Unbelievable hitch addition

[Tinsel Loaf]

We just couldn’t take the washboard roads, pot holes and the jerking anymore while towing. Something had to be done and I found this Air Ride Hitch on the net ordered it. We just tested it on a 1200 mile trip and the ride was the difference between day and night when towing. I really couldn’t believe the ride. No more washboard roads, jerking and those gaps between the bridges and roads are virtually gone. The hitch wasn’t inexpensive but worth every penny. Anybody else have one of these? I love it!

[Steve Heywood]

Originally Posted by Tinsel Loaf

We just couldn’t take the washboard roads, pot holes and the jerking anymore while towing. Something had to be done and I found this Air Ride Hitch on the net ordered it. We just tested it on a 1200 mile trip and the ride was the difference between day and night when towing. I really couldn’t believe the ride. No more washboard roads, jerking and those gaps between the bridges and roads are virtually gone. The hitch wasn’t inexpensive but worth every penny. Anybody else have one of these? I love it!

Where did you get it? URL maybe?

Thanks,

[davidz71]

I've seen it advertised and wondered if it is the solution to some of those loose rivets some people talk about as well as my cracked front aluminum panel behind the tanks.

[Tinsel Loaf]

Check out: advancedairhitch.com
Both you, your tow vehicle and Airstream will last much much longer with the cushion that this hitch gives. Also your not so worn out when you get to your destination.

[wyhjr]

We've had one for a couple of years now. I agree that it makes a significant difference in towing comfort. Concrete highways with expansions cracks often made us slow to 40mph, but now even tho we're aware of the bumps, we can proceed at 60-65mph.
I'm glad we got it.

[Over59]

My concern would be if the movement is due to bad axels on the AS this may keep the bouncing around from the tow vechicle but the trailer is still getting torn apart and you think all is well. There really should be a name for the motion the trailer causes in the truck.

[Airstreamer67]

Tinsel Loaf, Bill: Thanks for the information! This product sure looks good to me.

I just returned from a 3500-mile trip, and some sections of concrete Interstate jolted us so much from the harsh bucking that it was laughable. Towing the Airstream with an F250 diesel felt like turbulence one feels in a light aircraft flying through storm clouds. I've suffered through this for too many years now. Time for a change!

I viewed the product at their site just now and e-mailed them for a price quote and for additional information. They returned my e-mail within 30 minutes, on a Sunday yet. Impressive!

I plan to call and discuss the setup with them Monday. I found it interesting that they state on their web site that their product works better without weight transfer bars and sway controls. Did you stop using your weight transfer bars and sway controls?

Thanks again!

[Tinsel Loaf]

I set up the hitch using the weight distribution bars and sway control like always. The only thing I do differnt is I back off one link on the distribution bars. Just returned from the Nor-Cal Forum Rally and the tow was smooth. The Rally was GREAT!, thanks to Big Dee for his the effort in setting it up. I think the hitch will make the axles on the AS last longer, I know my A** will last longer.

[stephen.s1]

Cross your safety chains.

The reason is that crossed chains keep the tongue from striking the ground.

Oh yeah, neat gadget.

[baldeagle]

Only question i have is the weight of the unit with the load distributing platform... 65 lbs for the air ride + xx lbs for the platform... How are you guys handling it?


Dave

[Janets Husband]

What are we talking about here, weight wise for the tow?
I have a 3000lbs trailer being towed by a 2500HD Duramax truck.
Would it matter if I used one of these hitches?
Are the advantagious for just heavier rigs, or would light loads see some good from it?
It sounds like a good idea, any thoughts on the tow weight issue.
Cost?

[Tinsel Loaf]

Gary
The one I have is the commercial duty with shocks. You would get a standard duty.
I believe the commercial duty weights about 100 pounds with ball and all. I have had no problems with hitch weight or control problems. I think you can try one and if you don't like it they will take it back. I do cross my chains but for the picture I didn't. I was wondering if the Hensley hitch with this air ride in one unit would be the ultimate unit. Maybe it could happen?

[Tinsel Loaf]

One thing that I forgot is that this air hitch gives you about 10 to 12 more inches from the receiver so you can make tighter turns, well at least I can with my rig. Before I would touch and bend the propane tank cover with the closed tommy gate a little, now it dosen't. Makes it easier to back into my dog leg driveway.

[Rick Alston]

Over59,

I've got to believe that anytime you dampen movement between the trailer and the tow vehicle, both the trailer and the tow vehicle are better off from a vibration perspective. If that is true, then the vibration (energy) created by the trailer hopping about is absorbed by the hitch because it is not felt in the tow vehicle.

I wonder if the special hitch absorbs more energy than the tow vehicle would in a normal hitch scenario? Let's think; if the trailer creates 4 units of energy while bouncing around and, in a normal hitch scenario, the tow vehicle absorbs 2 units, then the trailer is impacted by the remaining 2 units of energy. If the special hitch absorbs 2 units, then the trailer is still impacted by 2 units, but if the special hitch absorbs 3 units, then the trailer is impacted by only 1 unit! Any thoughts?

Rick

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by Janet's Husband

What are we talking about here, weight wise for the tow?
I have a 3000lbs trailer being towed by a 2500HD Duramax truck.
Would it matter if I used one of these hitches?
Are the advantagious for just heavier rigs, or would light loads see some good from it?
It sounds like a good idea, any thoughts on the tow weight issue.
Cost?

Shoot them an email and they will respond promptly with the pricing. IIRC the basic unit was around $650. When we get ready to start towing on a regular basis I am defintely looking into it.

Aaron


Well at least I had the 50 part right guess the memory is the first to go

[Airstreamer67]

Aaron, I believe the basic unit is $650, shipping included.

[markdoane]

Originally Posted by Rick Alston

Over59,

I've got to believe that anytime you dampen movement between the trailer and the tow vehicle, both the trailer and the tow vehicle are better off from a vibration perspective. If that is true, then the vibration (energy) created by the trailer hopping about is absorbed by the hitch because it is not felt in the tow vehicle.

Rick

Over59 has a valid observation about bad axles. The air hitch isolates the driver and tow vehicle from vibration caused by the trailer. If that permits the driver to feel comfortable driving at higher speed, it may make the vibration in the trailer worse.

Each vehicle has a resonant frequency determined by its suspension and wheelbase. Think of them as giant tuning forks. If you have a rigid connection between the tow vehicle and the trailer, you have two tuning forks connected at the handles, and the vibration of one vehicle can influence the other.

If you insert a rubber pad between the two tuning forks, you isolate the two vehicles and allow them to vibrate closer to their natural frequency. This may reduce harmful vibration, assuming that the vehicle suspension was well designed and loaded. In the case of some trailers, this may not be a valid assumption.

[Airstreamer67]

I believe Andy has made the point in past comments that many of the vehicles we are towing Airstreams with today are harmful to the trailer because they have harsh, heavy-duty suspensions which manhandle the trailer through the hitch...eg, three-quarter and one-ton pickups. He has observed that in the "old" days, we used to tow them very successfully with the large passenger cars common to those days, which had relatively soft suspensions and did not harm the trailers. I believe this. I used to tow my Airstream with a 76 Ford Custom 500, and the suspension was a powderpuff compared with my F250 Powerstroke today. Both tow my unit well. It's just that the soft suspension of the sedan had to be kinder and gentler to the trailer than the tough suspension of the F250 diesel.

That's why I'm planning to install the air suspension hitch. It does make sense. Maybe it will stop the interior skin cracks I seem to be getting more and more of in my kitchen roof area, and maybe stop the occasional popped rivet. The Airstream's torsion suspension is the best available for trailers, and if the tow vehicle just leaves it alone and doesn't send harsh vibrations to it through the hitch, I bet the Airstream would be a happy puppy.

[markdoane]

Added on top of the harsh, heavy duty suspension of the tow vehicle is the effect of over-sized weight distribution hitches. If the connection between the tow vehicle and the trailer is made more rigid, there is more transfer of vibration between the tow and the trailer.

There is some damping of the vibration due to the energy absorbed by the spring bars. The impulse energy is also distributed more evenly among all the suspension components of the trailer and tow vehicle. But as the spring bars get bigger and tighter, the tow vehicle and the trailer begin to act more like a single unit, with a resonant frequency that is bad for both the driver and the trailer.