and when we get where are going no spill.

[mark5w]

You in the doghouse that you mentioned the Lovely Janet. Well, I hope it worked for you.

[fhenn]

Originally Posted by mark5w

You in the doghouse that you mentioned the Lovely Janet. Well, I hope it worked for you.

All Ways