I have the BD5. I absolutely love it.
Trailer Saver
Cargo Master
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 2,400
Likes: 15
My F450 is as smooth, maybe smoother, when pulling my 15.5k fifth wheel on my rigid B&W companion hitch. The only time it wasn't smoother was when there was some play in the hitch mount. From an engineering perspective, it seems to me that a rigid hitch would make it rougher for the trailer, but smoother in the truck.
Why? When I'm towing, I'm sitting on my very stiff overloads. If I hit a bump, they will press upwards very hard. With a rigid hitch, the inertia of both the truck and pin weight resist this force, resulting in less jolt. With suspension in the hitch, the trailer will move (jolt) less, so the truck will jolt more.
I know that some love suspension hitches, so I might be missing something here. (Or trailer ride is given a priority over truck ride maybe?)
Why? When I'm towing, I'm sitting on my very stiff overloads. If I hit a bump, they will press upwards very hard. With a rigid hitch, the inertia of both the truck and pin weight resist this force, resulting in less jolt. With suspension in the hitch, the trailer will move (jolt) less, so the truck will jolt more.
I know that some love suspension hitches, so I might be missing something here. (Or trailer ride is given a priority over truck ride maybe?)
Mountain Pass
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 163
Likes: 3
From: North Carolina
Guess it depends on which part jolts and whether you won't get overlaying motions. What you're saying is only the first part of events: When your truck hits a bump, the hitch will have an upward movement, pushing the trailer up, then - after the bump - pulling the pin downwards, but then the trailer will hit the bump also, jerking at the hitch, maybe even at the same time? Would be interesting to watch this in slow motion. For me the suspension on the hitch (could also be on the pin) makes sense, the question is whether it adds to complexity.
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Lead Driver
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 7,782
Likes: 221
From: Huntington Indiana
Last year we came back from Florida on rough roads. Had $900 in damage to fifth wheel. Broken screws in front and rear. Now watch rig float after truck hits bad portion of road. Things stay in place in rig.
Cargo Master
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 2,400
Likes: 15
I would certainly expect a suspension hitch to make the front of the trailer ride smoother. It just seems like it'd make the back of the truck ride rougher to me.
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Lead Driver
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 7,782
Likes: 221
From: Huntington Indiana
I think it the sudden jars that don’t happen now, helps a lot. As it is a gradual up and down motion, not jarring the rig
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Cross-Country
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 61
Likes: 2
From: where we park it
love the Trailer Saver BD5
This my 3rd 5th wheel hitch, I will never go back something less. I really believe this hitch changed the wear and tear on our 5th wheels. Our older DRV was light compared to the LUXE but we noticed on the first pull that there was a difference. The clothes on the shelves in closet stay in place. With our new LUXE and its 4000-4300LB pin weight and rough roads are no match for this hitch. Almost nothing shifts inside our 5th wheel when move, and we move quite often about every 2-3 weeks. It is an expensive hitch so it might not be worth it for everyone but if you want one but on the fence, I say go ahead jump over and get it. oh and BD5 version fits into the ford puck system.
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