Trailer Saver hitch and DRW truck

[LegalEagle]

I purchased a Trailer Saver hitch when I was using a SRW 3/4 ton tow vehicle. It really evened out the ride and was much smoother for us. I have since purchased a DRW 1 ton tow vehicle, and I am wondering if the trailer saver hitch is necessary. I say this because it does require more work than a standard hitch. You have to check the air bags on the trailer saver hitch, and constantly put air in them. You also have more requirements for greasing the hitch than a standard hitch has. So, I am wondering if anyone has had a trailer saver before, then went back to a conventional hitch? Is a trailer saver less needed with a DRW, since the suspension on a drw is much better than a srw? And if I do make a change, what hitch do you recommend for a long bed drw, pulling a 13,000 lb fifth wheel? I am not interested in an Anderson. TIA.

[F350guy]

We used a Trailer Saver BD3 with our last 2 duallies which we used to pull our previous fifth wheel. It was an Excel and a bit heavier than what we have now. We had the Excel for 8 years and first towed it with a single rear wheel GMC 3500 and a B&W Companion. The ride was miserable, probably because we were somewhat overloaded, so we switched to a dually and the BD3 at the same time which gave a great improvement. Since we did not try the BD3 with the srw I really can't say whether or not it was needed. My guess for you is it will still do it's thing in dampening the bumps no matter what truck you have. A solid hitch might be fine but unfortunately you won't know till you try it.

I sold our BD3 earlier this year as I could no longer lift it and was leaving it in my truck for the whole travel season, April to November. I researched all my options and finally decided to go radical with a Reese Goose Box. No hitch to deal with, just a 5 pound ball. It has worked out better than I expected. The ride is even better than the BD3. You do have to grease the ball and air up the bag in the Goose Box but it is on a smaller scale than the Trailer Saver.

[rashers]

Originally Posted by F350guy

I sold our BD3 earlier this year as I could no longer lift it and was leaving it in my truck for the whole travel season, April to November. I researched all my options and finally decided to go radical with a Reese Goose Box. No hitch to deal with, just a 5 pound ball. It has worked out better than I expected. The ride is even better than the BD3. You do have to grease the ball and air up the bag in the Goose Box but it is on a smaller scale than the Trailer Saver.

I've used a Goosebox and a BD5. The BD5 is substantially better than the Goosebox so surprised by your experience. I wonder if you just had too much air in the BD3?

Note that there is also a zerk fitting on the Goosebox to grease and make sure to grease your gooseneck ball lock mechanism too or it can get stuck (from experience).

[F350guy]

Originally Posted by rashers

I've used a Goosebox and a BD5. The BD5 is substantially better than the Goosebox so surprised by your experience. I wonder if you just had too much air in the BD3?

Note that there is also a zerk fitting on the Goosebox to grease and make sure to grease your gooseneck ball lock mechanism too or it can get stuck (from experience).

The BD3 was a great hitch. Used it for 5 years and I didn't have any problems with it performing as advertised. On the BD3 you air the bags until the hitch mechanism centers on the vertical slide bars. The slide bars had to be greased regularly. It did come apart in 2 pieces which made removal easier but my back with too many years of abuse was struggling to get it out of my truck.

Yes, I know the Box needs greasing and I do it regularly, along with some hitch lube on the ball.

I would not attribute my better ride to the Goose Box alone. I do think it helps but not to the extent of a BD3 or BD5 might. Those hitches are at a different level. I never thought our Excel with a rear kitchen was properly balanced. The best pin weight percentage I could get was about 18 to 19% and that was with a Splendide washer/dryer, a closet full of clothes and stuff in the storage moved as far forward as I could get it. I think the heavier rear end caused it to rock which was transmitted to the truck. The BD3 eliminated most of that. It would still rock but the BD3 would absorb most of the motion. I think our Pinnacle with a little over 21% hitch weight is much better balanced and the ride would be better no matter what hitch I use.