Comfort Ride versus Trailer Saver Hitch Question. - RV-Dreams Community Forum

RonC · RV-Dreams Family Member

Comfort Ride versus Trailer Saver Hitch Question.

ahull · RV-Dreams Family Member

Ron,

The 3,500 lbs rating may have been set for unequal loading on the bags. For instance when turning into an approach where the trailer and truck twist. That said the bags probably also have a safety factor with a never exceed rating higher than 2,000 lbs.

I use the Airsafe 25k Omni Directional hitch with 4 bags and really like it. I run the bags a bit over 100 psi. What I really like about the hitch is not only does it work vertically when at speed but when stopping & accelerating the hitch pivots absorbing & dampening the horizontal forces.

airsafehitch.com/airsafe™-25k-omni-directional/

Andy

RonC · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hey Andy,

Thanks for the additional info. One of the things Hensley wanted to know was what pressure did I have to use to carry the load. I told them I use 70 psi which centers the beam to allow an equal amount of up and downward deflection. He told me that as long as I could center the beam with less than 100 psi I was good to go.

On the BD3 the max allowed pressure is 100 psi.

-- Edited by RonC on Wednesday 5th of April 2017 08:11:17 PM

-- Edited by RonC on Wednesday 5th of April 2017 08:12:27 PM

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

Ron:

Nothing "wrong" with going with the TSH. Comments about the Comfort Ride which you asked about:

Friend of mine has one and he likes it towing a NH on a Ram 5500.

Pros of the Comfort Ride: - Doesn't need an air compressor or air adjustment - Has a 360 degree hitch plate - i.e. it tilts left-to-right as well as front-to-back. This can deal, somewhat, with the imbalance condition Andy mentioned and make connecting and disconnecting easier if the truck and trailer are not on the same plane. "Ask me how I know this."

Both are good hitches, IMO, but are different takes addressing the same problem. Price may be a bit different between the two.

IMO, if you select the TSH be sure and get the shock dampening "upgrade."

Bill

RonC · RV-Dreams Family Member

Bill,
My BD3 has two shock absorbers as does the TS3 and they are standard equipment. I assume that in the past, this may not have been true, but now there is no shock dampening upgrade mentioned in any of their literature or on the website. As it turns out, even with my pin weight right at the max rating, the Hensley rep was "very comfortable with running at the maximum pin weight rating", this due to the air bags being rated at 2,000 lbs each (4,000 total) and that I was only needing 70 psi to properly carry the pin. For now, I'll stick with my BD3, but if I do move up, I think I'll give the Comfort Ride hitch a try ... I'm impressed that it's a maintenance free operation.

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

RonC wrote:
Bill,
My BD3 has two shock absorbers as does the TS3 and they are standard equipment. I assume that in the past, this may not have been true, but now there is no shock dampening upgrade mentioned in any of their literature or on the website. As it turns out, even with my pin weight right at the max rating, the Hensley rep was "very comfortable with running at the maximum pin weight rating", this due to the air bags being rated at 2,000 lbs each (4,000 total) and that I was only needing 70 psi to properly carry the pin. For now, I'll stick with my BD3, but if I do move up, I think I'll give the Comfort Ride hitch a try ... I'm impressed that it's a maintenance free operation.

Ron: That is correct. The TSH's didn't always have the shock absorbers. I don't know when they became an option or if they always were an option. But if I were considering a Trailer Saver it would have them for sure to dampen out the recoil. Recoil is just a fact of physics, not a design flaw issue. But I'm not sure why they were not part of the original product other than I guess they thought they were not needed at the time.

BTW, as to product changes, the TS3 20K TSH used to be a 22K hitch. Now I see the TS3 is a 25K hitch but with a 4,500 pin ratings. So things do change as does apparently a pivoting head design. But if looking at an older product, perhaps used, good to check on all the fine details. But it seems your only considering current offerings.

To the point, the TSB's are fine hitches, but like everything it good points can also be drawbacks and I've seen both the pros and cons. Also a hitch, any hitch, can work great on a truck with one trailer and be a problem on another. Pin weight isn't the only factor. Trailer length as well as weight can also have a significant impact - pardon the pun. Again, "ask me how I know this" from personal experience. It's really hard to say for sure how a hitch will perform with a particular rig combination except to try it. The Comfort Ride is indeed a simpler potential solution to the same problem. Whether it will work as well, or better, for you, who knows? As I have mentioned other places, I've been down this hitch road 4 times with three trucks and two trailers. What worked super in one combination was terrible in others.

Just conversation . . .

Neil and Connie · RV-Dreams Family Member

I don't know about the other Hensley models…but my TSLB3 pivots both left/right and front back and is rated at 7,500 pounds pin weight with the third airbag which we have. I think. that the shocks on it were always an option as the mounting holes are already there but don't know if they're standard now or still an option.

I also don't really know how much dampening they actually provide. We installed ours the same time we got the new truck…and it seems like the rig bounces dampen out a little faster…but then they're also less amplitude than before anyway due to the air suspension on the truck. We never really noticed much bounce with the F450 and no shocks on the hitch unless we hit a really significant bump and even then it dampened out on it's own. Might dampen out a little faster now than before…and any faster dampening would be due to the shocks obviously…but other other than going up and down hills where the better engine and exhaust brake help the overall towing experience isn't much different than with the F450. Of course…the up and down no-drama does make things better overall…but for towing on flat roads or bumpy roads I can't say we've noticed any real difference in rig bounce.

We're really trying to polish the cannonball anyway…and only talking about minor differences to boot…not to mention the whole truck/hitch/trailer combination thing which makes a world of difference as you noted.

RonC · RV-Dreams Family Member

Yeah Neil ... all the Hensley hitches have the same head which fully articulates.

-- Edited by RonC on Tuesday 11th of April 2017 10:12:54 AM

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

RonC wrote:
Yeah Neil ... all the Hensley hitches have the same head which fully articulate.

The older ones didn't. That's back sometime ago. But back when we had trouble with that issue unhitching units. Any of the newer units shouldn't have this problem with the new head. There have been many upgrades and options offered over the years. Just depends on the unit in question as is always the case.