We have come across another pin box option for short bed truck owners with fifth-wheel toyhaulers. This one is totally different from anything you have used in the past. The new Sidewinder pin box from Fabex pivots at the trailer and not at the truck using a turret system. By moving the turning location back twenty inches you no longer have to worry about hitting the cab of the truck or corner of the trailer. There are no buttons to push, you don’t have to worry about slides locking up, and you can just drive down the road like a long bed.
Fabex offers two different models of the Sidewinder: the sleek looking standard Sidewinder and the premium 5th Airborne Sidewinder which incorporates an air bag and shock into the pin box. Both couplers offer the turret system with the pivot point twenty inches farther back than a standard pin box. The difference is that the air bag and shock of the premium model help separate the ride of the truck from the trailer. For example, after hitting a pothole with the tow vehicle the force of the impact is absorbed by the air bag in the pin box and not transferred to the trailer. It also relieves the chucking you get with a fifth-wheel trailer.
The installation is a little more difficult than a standard pin box only because there are more parts involved. This is definitely a project where a friend will need to help because everything is so heavy and awkward. The first thing is to remove the old pin box, which is just a matter of removing the bolts that hook it to the chassis. Next we mount the turret where the old pin box was, paying attention to which holes to use so we get the correct ride height. Then on the standard Sidewinder you just have to slide the arm through the turret with the washers in place and tighten the retaining plate on top with three bolts. With the 5th Airborne Sidewinder there is a coupler that slides up into the turret and then the 5th Airborne section hooks to the coupler which has more adjustment holes so you can dial in your ride height more precisely. After you torque all your bolts, you hook up to your tow vehicle and pull forward until everything is perfectly straight in line. Then move the universal locking wedge, which is on the Sidewinder, into place against the opening on your fifth wheel hitch. This stops the trailer from pivoting at the hitch; now it will only rotate at the turret.
I have been using the 5th Airborne Sidewinder for a few trips and I must say it took a few miles to get use to it. You get accustomed to your trailer acting a certain way and now it turns later and sharper giving you the ability to get into tighter spots. I can make turns on the street that I would have rubbed the trailer tires on the curb before because the trailer turns twenty inches later. When backing up it reacts so much faster now because of where it pivots—it feels more like a tag trailer making my life much easier. Making a ninety degree turn is not a concern any more!!!
You can find a very informative video on the 5th Airborne web site and see exactly how the Sidewinder works. To check out the video and get more information on the Sidewinder pin box or other products that 5th Airborne has to offer check out their web site at www.fifthairborne.com or call them at 866-352-7340.
-THM
