And so it begins

[porthole]

Time for a change. MOR/ryde pinbox and trailersaver ts-3 coming out.

Once again the little truck jib comes in handy when working by yourself.


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Lots of real estate cleared up.

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Still had my Swift Hitch camera from the 2006 GMC. Still works. Second try was a hook up



Two items I noticed that need to be addressed.
The air bag uses an automatic blowoff valve to limit pressure to 50 psi.
The valve on this hitch just hits part of the frame. It will need some adjusting.



And with the air bag filled to 50 psi the hitch doesn't raise to the "too high" level. But, this could be because of the angle the trailer is on in relation to the truck (driveway angle)

 

[JWalker]

Like!!

 

[porthole]

Reese recommends installing the hitch one bolt hole lower then your current hitch, which I did. For now the upper bolts are tight (not torqued to 210 foot pounds though) and the bottom are just snug.
Have to go for a short ride to some flat ground to check the ride height and clearances. Still have to find a new spot to hang the umbilicals and the trailer cam connector.

- - - Updated - - -

One thing will change the way we travel to some locations. At dog camp I sometimes have the truck twisted up enough that I can't open the tailgate, so I just lift the trailer high enough to clear the gate and drive out.
I have also in the past had to either disconnect or hookup at some pretty severe angles, enough so that I had to raise the pinbox high enough to clear the sides of the truck.

Those tricks are history with this pinbox.

- - - Updated - - -

And once all is settled in, and I decide it is a keeper I'll be figuring out how to add my Air Lift remote to autofill the air bag. I will still need to dump the air to get in and out of my driveway.

 

[bdb2047]

Replacing the pinbox I finally did something that has been a problem since buying the Ford and the 2011 Goshen rally.
The older style frame for the pinbox has more material in it then the newer trailers.

When backing into spaces and with a little uneven ground, the frame would hit the side rails for my roll top cover. Currently I would max out the air bags in the hitch to 100psi to raise the nose of the trailer as high as possible.
Previously I had also changed the height limit bolt in the hitch to allow an extra 1.5" of lift. Still it would get a little to close to the rails.

View attachment 51947 View attachment 51953 . View attachment 51954



So, I got out the Portaband and sawed away the ears

View attachment 51955 . View attachment 51956 . View attachment 51957

Still have some finish grinding to do, waiting for the monsoon to stop to go for a ride.

- - - Updated - - -

Even without a roll top cover, the 2017 Fords with the higher bed rails can have an 'interference' between the pinbox frame and the bed side rails.

I saw recent evidence of this, so be aware. On the plus side, it is the plastic top cover that gets chewed up and is only about $70.

$61 w/tax 10 minutes to replace

 

[porthole]

$61 w/tax 10 minutes to replace

My lips are sealed .........

 

[Bones]

Looks good Duane.

 

[avvidclif]

$61 w/tax 10 minutes to replace

That cover on mine is already getting chewed up by the sides of the bed. I'm thinking about taking it off and doing a little surgery and putting it back.

 

[JWalker]

So, do you think there is enough vertical adjustment to allow for the higher stance and taller bed sides of a newer Ram. (or a '17 450)??

 

[porthole]

So, do you think there is enough vertical adjustment to allow for the higher stance and taller bed sides of a newer Ram. (or a '17 450)??

I don't know. What I do know with at least our trailer is (keeping in mind it is almost 8 years old) - maybe.

The recommended installation is one hole lower then the pin box you are removing. I can only go one hole lower, there is no further adjustment. The trailer appears to be about the same height as the old setup - if the system would hold air !

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Clearance with my roll top cover rails is close, good thing I cut the 'wings' off the pinbox frame.



And backing into the drive way with the air leak makes it a bit of a challenge. I do not have a lot of room.
The only other adjustment available is a 1" taller goose-ball that Reese distributes.



Supplied air fitting and blow off valve leak.
This leak is with no weight on the goose-box (un-hooked).

 

[porthole]

My junction box comes pretty close as well. So, I've waited for a reason to replace the 7 way wire, it has enough electrical tape patches that I think it is time. And it is flat on one section from something nearly crushing it.
I ordered a Bargman coiled wire kit and a Bargman narrow junction box, similar to what Jerrod has been using, only not clear.

 

[Jesstruckn/Jesstalkn]

Re: And so it begins - mods to personalize the rig

Man that's close to hitting. I was checking mine the other day in a parking lot , now that I have the Bedlocker tonneau cover the rail are definitely close when making a turn. I might look into​ trimming mine back a bit to.
I can raise my hitch, but everything is sitting perfectly level right now and I hate to change that.


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[Bones]

How do you like the ride of the goose ball compared to the conventional hitch?

 

[porthole]

How do you like the ride of the goose ball compared to the conventional hitch?

Only went 3 miles to a flat area to check for the ride height. So no opinion. And, the air connection was leaking, so I don't know how much air was in the bag at any given time.

The actual leak is fixed, currently working on adding the wireless remote for height control.

 

[Bob.jr]

Re: And so it begins - mods to personalize the rig

Is it possible to put a tpms on the valvestem so to monitor the pressure?

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[BigGuy82]

Re: And so it begins - mods to personalize the rig

Is it possible to put a tpms on the valvestem so to monitor the pressure?

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Yes. there are several brands - I recommend EEZTire.

 

[Roller4tan]

Re: And so it begins - mods to personalize the rig

Is it possible to put a tpms on the valvestem so to monitor the pressure?

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I tried that with my 5th Airborne. The pressures fluctuate wildly going down the road and set off the alarm constantly. It was tied in to the trailer axle set up, so adjusting pressure response was not doable.

 

[BigGuy82]

Re: And so it begins - mods to personalize the rig

I tried that with my 5th Airborne. The pressures fluctuate wildly going down the road and set off the alarm constantly. It was tied in to the trailer axle set up, so adjusting pressure response was not doable.

Never mind my previous post - didn't realize you were taking about monitoring a hitch air bag. Never tried that.

 

[porthole]

So the Goosebox first trip went smoothly. Did some other stuff at the same time and am already going to make a change or two, so I'll wait until complete for the details.

Ride seems about the same as my trailer saver hitch - maybe a little smoother. Hard to tell. There is a slight difference, neither better or worse, just different.

If you are considering this, keep in mind that the fact that you will be lifting the trailer off the ball to unhitch, maybe 6-8 inches. This may be a concern with our dog camp event.
Another is the inability to lift the hitch over the tailgate when unhooking. Again at dog camp there have been times where I was unable to open the tailgate due to the truck being twisted on the terrain. No problem with the old setup, just lift up high enough to clear the tailgate.
And at times we have 'parallel parked' in between two trees, requiring the pin box to be high enough to clear the fenders off the side (truck was at a bit of an angle to the trailer)..

I do have my AirLift wireless remote working with the hitch, convenience thing for me and I changed out the junction box. Figured it was a good time to do that and replace the 7 way pigtail which has a flat spot or two and several electrical taped sections.

 

[BigGuy82]

So the Goosebox first trip went smoothly. Did some other stuff at the same time and am already going to make a change or two, so I'll wait until complete for the details.

Ride seems about the same as my trailer saver hitch - maybe a little smoother. Hard to tell. There is a slight difference, neither better or worse, just different.

If you are considering this, keep in mind that the fact that you will be lifting the trailer off the ball to unhitch, maybe 6-8 inches. This may be a concern with our dog camp event.
Another is the inability to lift the hitch over the tailgate when unhooking. Again at dog camp there have been times where I was unable to open the tailgate due to the truck being twisted on the terrain. No problem with the old setup, just lift up high enough to clear the tailgate.
And at times we have 'parallel parked' in between two trees, requiring the pin box to be high enough to clear the fenders off the side (truck was at a bit of an angle to the trailer)..

I do have my AirLift wireless remote working with the hitch, convenience thing for me and I changed out the junction box. Figured it was a good time to do that and replace the 7 way pigtail which has a flat spot or two and several electrical taped sections.

I'll bite ... whats "dog camp"?

 

[Bones]

Time to get a new ford. I don't think the bed jams like the old ones did with the redesign.