Ok Mr.Krabs I would suggest to you that such a hitch would definitely be a sound investment for your livelihood & a very good selling point for the service that you provide. . The Trailer Saver rep I previously mentioned had just competed an extensive owner's manual which has not been posted to
their site yet. He seemed pretty frustrated with the web master on that point. I think maybe it's not made publicly available because of the "to much information" factor determined by some corporate executive. As a good start to your project I'd like to
provide that document for your reference. I'm sure you are aware that an improper hitch engagement can cost great damage or even your life during a faulty connection process. I have the utmost confidence in my hitch & the instruction of its use found in the owner's manual. Unfortunately it does lack an illustrated "exploded view".
Please keep in mind that the Holland Binkley head (part #44001) & the air springs (part #45006), as well as other key elements, could possibly be available for purchase from their parts list,
if you talk like you own their particular unit. I faced questions like "Where did you buy our product?" posed in a very protective manner from the manufacturer when I contacted the company. I was informed that Camping World was no longer allowed to sell Hensley Manufacturers products because of price cutting strategies that hurt other distributors. I did not divulge where, or how, I purchased my unit but only that I had it & wanted proper parts to meet future needs. That seemed to satisfy their concerns especially after I got a little haughty about safety while using their product no matter where it came from. Certainly it should not matter even if you implied that you had bought a used unit from a private party & simply wanted to rebuild it.
I suspect the cost is not at all to be regarded as "cheap" when acquiring these necessities to your project. While I admire your initiative to produce your own air ride 5th wheel hitch it might be worth considering that should there be a failure resulting in liability then the savings could be negated by a lack of legal recourse to a manufacturing company. Not that it hasn't been done before! Have a look at these patents linked from one
design registration for inspiration. There are a great many different air ride hitches on the market & considerable research will serve you well. I have seen several unhappy customers of other products complaining about their purchases on RV forums.
I would enjoy being kept informed of you progress or decisions. If you need additional information or photographs of a particular facet of this particular design, such as dimensions, please do not hesitate to contact me. As I do not check Diesel Bombers every day I would be happy to supply my email address &/or phone # in PM if you so desire.
Perhaps others would find this hitch an interesting topic. I will probably spend some time posting a thread about my hitch in the near future. I have a lot of preventative maintenance to do on my own RV while the weather is nice first. I'll be working on a draft soon though.
Best of luck to you sir!
