Trailair Air Ride LC158777 vs. LC155943

Question:

I have an 8 truck bed and my king pin connection at my trailer is able to do a Lippert 1116 or 1716. Id like to do the trail air, Air Ride, 21k. However, Im not sure if I should do the 1116 or the 1716. My existing is a 1116, but I can do the 1716 according to Lippert. What is the pros/cons of doing the long jaw 1716 vs the medium jaw 1116? I know if I had a short bed that the long jaw is the way to go, but with the 8 bed is it better to go with the medium 1116 and if so, why? Thank you

asked by: Steve M

Expert Reply:

That's a really good question, and like you said, the longer length of the Trailair Air Ride 5th Wheel Pin Box - Lippert 1716 LC158777 is only going to matter somewhat with a short bed truck (and even in that case, it wouldn't matter enough to where someone with a short bed truck could get away with using a fixed 5th wheel hitch as opposed to a sliding hitch).

The two king pins are otherwise the same, and since you do have a long bed I highly recommend sticking with the direct replacement for your Lippert 1116, which is the Trailair Air Ride 5th Wheel Pin Box # LC155943.

My concern here is the additional leverage to your towing set up that a longer pin box will give you compared to what was originally on the trailer. The further back a pin box gets, the more leverage and weight it has to handle, and we've always been told that the replacement needs to be for the direct part number

So you wouldn't be getting any benefit from the longer Air Ride with your long bed truck, and it may in fact create more of an issue, so if this were my fifth wheel I would definitely go with the Trailair Air Ride 5th Wheel Pin Box - Lippert 1116 # LC155943.

expert reply by: Kyle S