I had a fifth wheel customer a few years ago who came to me with a problem that was ruining his trips. Every time he went over a railroad crossing, a speed bump, or even a moderate dip in the road, the impact would slam through the kingpin connection so hard that dishes rattled in the cabinets, the TV shook on its mount, and his wife had started refusing to ride in the trailer during moves between campgrounds. He’d been to two dealers who both told him the same thing: “That’s just how fifth wheels ride.” It’s not. That’s how fifth wheels ride with a factory pin box that wasn’t designed for comfort.
The pin box is the component that connects your fifth wheel trailer to the hitch in the bed of your truck. It’s a steel housing that contains the kingpin—the large vertical pin that drops into the hitch jaws—and it’s the single point through which every force between the trailer and the truck is transmitted. Every bump, every turn, every acceleration and deceleration event passes through the pin box. And yet, most factory pin boxes are the simplest, cheapest design the trailer manufacturer could source: a rigid steel box with no cushioning, no dampening, and no engineering beyond basic structural adequacy.
Upgrading the pin box is one of the most transformative improvements you can make to a fifth wheel’s ride quality and towing behavior. The aftermarket pin box systems available today incorporate cushioning, dampening, and articulation that the factory units simply don’t provide, turning a jarring, noisy towing experience into something that feels dramatically more refined. This roundup covers the best pin box systems and accessories we carry at the RV Upgrade Store.
Best for: Heavy fifth wheel owners who want dramatically improved ride quality and reduced impact transfer
MORryde has built its entire brand around one concept: making RVs ride better. Their pin box system replaces your factory pin box with an engineered assembly that incorporates rubber shear springs between the kingpin and the trailer frame. These springs absorb and dampen the vertical impacts that would otherwise transfer directly from the road through the hitch and into the trailer’s structure. The result is a ride that feels fundamentally different—softer over bumps, quieter over rough roads, and dramatically more comfortable for anything stored inside the trailer.
This particular model is rated for fifth wheels with a GVWR of 18,001 pounds and above, which puts it in the heavy-duty category. Large residential-style fifth wheels, toy haulers with loaded garages, and multi-slide luxury units all fall into this weight class. These are the trailers where the impact transfer problem is most severe because there’s more mass generating momentum over every bump, and more interior finishes and appliances that can be damaged by the constant jarring.
The engineering behind the MORryde system is straightforward but effective. The rubber shear springs are positioned between the kingpin plate and the trailer mounting plate, creating a cushion that absorbs both vertical impacts (bumps, potholes, railroad crossings) and lateral movement (turning forces, road crown transitions). The springs don’t add any noticeable play or sloppiness to the hitch connection—they simply dampen the sharp, sudden forces that make factory pin boxes so uncomfortable.
I’ve recommended MORryde pin boxes for years, and the feedback is remarkably consistent. Customers report that the trailer feels like a different vehicle within the first mile of driving. The constant rattling, banging, and shuddering that they’d accepted as normal disappears. Cabinets stop popping open. Glassware stops clinking. And the ride in the truck improves too, because the hitch isn’t transmitting those harsh impacts into the truck’s frame and suspension.
Installation requires removing the factory pin box and bolting the MORryde system in its place. The mounting dimensions are designed to work with standard fifth wheel frame configurations, but the job does require getting under the trailer with wrenches and a jack. Most RV service shops are familiar with MORryde installations and can complete the swap in a few hours. If you’re mechanically inclined, it’s a feasible DIY project with a helper and the right tools.
The customer I mentioned in the opening? We installed a MORryde pin box on his fifth wheel. He called me from a campground two weeks later and said his wife had ridden in the trailer for the first time in months during the drive there. That’s the kind of improvement we’re talking about.
Pro Tip: Before ordering, measure your existing pin box dimensions carefully—the width, height, and bolt pattern. Take photos of the mounting configuration from multiple angles. MORryde’s customer service can help you verify the right model for your specific trailer if you provide these measurements and your trailer’s make, model, and year.
Buy the MORryde Pin Box System
Best for: Fifth wheel owners with SuperGlide automatic sliding hitches who want MORryde’s ride quality benefits
The SuperGlide is one of the most popular automatic sliding fifth wheel hitches on the market, and for good reason—it automatically moves the hitch forward during tight turns to prevent the trailer from contacting the truck cab. But the SuperGlide’s connection point has specific dimensional requirements that differ from standard fifth wheel hitches, which means you can’t simply bolt a standard MORryde pin box onto a SuperGlide-equipped trailer without an adapter.
That’s exactly what this adapter kit provides. It bridges the dimensional difference between MORryde’s pin box system and the SuperGlide hitch’s mounting requirements, allowing you to get the ride quality benefits of the MORryde cushioned pin box while retaining the turning clearance benefits of the SuperGlide hitch. It’s a specific solution for a specific combination, but for the owners who need it, there’s no substitute.
I want to be clear about what this product is and isn’t. This is an adapter kit—it works in conjunction with the MORryde pin box system (sold separately), not as a standalone product. You need the MORryde pin box system plus this adapter kit to achieve the complete installation on a SuperGlide-equipped fifth wheel. The adapter modifies the geometry so the two systems work together properly, maintaining correct kingpin engagement and hitch operation.
The installation is more involved than a standard MORryde pin box swap because you’re integrating three components: the trailer frame, the MORryde pin box, and the SuperGlide adapter. Detailed instructions are included, but I generally recommend professional installation for this combination to ensure everything is properly aligned and torqued. A misaligned pin box on a SuperGlide can affect the automatic sliding function, which defeats the purpose of having the SuperGlide in the first place.
For fifth wheel owners who have invested in a SuperGlide hitch and want to add MORryde’s ride improvement, this adapter makes the combination possible. Without it, you’d have to choose between ride quality and turning clearance. With it, you get both.
Pro Tip: When installing this adapter kit, follow MORryde’s torque specifications exactly. Over-tightening can distort the adapter plate and affect hitch engagement. Under-tightening is obviously a safety hazard. Use a calibrated torque wrench, not a breaker bar and guesswork.
Buy the MORryde SuperGlide Adapter Kit
Best for: Fifth wheel owners who want to tow with a gooseneck hitch ball instead of a traditional fifth wheel hitch
This one addresses a question I get surprisingly often: “Can I tow my fifth wheel with a gooseneck ball?” The answer is yes, with the right adapter. The MORryde Gooseneck Adapter Kit converts a standard fifth wheel kingpin connection to a gooseneck ball configuration, allowing you to tow your fifth wheel trailer using a gooseneck ball mounted in your truck bed instead of a traditional fifth wheel hitch.
Why would someone want to do this? Several reasons. Gooseneck balls sit much lower in the truck bed than fifth wheel hitches, which means the truck bed is more usable when the trailer isn’t connected. A gooseneck ball can be flipped or removed entirely, leaving a flat bed surface for hauling other loads. This is particularly appealing for truck owners who use their vehicle as a daily driver and don’t want a fifth wheel hitch permanently occupying their bed when they’re not towing.
The adapter fits over the fifth wheel’s kingpin and provides a gooseneck-style coupler that drops over the ball in the truck bed. The connection is secure and rated for the appropriate towing loads, and it provides the articulation needed for turns, grade changes, and road undulations. The ride characteristics are slightly different from a traditional fifth wheel hitch—the connection point is lower, which changes the pivot geometry—but for most towing situations, the difference is minimal.
I recommend the gooseneck adapter primarily for truck owners who have an existing gooseneck ball installation and want to avoid the cost and bed-space commitment of a dedicated fifth wheel hitch. If you already pull gooseneck flatbeds, horse trailers, or other gooseneck equipment with your truck, adding a fifth wheel via this adapter means you’re using the same truck-side hardware for everything. One ball, multiple trailers, maximum bed versatility.
One important consideration: not all fifth wheel trailers are approved by their manufacturers for gooseneck towing. The different pivot point and connection geometry can affect how forces are distributed through the trailer’s frame. Check your trailer manufacturer’s specifications before committing to this approach. Most modern fifth wheels are compatible, but it’s worth confirming rather than assuming.
Pro Tip: If you’re switching between gooseneck and traditional fifth wheel hitching on the same trailer, keep both the adapter and your standard kingpin hardware in good condition. Inspect the adapter’s coupler, locking mechanism, and safety chain attachment points before every trip, just as you would with any hitch connection.
Buy the MORryde Gooseneck Adapter Kit
Not every fifth wheel owner needs a pin box upgrade, and I want to be straightforward about that. If your towing experience is comfortable, your interior isn’t showing signs of impact damage, and you’re happy with how the trailer tracks down the highway, your factory pin box is doing its job, and there’s no urgent reason to replace it.
The upgrade becomes compelling when you’re experiencing symptoms: excessive road noise transferred into the trailer interior, cabinet doors that pop open over bumps, cracking at interior trim joints or ceiling panels (a sign of repeated impact stress), dishes and glassware that shift or break during travel, or a general ride quality that makes you dread the driving portion of your trips. These are all indicators that the factory pin box isn’t adequately cushioning the forces between road and trailer.
Heavier fifth wheels benefit more from pin box upgrades than lighter ones, simply because there’s more mass generating momentum over each bump. If you own a triple-slide, residential-style fifth wheel in the 14,000–18,000+ pound range, a MORryde pin box upgrade is one of the highest-impact improvements you can make to your towing experience.
Full-timers in particular should consider the long-term value proposition. If you’re living in your fifth wheel and moving it every week or two, the cumulative impact damage from thousands of miles on a rigid pin box adds up. Loose screws, cracked moldings, cabinet door adjustments, and the slow degradation of interior finishes are all accelerated by the constant vibration. A cushioned pin box dramatically reduces that wear, preserving the interior condition and resale value of your trailer over years of full-time travel.
The pin box is one of those components that most fifth wheel owners never think about until someone points out that it’s the source of problems they’ve been living with for years. The rattling, the banging, the constant micro-vibrations that slowly loosen screws, crack trim, and make the trailer feel less solid over time—these are all symptoms of a rigid pin box transmitting every road imperfection directly into the trailer’s structure.
MORryde’s pin box systems address this problem with elegantly simple engineering: put a cushion between the road and the trailer, and the trailer rides better. The improvement is immediate, dramatic, and lasting. Whether you’re upgrading the pin box itself, adapting it for a SuperGlide hitch, or converting to a gooseneck configuration, the products in this roundup give you options for every fifth wheel towing setup.
If you’re not sure which pin box system fits your trailer or which adapter you need for your hitch configuration, call us at the store. Pin box compatibility depends on your specific trailer’s frame dimensions, weight rating, and existing hitch setup, and we can help you match the right product to your rig.
I’m Bill Rowell, the founder of RVupgrades.com. In 2002, I launched the business to help fellow RV enthusiasts find unique and hard-to-find products. Over the years, it’s grown to offer more than 15,000 items, with a warehouse in Eastlake, Ohio. Having owned and repaired nearly every type of RV, I bring over two decades of hands-on experience to the table. For me, this isn’t just a business – it’s a passion and a way of life that I love sharing with the RV community.
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