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Old 02-06-2016, 11:32 AM   #1
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2016 27' Flying Cloud
Olympia , Washington
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Is Addition of Air Safe Hitch Substantially Worthwhile?

I'm towing an AS 27 FC with a Ram 2500 diesel. On it, the Ram has twin air bags with the rear axle and a Blue Ox SwayPro WD hitch. So far, I haven't experienced any noticeable towing issues.

Query: Would adding an Air Safe hitch be substantially worthwhile?

On the one hand, their videos look impressive, eliminating the humpty-dumpty, up & down motion upon hitting bumps in the road, smoothing out the ride. On the other hand, given the AS/Ram setup I have, would the Air Safe make all that much difference?

Furthermore, in talking with the Air Safe salesman & after reading several comments on this list, it's clear that the Air Safe model I would need would be their Class V - 05000, which sells for over $1,000; furthermore, I would also need one of their WD drop bars, which is over $100 --- an expensive addition.

I'm also a little miffed in that when I do an Air Safe search on Google, I find several dealers that were selling these for around $600 a year or two ago, but when I contact them, they say they no longer carry the Air Safe line. What seems to have happened is that Air Safe stopped selling through dealers & now only sells through its own partner-distributor, and my guess is that in the process, Air Safe increased its prices significantly.

Bottom-line: Given my AS 27, Ram 2500, etc., would the addition of an Air Safe be worth $1,100-$1,200? So far, I'm unconvinced but seek your independent opinion.
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Old 02-06-2016, 12:10 PM   #2
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Thumbs up Welcome Aboard....

You won't know without driving what you already have.....driving it here on the forums won't help much, it's very hard for us to remotely determine what may or may not be needed.

Get what you have set up correctly and start Stream'n.

Bob
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Old 02-06-2016, 12:23 PM   #3
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I have towed our 16 Sport with the air safe on our f 150 for about 6,000 miles. It greatly and very noticeably improved the smoothness of the ride for TV and the TT. I do not use a WD hitch so cannot comment on combining the two. On my rig I inflate the air safe to 21 1/2 psi.
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Old 02-06-2016, 12:49 PM   #4
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Watch for stuff breaking or being excessively tossed around inside your Airstream. If it is take a look at hitch setup and rigidity, excessive tire pressures, and trailer running gear imbalance. If things are still getting roughed up, some are happy with Air-Safe on stiffly-sprung tow vehicles.

Dang trucks, we're always trying to find a balance between load capability, towing power, and a decent ride for us and our Airstreams.
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Old 02-06-2016, 04:45 PM   #5
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I would try to dial in the hitch and suspension on your truck first before spending the money on the Air Safe hitch. You should be able to come up with a pretty good ride.
I have nothing against the Air Safe but my opinion is that it is better suited for 3/4 and 1 ton truck suspensions.
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Old 02-06-2016, 10:31 PM   #6
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We pull a 25' with Dodge 3500 and put on a Airsafe V last year before our annual 12000 mile trip. We have used a old Drawtite hitch for about 6000 miles, then went to an Andersen for over 10000 miles then the Airsafe combined with the Andersen. While the Andersen was noticeably better than the drawtite, I see no improvement with the Airsafe added to it. With the tongue wt of the 25' we need about 45 psi in the Airsafe. Will probably go back to the Andersen alone this year.
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Old 02-07-2016, 11:01 AM   #7
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Rick & other posters: Suspicions confirmed. Thank you. I think I'll stick with my bare Blue Ox & save the $1,000+ that I would have spent on the Air Safe for some other frivolity for the new Airstream (so far, it's been Marathon tire replacement, lead/acid battery replacement, charger replacement, a rear-view camera, carpets, & a Pendleton "Crater Lake" blanket --- that should be enough for a while).
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Old 02-07-2016, 11:12 AM   #8
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Thumbs up

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rgentum View Post
Rick & other posters: Suspicions confirmed. Thank you. I think I'll stick with my bare Blue Ox & save the $1,000+ that I would have spent on the Air Safe for some other frivolity for the new Airstream (so far, it's been Marathon tire replacement, lead/acid battery replacement, charger replacement, a rear-view camera, carpets, & a Pendleton "Crater Lake" blanket --- that should be enough for a while).

Good move.....

Sweet Streams.

Bob
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Old 02-07-2016, 11:30 AM   #9
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I have considered the Air Safe but already have spent too much on other toys. My Equal-izer is doing its job. Of course I would like the ride to be a little smoother and I don't need to add another ??? lbs. to the tongue weight. None the less I am following this thread. Pulling a 2016 Classic with a Ford F250 diesel.
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Old 02-07-2016, 01:33 PM   #10
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I have an Airsafe. Not sure if it Class IV or V. It does not have little shock absorbers). What it does well is isolate a stiff suspension tow vehicles road shock from the trailer. It does this well. If you have rear air bag suspensions ion it may be overkill. It does not add any tongue weight to the trailer but it does weigh about 100 pounds. It also sets the trailer ball about a foot further back on the tv.
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Old 02-07-2016, 02:39 PM   #11
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Sure seems like there is a new gimmick out there every day, every one wants some of your money , OR maybe all of it...
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Old 02-07-2016, 03:16 PM   #12
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1970 25' Tradewind
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I am running about the same set up. 2500 Dodge quad diesel with factory based
Trailer tow kit (additional) overload springs 25 ft 1970 AS with apps 750 lbs
Tongue w.r.. Reece 750 lb bars and no problems with 15000 all types travel and
No problems. Sometimes I pull without bars for short trips. Don't even use sway
Control(friction) any more.The expensive hitch would be an overkill for me. I have
A friend who pulled a 33ft fith wheel with a truck just like mine . He removed the
Air bags and installed the factory springs which did better. Bob Cooke
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Old 02-07-2016, 03:57 PM   #13
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Hitch is a bit of a misnomer.... more of a intermediary do-dad that the hitch attaches to, like the 3P & haha 'hitch', it werks very well for those who need it.


Bob
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Old 02-08-2016, 06:56 AM   #14
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Although the AirSafe is a cool idea, not worth the money in my opinion-
Been towing without one for 6 years with zero issues.
Very well dialed in Equal-i-zer is all I got.
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Old 02-08-2016, 08:24 AM   #15
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Been using a reese since middle 1970's , works fine save your monies
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Old 02-08-2016, 09:29 AM   #16
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Ride in the trailer being towed down a rough road. That is your measuring stick.
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Old 02-08-2016, 10:03 AM   #17
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We tow a 28ft International with a 2015 F350 and a Equilizer 4 way WD hitch..I have used a Airstafe hitch for 4 years and put on at least 10k per year towing.I will not pull without it.The truck rides much better with no jerk backs.The trailer moves independent from the tow vehicle and rides smooth even with the WD.

I looks like the poor advise you are receiving is coming from people who have never used a Airsafe hitch which is par for the course on this forum.......
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Old 02-08-2016, 11:08 AM   #18
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With no suspension at the hitch, all the suspension is happening at the truck and trailer at the same time.
When the truck goes over the bump, it will transfer to the trailer.
When the trailer goes over the bump, it will transfer to the truck.
Can be more of a problem when the truck wants to go up, and the trailer wants to go down.

A suspension hitch will isolate some of the transfer. It is analogous to an independent suspension that you see on different sides of a vehicle. So why not have independent suspension fore/aft?

The genyhitch.com torsion hitch is another alternative. Though I'm not a big fan of rubber torsion, since rubber cracks like I've witnessed on my Subaru suspension.
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Old 02-08-2016, 07:10 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Moflash View Post
We tow a 28ft International with a 2015 F350 and a Equilizer 4 way WD hitch..I have used a Airstafe hitch for 4 years and put on at least 10k per year towing.I will not pull without it.The truck rides much better with no jerk backs.The trailer moves independent from the tow vehicle and rides smooth even with the WD.

I looks like the poor advise you are receiving is coming from people who have never used a Airsafe hitch which is par for the course on this forum.......
This thread piqued my interest because we have not made a final decision about our WD/sway control solution. I looked at the Airsafe video and I came away a bit confused. I saw on the video that there was much less transfer on movement from the TV to the trailer, but doesn't this defeat the purpose of the WD system? In the video they said, "The connection to the trailer is separated from the connection to the tow vehicle..." I am not clear on how you can achieve weight distribution to the front of the TV if it has been separated from the trailer. Moflash, I am not trying to be inflammatory, I am just trying to understand how this system works and I thought that since you have used the device you might have more real world information. Is it more appropriate for vehicles with really stiff suspensions such as a 3/4 or 1 tons, and not really applicable to my 1/2 ton with a softer suspension?

Thanks!
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Old 02-08-2016, 08:21 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NC Camper View Post
doesn't this defeat the purpose of the WD system? !
No it doesn't. As the airbag in the Airsafe moves. The torsion bars in the WD hitch flex.
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