I see lots of 5th wheels with a tripod looking device supporting the pin on the trailer while parked.
Is this really necessary and what exactly does one expect it to do? Seems that I occasionally see one's hitch hanging from the pin, making it double bad if it's really needed.
I don't have one as I'm not sure they are really needed.
You'll get a lot of opinions on this, both pro & con. We use one when we are set up for a period of time. It does seem to give us a little less side to side movement. There are other methods, those bars that go between the front landing legs also help.
We have used our UltraFab steel tripod king pin support for 7 years, pretty much whenever we set out 5th wheel up. It padlocks to the king pin (don't use the one it comes with, get a good combination lock padlock). It can support up to 5000 lbs! But I wouldn't try to support the entire weight of the 5er on it.
The trick is to put a bit of the 5ers nose weight on the Tripod, then it really solidifies the "jello wiggle". The other trick is to put the rear jacks down on several Lynx Leveler blocks, the less extended the rear jacks are, the less wiggle also. And some folks also adding some BAL Chock & Locks between the tandam wheels helps also.
My posts shouldn't be taken for factual data. They are purely fictional, for entertainment purposes and should not be constituted as actually related to scientific, technical, engineering, legal, spiritual or practical advice. Amen.
fordsooperdooty wrote: We have used our UltraFab steel tripod king pin support for 7 years, pretty much whenever we set out 5th wheel up. It padlocks to the king pin (don't use the one it comes with, get a good combination lock padlock). It can support up to 5000 lbs! But I wouldn't try to support the entire weight of the 5er on it.
The trick is to put a bit of the 5ers nose weight on the Tripod, then it really solidifies the "jello wiggle". The other trick is to put the rear jacks down on several Lynx Leveler blocks, the less extended the rear jacks are, the less wiggle also. And some folks also adding some BAL Chock & Locks between the tandam wheels helps also.
Well, it seems most are using these as a "stabilizer" of sorts. We have a new Durango that came with the stabilizer bars and also replaced the 3 step entry with a 4 step with support jacks underneath the 2nd step. We never feel anything, even when someone comes or goes through the door. So, I'm guessing this is definitely something I don't need.
fordsooperdooty wrote: We have used our UltraFab steel tripod king pin support for 7 years, pretty much whenever we set out 5th wheel up. It padlocks to the king pin (don't use the one it comes with, get a good combination lock padlock). It can support up to 5000 lbs! But I wouldn't try to support the entire weight of the 5er on it.
The trick is to put a bit of the 5ers nose weight on the Tripod, then it really solidifies the "jello wiggle". The other trick is to put the rear jacks down on several Lynx Leveler blocks, the less extended the rear jacks are, the less wiggle also. And some folks also adding some BAL Chock & Locks between the tandam wheels helps also.
Well, it seems most are using these as a "stabilizer" of sorts. We have a new Durango that came with the stabilizer bars and also replaced the 3 step entry with a 4 step with support jacks underneath the 2nd step. We never feel anything, even when someone comes or goes through the door. So, I'm guessing this is definitely something I don't need.
That's WHAT they are for...stabilizing the rig.
So NO..you don't need one.
I have one (tripod type) that I bought with our first 5th wheel in 2003 and it is propped up in my basement and it is so bulky to carry I just do not fool with it. I have thought about trying the kind that looks like an A with only 2 legs.
We currently use the landing gear stabilizers instead of the pin tripod to get the "Jello" wiggle out.
We used the pin tripod on our last 5th Wheel and it worked ok getting the "Jello" wiggle out but the landing gear stabilizer arms we have now work much better, they are much easier to setup and they take up no storage space.
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