Trailair Triglide Lower Jaw Replacement - Not Happy

[Dmcfarden]

I posted this at the Suite Owners Site, but there's more traffic here, so:
I'm pretty much at my wits end with this issue.* We bought our 2012 TKSB3 with Vanity slide new in 2012 and pulled it with our 2011 3/4 ton short bed Ford F250 diesel for several years with pullrite auto- slider hitch.* It was nose high for sure and I attributed the chucking we experienced to that along with the undersized truck.* We bought a new 2017 Ford F350 DRW diesel truck, thinking that we'd like to do a lot more traveling down the road and wanting a more stable safe ride.* I bought a Curt Q24 which had good reviews and was rated for what we needed, even if we upgraded later.* It did sit lower but we were still nose high somewhat.* The chucking seemed worse with the new truck than what we had on the old F250.* Thinking the trailer needed to be raised, we added the Correct Track system which added 2" and now we're almost level, very close anyway.* Still no help with the chucking.* I read several posts about failed Triglides and even though mine hadn't failed, I contacted Lippert.* They sent a new stationary, lower jaw at no cost, which I replaced a couple weeks ago.* To be honest, I feel the chucking is worse and I'm tempted to put the Triglide back on the pin assembly.* The next step would be to purchase a new hitch, thinking maybe the Curt Q24 isn't as good as the reviews have mentioned.* I'm leaning toward the B&W 3305 25k hitch, but I'd hate to spend another $1,300 and have the same chucking problem.* I've been the to the scales to weigh, and the trailer weighs 17,500 and my pin weight including the hitch is 4,350 lbs or 24.8% of the trailer weight.* My wife is going nuts and ready to give it all up entirely.* I'd greatly appreciate any advice.

[Notanlines]

I might be more inclined to look into the Mor-ride pin box and gather opinions from knowledgable people. It can be had for about 6-700 and changes in about an hour. We’ve used ours on our big Raptor and the DRV and no chucking at all.

[Dmcfarden]

I had a similar reply on Suite Owners, regarding the Morryde pin box. Perhaps there’s something to this. I sure hope so, cause when my wife crosses her left leg over the right, all I see is her foot moving back and forth, swaying to the chucking motion of the trailer and of course that “are you kidding me?” look on her face while she’s doing it...

[Cummins12V98]

The Chinese Made CURT 5er hitches are known for their chucking as the heads pivot point is several inches below the kingpin. The US Made B&W head pivot point is right at the kingpin height and is NOT known for chucking.

Sorry for your issues!

[Dmcfarden]

Cummins,
What brand of pin are you using? I’m assuming you have the B&W hitch, which I’’m leaning toward. I was wondering if the B&W works well with the stationary lower jaw on the Triglide or should I put the Triglide back on or finally, just bite the bullet and switch to a Morryde, not sure which one though.

[Cummins12V98]

It won't hurt to put it back on but be sure to grease ALL 9 ZERKS.

I have the TriGlide with air bag pin box. My setup works well as seen in pic.

Note pivot point for each head.

Pic of CURT in inlaws truck, he hated it!

[porkchop]

I had the original Trailair for a while and really liked it. Then had the tri glide and sort of liked it.
I have a MorRyde now and can tell you the Trailair is a more comfortable riding hitch. At least to me. My problem is there is a very limited # of manuf. that make a pin box weight rated high enough for my Santa Fe. Morryde is about it.
I went away from my Pulman Super glide, which I dearly loved, to a Trailer saver BD5F for the air bags to see if it would help. It did. Pretty decent ride now, but I think the Super glide is a better hitch in a # of ways. Mainly in the way the jaws close and how easy it is to tell when it's locked. Trailer saver, not so much. Better really pay attention.
I will say their factory people are very knowledgeable and helpful. Just don't waste your time trying to make a deal on price. It is what it is! Good luck

Bill

[Buckshot]

I have the Curt hitch with the trail Air pinbox . My pin weight is about 4200 lbs and I have no chucking at all.

If I was to get a new hitch it would be a B&W. They are a great company and make a great hitch.

[dmorse68]

I have the Morryde pin box with a Curt Q25. No chucking.

Clearance issue:
I needed more clearance between the bed rails of a my ‘17 F350 DRW and the DRV. After some research about torque specs and measurements, I decided to lower the pinbox. There is an additional set of factory drilled holes which only gained 1”. However, but I needed a min of two. So, I planned it out and was able to drill a new set of holes below the open factory set. This gave me the additional 2” I needed. Now I have a total of 5”-6” clearance between rails and 5’er. There’s a slight rake to the back of the RV when hooked up to the truck, but it is not that bad and I felt it didn’t warrant taking the trailer in to do a suspension lift.

They keep making these trucks with taller bed rails. At some point, I hope these RV, or pinbox manufacturers will start taking that into consideration.

David

[Cummins12V98]

Originally Posted by dmorse68

I have the Morryde pin box with a Curt Q25. No chucking.

Clearance issue:
I needed more clearance between the bed rails of a my ‘17 F350 DRW and the DRV. After some research about torque specs and measurements, I decided to lower the pinbox. There is an additional set of factory drilled holes which only gained 1”. However, but I needed a min of two. So, I planned it out and was able to drill a new set of holes below the open factory set. This gave me the additional 2” I needed. Now I have a total of 5”-6” clearance between rails and 5’er. There’s a slight rake to the back of the RV when hooked up to the truck, but it is not that bad and I felt it didn’t warrant taking the trailer in to do a suspension lift.

They keep making these trucks with taller bed rails. At some point, I hope these RV, or pinbox manufacturers will start taking that into consideration.

David

You may want to weigh your RV's axles separately!

Would you believe the rear axle in this pic weighed 1,400# more than the front?

This was before I had the 3" risers added at MorRyde.

[elliott-maine]

I had to replace my tri-glide lower jaw as it was failing. With the stationary lower jaw, I do not have the chucking I had with the original jaw. I have a Redwood, so our weights are similar. I have a Reese hitch. I'm thinking you have a hitch problem, not a pin box problem. I had mine weighed wheel by wheel by SmartWeigh at Escapees, and my axles are carrying essentially the same weight with the drivers side wheels both carrying more weight.

[4happyfeet]

We had the Trailair on our Redwood. Have the MorRyde on our new DRV. Much less chucking with the MorRyde. I also noticed less chucking with more air in the Firestone air bags. Very comfortable ride! I’m running the Ford 27.5k hitch made by Reese. Seems like a good match to me. If I was going to switch hitches, it would be to the BD5. Slade at Rolling Retreats has one one his truck, says he wouldn’t have any other.

[SEzzell]

The combination of the Trailair pin box and the Curt hitch is not a good one. I experienced severe chucking when I first tried to two with the setup. The pivoting geometry of the Trailair pin box and Curt hitch caused the problem.. See my calculations that explain how.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/g2sk2816c5kxwx2/Curt%20hitch%20%20trailair%20calcs.pdf?dl=0

I chose to change the Trailair pin box for MORryde rubber pin box and have enjoyed a good ride since. I could have changed the hitch but that cost more and I didn't like fussing with the Trailair air bag. If you decide to change the hitch, get one with the pivot point of the hitch head close to the top of the hitch. A B&W would be good good choice.

[MTK46]

So I have a 20k Curt that I've used in three different F-350's. It's over ten years old. My DRV is the heaviest 5th wheel it's towed. No chucking problem at all

[Gporter]

Driving a F250 SWD with a BW Companion Slider and air bags pulling a 2020 HC 330rl. On my maiden trip chucking began rather violently on the first uphill pull. Playing with the air bag pressures seemed to stop the the chucking, but as the trip continued I notice when the first indication of chucking began if I resumed cruise control the chucking stopped immediately. I have no idea why this occurred but I repeated the process on several occasions. Any ideas as to what would cause this unusual behavior? Being new to pulling a 5th wheel, I just wonder if there is something I should be doing that I'm unaware of or do I have an equipment problem?

[Cummins12V98]

Right foot fluctuation.

[Gporter]

Possibly. I had not ruled that out but purposely tried not to fluctuate the accelerator. Is it that sensitive? I let off and reapply, same result, but punch cruise problem solved. Thanks for the response!

[jlsr]

We have the Morryde pin box and B&W companion and were experiencing chucking towing our rig (Lifestyle Luxury RV) which made for an uncomfortable ride. We did a bunch of research and bought a TrailerSaver TS3. Wow what a difference! Smooth towing experience ... Like the RV isn't even back there. The TrailerSaver was pricey but so worth it. Can't say enough good about this hitch. It is heavy though.

[Dmcfarden]

SEzzell and everyone else who’ve provided feedback,
That analysis makes good sense. For each inch or so of upward or downward movement, the distance between the truck and trailer increases about an inch as well, causing the truck/trailer to push/pull against each other. I decided to keep the Trailair pin box and buy the Trailersaver BD5. It’s coming in next week and we’ll be heading out for our trip back home in NM. I worked with Aaron with Hensley and they offer a 30 day money back guarantee, including free shipping back to them if we aren’t happy with the purchase or the ride. Based on the video I saw the head pivot point is right at the top of the plate. I’m sure hoping this solves our ride problem, we’ve had for the past 7 years. I really appreciate all of help and advice from you all. We’ll see how it rides now. If it’s a huge improvement, it’ll be worth the price.

[porthole]

Originally Posted by Cummins12V98

Right foot fluctuation.

Best example of right foot fluctuation is the rooky’s first drive to a structure fire 😱