King Pin 5th Wheel Stabilizer

[rynosback]

In my 2 years of full timing I have seen about 5-10% of 5th wheels in parks having a King Pin 5th Wheel Stabilizer set up. I understand the idea behind it, but does it really help/work make the rig more stable when moving around inside? Are there certain ones that are better then the others?
I will post a pole so we can track it easily with out reading pages of posts.

Here is a pic of what I'm talking about in case you are not sure.
[IMG]5th wheel pinbox jack,support[/IMG]

[fhenn]

Have one did not seem to make a difference no longer use

[be happy]

When I had my 35 footer I always used the king pin stabilizer. The overhang part of the rig seemed a bit longer than most so I felt the extra support would help. As for it helping the movement in the rig not to sure, I know the scissor chooks between both wheels helped a lot more.

I had the tripod stabilizer from b&l

[JamieGeek]

On our Cougar 5th wheel we had 2 stabilizers: one broke and it was noticeable until I got a 2nd one. With the bed right above the king pin people tossing and turning would shake everything without it.

It may also depend on the design of the unit. Lighter ones with thinner frames may be better suited to a king pin stabilizer than the heavier ones.

[airforceret]

It doesn't eliminate the wobble, but it does help to minimize. We also found that using the X chalks between the tires helped as well as it minimized rotation and movement at the axles.

[Big Willy]

Your poll needs the option of "Yes, but it hasn't made much difference". We used one on our last unit, and it helped a little with countering the effect of washing machine vibration, but not much else. We chose not to bother on our current unit, and not have to haul one around. Anything substantial is going to weigh 10's of pounds.

[dapperdan]

When my M-I-L and her partner were still full timing they tried the tripod/pin stand, they're opinion was it was a waste of money and sold theirs. We never even considered one after hearing that.

I too see them around, always wondered what people in general have to say. This should be an interesting poll. Thanks Ryan

Dan

[airforceret]

I will say that it worked better at times than others. Part of it was a learning curve on how to position the legs under the pin and not overtightening the legs. We also learned that the sway was sometimes not related to the pin at all but was related to the suspension and sometimes the rear jacks. About the only way to really minimize would be to lift it off the ground with these new leveler systems.

[Cummins12V98]

I gave the one away that came with my Avion.

I chuckle when I see a tripod under a TrailAir air bag pin box. Air bag would seem to make it less useful.

[Travelin' Texans]

I gave mine away when I got this 5er with air bag hitch, we never noticed it made any difference on the last 5er & was way too heavy/bulky to carry around. I see several rigs using them, but wouldn't waste the cash on another one.

[Walker]

A light weight rig might benefit from a stabilizer. The DRV's are heavy enough though that when the leveling jacks do their leveling, there is enough weight off the suspension to keep the bounce away.

[ewacowboy]

We found it to make it more stable in the bedroom. Problem is they're so big and heavy we rarely have room to take with us.

[heiser252]

I left my king pin stabilizer with my old SOB trailer when I sold it. I did add the Steady Fast system to my MS 40KSSB4. It definitely helps keep it more stable than it was before I installed it. I used to be able to stand in the bedroom and swing the trailer side to side quite a bit by swaying back and forth. Now I can't get the trailer to move nearly as much with the Steady Fast system. I much prefer the Steady Fast system to a king pin stabilizer because it is always in place and only requires the twist of a handle (three different handles) to stabilize the rig. It takes about 30 seconds or less (most of that is just walking to the three locations where the handles are).

[mtntrek]

Like someone else said another choice would be more accurate. Yes we have an Ultra-Fab that has the extensions it's wide and sturdy, but I only set it up on extended stays. It stows easily with the folding ladder across the long bed under the rolling bed cover canister. I would agree the improvement is only marginal. I do think it helps some with the washer spin cycle. Would it have helped when our front hydraulic landing gear crapped out and we sunk to the pad in the middle of the night?? Guess I'll never know. But I'm not dragging it out on short or overnight stays. I also lock the bicycles to it where they're out of the weather under the bedroom.
Be well.