King Pin Stabilizer

by Kim on 6/17/2011, 8:25 am

Wife really wants the 5 to be as steady as possible...me, I'm ok with a little bit of movement. When camping we put down the rear stabilizers and it is much improved but still not as rock solid as she would prefer.

Camping World has a heavy duty king pin stabilizer on sale right now for $129.99. Do these make a significant difference or is it just a minor improvement. In other words, is it worth the purchase?

http://www.campingworld.com/browse/skus/index.cfm?skunum=20307&affiliateid=3746&CWID=3744314&rewrote

thanks, Kim

by moo2613 on 6/17/2011, 8:35 am

You would probably be better off with a product like J.T. Stabilizers or something similar. http://jtrv.com/our_products.html

Somebody on here built his own set and they looked great. I do not have any knowledge of the king pin tripod, so I can't be of any help with those.

by MountainMan on 6/17/2011, 9:10 am

We have the tripod and never use it. It was a gift. We used it a few times at first but honestly can't tell much difference if any at all.

For us, its definitely not worth the time getting it out, setting it up and then putting it back in the Cat. Takes up too much room as well.

It is in our storage building where it is still taking up too much room. Laughing

by Scruffy and Tater on 6/17/2011, 11:12 am

We had considered getting the King-pin stabilizer when we first got the 5th wheel, then we read some uncomplimentary comments. It really doesn't make a lot of sense to expect the movement to stop with just that one point contact. We don't have any stabilizers other than the jacks that came with the trailer. The JT stabilizers look like they would provide the most stability.

We don't mind the movement - it's part of the joys of trailering.

Tater

by Admin on 6/17/2011, 11:56 am

king pin stabilizer = Its JUNK, build your own cross bar stabilizer or buy the JT. I think I'm gonna build me one with the load bars like was discussed on the forum.

by onetonford on 6/17/2011, 5:14 pm

I used mine for the first time this week and they work great just one click locks them down

by BobnPi on 6/18/2011, 6:59 am

Sean also built his own. He has pictures somewhere.

by TC on 6/18/2011, 12:14 pm

Stabilizers such as JTs, etal, are the way to go.

One tip to help the fore/aft movement, even if you don't buy this system ... Once you've leveled the Cat and get ready to drop your rear stabilizers, tilt the nose down just a bit before cranking the rear stabilizers down snug. Then raise the nose back to level again. This will snug up the back end better. I've noticed that thru time and movement, the back stabilizers will loosen slightly, thus you get more bounce when moving about in the Cat. So torquing them down a bit more helps. I still do this even though I've added the JTs.

TC

by onetonford on 6/18/2011, 12:29 pm

TC wrote:Stabilizers such as JTs, etal, are the way to go.

One tip to help the fore/aft movement, even if you don't buy this system ... Once you've leveled the Cat and get ready to drop your rear stabilizers, tilt the nose down just a bit before cranking the rear stabilizers down snug. Then raise the nose back to level again. This will snug up the back end better. I've noticed that thru time and movement, the back stabilizers will loosen slightly, thus you get more bounce when moving about in the Cat. So torquing them down a bit more helps. I still do this even though I've added the JTs.

TC

Thats the way I do it also even on my old trailer I made the rear stabilizers and they didn't have the umph so I would just drop nose slightly and drop rear stabs then bring up the nose back to level works great.

by Kim on 6/19/2011, 7:15 am

Thanks for the advice. I see on the JT website there are fore and aft stabilizers, is everyone using both or just fronts?

by TC on 6/19/2011, 7:35 am

Both here.

TC

by Portagie1968 on 6/20/2011, 4:04 am

Scruffy and Tater wrote:We had considered getting the King-pin stabilizer when we first got the 5th wheel, then we read some uncomplimentary comments. It really doesn't make a lot of sense to expect the movement to stop with just that one point contact. We don't have any stabilizers other than the jacks that came with the trailer. The JT stabilizers look like they would provide the most stability.

We don't mind the movement - it's part of the joys of trailering.

Tater

We have had a king pin stabilizer for years and love it. If U are sitting on the pot without it it is quite an experience. U feel like U are on a ship in the high seas. With it in place the motion of the ocean almost stops. Very little left.

by Portagie1968 on 6/20/2011, 4:06 am

Because of our wicked kitty problems. After the rear stabilizers hit the ground I turn one 2 turns and the one on the slide side 1/2 turn. The door side rides a little low.

by Sean on 6/20/2011, 7:26 am

Front and rear on mine, and what a difference it makes
Sean

by Admin on 6/20/2011, 11:08 am

I've noticed that thru time and movement, the back stabilizers will loosen slightly

On the last trip I took, I noticed that my rear stabilizer jacks were not holding at all. As in if I lifted the nose up the jacks would just squeeze back together as if you were turning the crank.
I had to use a wrench on both sides and a block of wood to keep the cranks from moving. I guess I shouldn't have used some lube on them to stop the squeaking.

by TC on 6/20/2011, 1:30 pm

Now if someone wanted to make another nifty mod, they'd come up with a way to lock down the rear stabilizers where they couldn't loosen up on their own.

TC

by shooter on 6/21/2011, 4:11 am

I bought one and wish I didn't. It's sitting in the shed now since I installed the JT's. It's heavy and takes up a bunch of space in the storage area.
I need to try to sell it, but it's too heavy (expensive) to ship.

by Portagie1968 on 6/21/2011, 4:42 am

Shooter - I have to agree. Not heavy but always in the way. Stabilizers in the future. But for right now it works great.

by shooter on 6/21/2011, 7:24 am

I have the adjustable 3-leg deluxe version with extendable legs (BAL Model 25035), that one is pretty heavy.

by MountainMan on 6/21/2011, 7:42 am

I think thats the same one we have shooter. Bulky, heavy and always in the way!

I know many are bothered by the slight movement of their trailers but I honestly rarely ever notice it. Thankfully it doesn't bother either of us in any way. Thats one problem we simply don't even concern ourselves with.

Now Dan and his floating toilet may be another story all together!
Just what kind of mushrooms do you guys eat on your burgers? Laughing

by Portagie1968 on 6/21/2011, 12:18 pm

Grown is our special garden to produce a special product. California boys produce some good stuff. Ours is aluminum.

by Frank on 6/21/2011, 2:03 pm

I have the king Pin Stabilizer just like the one Shooter has. I still use it. I also have 3 sets of stack Blocks that I use under the rear Stabilizer Jacks. The wheel chocks that I use are Bal Wheel Chocks I have to retighten them after I have finished setting up. scratch

I think why I have to do that after the tires have cooled

by shooter on 6/21/2011, 2:37 pm

I probably need to list mine under classifieds.....$50.00, the problem would be shipping, though.
Can't find a weight for the deluxe model: http://norcoind.com/bal/products/consumer/stabilizing_products/kingpin-tripod.shtml
Probably need to put it on a scale....

by Frank on 6/21/2011, 3:12 pm

onetonford wrote:I used mine for the first time this week and they work great just one click locks them down

How is that Ball Joint attached to the angle iron that is attached to the Landing Leg Question

Can the Ball Joint be attached straight to the Landing Leg with out the angle iron with no problem Question

by Mopar_Earl on 6/21/2011, 6:21 pm

I had a 3-leg Bal in the past and it was very heavy and took a lot of work to get it set up and adjusted. I got tired of it and than I gave it away. There were a lot of times I couldn't use it due to the pin being too low to the ground for it to fit. Total waste of money, time and effort. The friend I gave it to didn't like it either and scrapped it for steel.

Earl

by Mopar_Earl on 6/21/2011, 6:25 pm

Frank wrote:I have the king Pin Stabilizer just like the one Shooter has. I still use it. I also have 3 sets of stack Blocks that I use under the rear Stabilizer Jacks. The wheel chocks that I use are Bal Wheel Chocks I have to retighten them after I have finished setting up. I think why I have to do that after the tires have cooled

My rotochoks are the same way. As the tires cool down they loosen a bit. Also if you raise or lower the front of the trailer by a large amount, it will change the distance between the tires and make the chocks loosen or go tighter. So once you get your unit level front to rear, recheck them and recheck after the tires cool off.

Earl

by onetonford on 6/22/2011, 12:36 pm

Frank wrote:
onetonford wrote:I used mine for the first time this week and they work great just one click locks them down

How is that Ball Joint attached to the angle iron that is attached to the Landing Leg
Can the Ball Joint be attached straight to the Landing Leg with out the angle iron with no problem

The ball joints are metric so I bolted the angle piece to the leg with a 3/8 bolt thru holes in leg then drilled the angle and threaded them the hole on the other side is drilled the same spot as holes in legs so Ithreaded it and bolted it into angle and leg the angle is there for strength and thread depth it is 14mm thread. also if you were to make a U shaped piece you could bolt them to the face of the legs the main reason I used the angle was to clear my battery boxes. I also used thread locker on them.

by Portagie1968 on 6/22/2011, 12:41 pm

Surprising what thread locker will do. I had a plate that had to slide up and down. Had to attach a Hook for the pintle on the trailer. Bolts goog only go into to slide 3/4 inch. Thread locker did the trick

by robertz675 on 7/7/2011, 4:36 am

I bought a kingpin stabilizer on our way back home when we bought our WC. Used it a few times. Installed Steady-fast Stabilizers. The difference was night and day. I have been camped and stuck on the top of a hill in 45mph winds. WC stayed steady, but I puckered up.

by Scruffy and Tater on 7/7/2011, 9:21 am

The movement doesn't bother us usually. Might be a worry in 45mph winds. One thing for sure, we'd rather be rocking in a campground than trying to drive in those winds.

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